China Trip Report Day 8: Terracotta Warriors, Bell Tower, Drum Tower, Great Mosque

Day 8, March 23, 2018, Friday:

We had an early start to see the Terracotta warriors.

Located 30 km east of Xian, the Army of Terracotta Warriors is undoubtedly a great archaeological find of the 20th century.

The bus terminal is located on the eastern square of Xian Railway Station. The bus is numbered 游5(306) and here “游” means “Tourism”; avoid other possible fake bus lines ( private buses). Ticket 7 CNY/pp

It was a 2 minute walk from our hotel. We were the last passengers to get in and the full bus started off at 7.30 am. 

(All the rest got down at an earlier stop, probably going to their office/University; we were the only tourists who went up to the last stop and got down at the terminal).

No big signboard around; we walked on and saw the ticket office and bought our tickets.

The Terracotta Army: 

Chinese: 秦陵兵马俑 Qínlíng Bīngmǎyǒng /chin-ling bing-maa-yong/

Features: hundreds of life-size model soldiers, horses, and chariots in battle array

The Terracotta Army was constructed to accompany the tomb of China’s First Emperor as an afterlife guard.

The thousands of detailed life-size models represent the army that united China at the end of the Warring States Period (476–221 BC).

In the three pits, approximately 8,000 life-size, warriors in battle formation were revealed in the course of excavation — a whole army, which would accompany its emperor into immortality.

246 BC construction began

210 BC emperor died

206 BC completed; took 40 years; 72000 builders (?).

We knew we'll be looking at the figures in pits, so the impact will not be as GREAT as we expect it to be, after seeing the documentaries. We lowered our expectations, so had a great time appreciating this museum!

Had the whole place to ourselves, that was AWESOME!


It had lain underground for more than 2000 years before farmers digging a well in 1974 uncovered it.

First Emperor Qin (/chin/) Shihuang, from whom China gets its name, ordered the creation of this army of terracotta statues.

Qin Shihuang’s underground palace is still there and remains intact.

 It is said that his tomb has solid anti-grave digging system including secret crossbows which may kill people once inside the tomb, Probes have detected a large amount of mercury which emit toxic air within the tomb. (Qin died of mercury poisoning when 49 years old while in constant search for the elixir of immortality )

The first part of the Terracotta Army site discovered was named Vault One. In 1976, two other vaults were uncovered about 20 meters away, and were named Vault Two and Vault Three.

The vaults are arrayed as the buried army in strict accordance with the ancient directives on the Art of War: facing east towards the ancient enemies of Qin State (and towards the entrance), with Vault One on the right flank, Vault Two on the left flank, and Vault Three a command post at the rear.

Vault One is the largest and most impressive — the size of an airplane hangar. It contained over 6,000 terracotta figures of soldiers and horses, but less than 2,000 are on display. 

All soldiers and horses face east in a rectangular array, each one either armed long spear, dagger or halberd. The vanguard appears to be three rows of infantry who stand at the easternmost end of the army. Close behind is the main force of armored soldiers holding weapons, accompanied by 38 horse-driven chariots.

Warriors' heads and arms were produced in molds as separate modules. After assembly, clay was applied to the surface of the sculptures so that artists could model the faces and hairdos individually.

Then, the figures were fired in kilns to make the clay hard and durable. Afterwards, they were painted with bright colors.

As a result, every figure looks different and unique.

Every figure differs in facial features and expression, clothing, hairstyle, and gestures.

Vault 2: The first unit contains rows of kneeling and standing archers; the second one is a chariot war array; the third unit consists of mixed forces with infantry, chariot and trooper standing in rectangular array; and the last one includes numerous troopers holding weapons. The four units form a rigorous battle array.

Vault Three is the smallest one. There are only 68 terracotta figures, many of which are without heads. It's obvious that Vault Three represents the command post, as all the figures are officials.

The excavated terracotta figures fall into three major categories: infantry, cavalry, and charioteers.

