September 10, 2015 Hauyin to Xian

Today dawned gloomy, wet and rainy.  It rained steadily all day long, so the camera stayed in a dry pouch during the ride, so only a few riding pics below.

The highlight of the day was our stop at the Terra Cotta Museum.  The Terra Cotta Warriors were discovered in 1974.  They date back to 210 BC.  Qin Shi Huang, China’s first unifier, had this army built and buried in his tomb so that he could continue to rule in his afterlife.

Unfortunately, soon after his death, there was a peasant uprising and many of the Terra Cotta figures were destroyed and the burial hall was burned.  Archeologists have labored since the discovery to piece the army back together.  Most believe that there may still be other items buried in the area.  Three huge buildings are erected over the site.

Pit One, about the size of an aircraft hanger, is believed to have originally housed 6,000 warriors and horses – all facing east, ready for battle.  Three rows of archers are followed by a vanguard of soldiers that originally held swords, spears, dagger-axes and other weapons.  35 chariots accompanied the infantry.  However, all the weapons and chariots were made of wood and are lost to time.

Pit Two contains about 1,300 warriors. We were able to examine a few up close.  The expressions, hairstyles, footwear and uniforms are all unique.

 

Pit Three, the smallest, is believed to be the army headquarters.  It contained only 72 figures, mostly high-ranking officers and their horses.  It also had a room used for sacrifices before important battles.

The army took almost four decades to produce.  The Qin rule ended just before the army was finished.  Hope his empire had better luck in the after life than it did on earth.

After the museum there was another hour of hair-raising driving.  Shortly before the hotel we met an extremely aggressive taxi driver.  I believe he deliberately tried to force David and a few other members of the group over, even though he had plenty of room in his own lane.

Around midafternoon we made it to the Bell Tower Hotel - so named because the ancient bell tower for Xian City is directly in front of it.  We unloaded all of the dripping wet gear and dragged it through the nice hotel to our rooms.

Once in our hotel room, Dave and I took turns stepping into the shower, Klim suits and BMW boots still on, and just rinsed what seemed like pounds of grimy, gritty dirt off our jackets, pants and boots.  Black streams covered the bottom of the tub.  The suits are still dirty, but at least the grit is gone.  Our Gerbing heated gloves got wet in the right leaky pannier (not fixed in Beijing) and probably will not dry before we leave the day after tomorrow.

Dinner at a nearby restaurant was followed by a quick trip to a Hagen Daz store for ice cream.  There is an entrance to an underground tunnel and mall right next to the hotel.  Tomorrow, a rest day, we will explore the town wall and shopping area.  Sunshine is expected to return by midmorning.

The Xian Bell Tower at night, taken from our hotel.