Brewster High School China Trip: May 27, Day 9

Visiting the famed Terra Cotta Warriors of Xi’an was epic. The existence of the Terra Cotta army was well documented in history, but the warriors had never been found until the 1970s.  The warriors were found in the early 1970s by farmer digging for a well on his farm.  He no
longer works his farm.  Rather he sits at a table all day signing books purchased at the museum.  This is not capitalism, but his government job.  
 
The Terra Cotta museum is part history, part tourism. As the visiting foreigners, we could not pass on photo opportunities on warrior bodies.

Terra cotta soldier reproductions were offered for sale, along with carved jade soldiers. 

Our guide led us through the process of how the warriors were made and gave us a chance to make smaller versions. When soldiers were originally made, if the emperor did not approve of the final product, the person making that soldier was killed.

Soldiers were excavated and many restored. Almost all of the soldiers were broken from the
earth caving in on them.  As such, the soldiers had to be meticulously pieced together. Seeing the excavated, restored soldiers transported us back 2,000 years in history. 

Excavated pits were the size of multiple football fields, each housing thousands of warriors. 
Many pits were not excavated, as exposure to oxygen causes rapid oxidation and degradation of pigments. 

The original soldiers were vibrantly painted. All color is lost when exposed to air.
 
Mere pictures do not do the Terra Cotta soldiers justice. The sheer enormity of their numbers must be seen to be appreciated.

It wasn’t just solders that were created. This was an entire army, including horses and chariots.  The chariots were made of wood and have long since rotted.  The solders and horses remain in their original restored original positions.

Our next journey took us to the city wall of Xi’an.  The city wall surrounded the city of Xi’an.  It is about 14.5 km (9 miles) around.  As we entered the wall, performers were demonstrating
classic music and ancient Chinese warrior processions.  

As we climbed the Xi’an wall, many of us rented bicycles and rode the entire top perimeter of
the wall. Bicycle rental was 20 yuan ($3.20) for all day. Bicycles were all single speed and well worn, which set the stage for mechanical difficulties from aggressive American riding. Within the first 500 meters (0.31 miles) one bike’s chain snapped in half and another bike’s fender fell off.  At end of the day, most of us rode all the way around the wall and had a great time doing it. 

Click on the PDF to the right for photos and the original entry.