China: The Ancient Capital

Next up on our itinerary was Xi'an, the ancient capital of China.

Our first day we went straight for the Terracotta Soldiers, which technically is funerary art that was buried with the First Emperor of Qin. Once completed, the pits were sealed and families were moved out to the area to protect it and the emperor's mausoleum. As most things happen when time passes, the exact location of the masaulem and the army was forgotten until 1974, when a farmer digging a well found something more in the ground than water.

The sheer size of the pits and area was absolutely amazing. To think that this was all done by hand is completely overwhelming. The soldiers were arranged in flanks exactly like they would be if they were going to war. Our tour guide explained this was because they were the army for the Qin Emperor in the afterlife. A small corner of one of the pits was dedicated to reassembling some of the broken warriors, though no one was working in that area the day we visited.

After the Terracotta Soldiers, we headed for the Shaanxi History Museum. When I first put Xi'an on our itinerary it was for the Terracotta Soldiers. However, what I didn't realize is that Xi'an is the cradle of life for Asia, as it sits in the flood plain of eight regional rivers and Shaanxi Province is the birthplace of the ancient Chinese civilization. Xian City was the capital city in thirteen dynasties which in total lasted over 1,100 years. The Shaanxi Museum is put together very well and showcases the history of the region splendidly. We browsed through the museum quickly, as museums aren't really the girls thing and moved on to our next destinations, the Wild Goose Pagoda and the Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show.

The next day, we started out by visiting the Great Mosque, one of the oldest, largest and best-preserved Islamic mosques in China.  The mosque was built as a result of Islam being introduced into the area by Arab merchants and travelers from Persia and Afghanistan in the 7th century.   We didn't linger in the Mosque too long as it was threatening to rain and we wanted to press to our next destination, the City Wall.

The first city wall was built during the Tang Dynasty in 600 AD and was expanded during the Ming Dynasty in 1200 AD.  The City Wall is in impeccable shape, though most of the ramparts have been destroyed, the wall itself is intact.  Luckily for us, the rain had disappeared so we could enjoy our visit to the wall.  We rented double seat bicycles and rode around for an hour.

After our bicycle ride, we visited a local Xi'an family for a late lunch.  Their apartment reminded me of ours in Korea, though smaller.  We chatted with our tour guide for a while about life, parenting, and history.  She was really floored by some of the history of America, especially the fact that my mom worked outside of the home and I work outside of the home even after having children.  Our conversation wound around the Civil Rights movement, and the choice that women have to either work or stay at home.  Let me add this disclaimer:  if the women in Xi'an start getting ideas, it's not my fault. 

After lunch, we returned to the hotel, took the girls swimming, packed for our next destination, and rested up for the remainder of the evening.  Unfortunately, our flights were changed to a flight at 0-dark thirty and I left Xi'an wishing I had more time to explore the city.  Guess we'll have to add it to the list when we return to the Great Wall.