Jade figures, there is a pricey shop with AWESOME jade stuff

The infantry can be further divided into subcategories, including officers of high, middle, and low rank, light-armed and heavy-armed foot soldiers, and standing and kneeling archers.

The charioteers can be further divided into two subcategories: chariot drivers and chariot warriors.

The general wears two layers of robes beneath an armored tunic that protects his chest, back, and shoulders. He wears square-toed shoes, which are lightweight and curve upwards at the front. Only one general was found in Pit 1 and two in Pit 2

Armored warriors wear robes covered by turtleneck, heavily armored capes designed to protect their chests, backs, and shoulders.

Cavalrymen wear pillbox hats, neck scarves, and light body armor to the front and back. Their shoes are soft and round at the toes so as not to injure their mounts.

Chariot drivers have extra protection for their outstretched arms and hands that need to control the horses’ reigns. They wear helmets to protect the back of their necks.

Hairstyle  two types. The first type includes figures wearing their hair in a bun on the right side of the head. The other type depicts figures wearing their hair in a plait and forming a bun at the top of the head that was then covered with a cloth cap

Many of the figures originally held real weapons of the time, such as bronze swords, longbows, arrows, spears, dagger-axes, and other long-shafted weapons. The weapons were treated to make them resistant to rust and corrosion, so that, even after being buried for over 2,000 years, they are still sharp

The grounds were bursting with peach blossoms in full bloom, pretty sight!

We walked back to the bus station. There is a movie on TW  included with our entry ticket but we chose to skip it

 This is our bus;  it started off as soon as we got in

We got back to Xi'an train station... nice butterfly topiary

We put our souvenirs in our hotel room, then made our way to the Drum tower and Bell Tower

Sidewalks were an explosion of color with petunias

Even walls were innovatively ivy, flower clad...




Two wheelers have sensible extensions to keep away sun, rain with a simple canopy. They also have quilted gloves and covers to keep away the chilly winds

Bell Tower of Xian 钟楼 Zhōnglóu :

 8.30-18; combo bell and drum towers 50 CNY

Take Metro Line 2 and get off at Zhonglou (Bell Tower) Station. Get out from Exit B. 

The Bell Tower, is a stately traditional building, that marks the geographical center of the ancient capital. From this important landmark extend East, South, West and North Streets, connecting the tower to the East, South, West and North Gates of the City Wall of the Ming Dynasty. 

The wooden tower, which is the largest and best-preserved of its kind in China, is 36 meters (118 feet) high. It stands on a brick base 35.5 meters (116.4 feet) long and 8.6 meters (28.2 feet) high on each side. During the Ming Dynasty, Xian was an important military town

The tower was built in 1384 by Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang as a way to dominate the surrounding countryside and provide early warning of attack by rival rulers.

It has three layers of eaves but only two stories. Inside, a staircase spirals up. The grey bricks of the square base, the dark green glazed tiles on the eaves, gold-plating on the roof and gilded color painting make the tower a colorful and dramatic masterpiece of Ming-style architecture. In addition to enhancing the beauty of the building, the three layers of eaves reduce the impact of rain on the building. 

 GREAT views from above...enhanced by the manicured flower beds and lovely flower clock

Then we walked on to the Drum Tower

Drum Tower of Xi'an (西安鼓楼):

The Bell Tower bell was struck at dawn, the drum was beat at sunset to indicate the end of the day

The architecture style of the Drum Tower is a combination of the styles of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the Qing Dynasty. 

However, it also has some innovative features... there is no iron nail used anywhere in the Tower.

there are twenty-four drums in its north and south sides. They stand for the Twenty-four Solar Terms which is a kind of weather calendar created by the Chinese ancients in order to guide the agricultural production.

Inside the Drum Tower there is a drum museum, where a variety of drums are on display, some dating back thousands of years.

There is a drum show performed here every day. 09:30, 10:15, 11:00, 11:45, 14:00, 14:45, 15:30, 16:20 We were fortunate to be there for the show at 15.30 and caught it on video. Here's the link:

Xi'an Drum Tower performance:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Mnf7fsETvN7fD8Dp9

There is a lovely antique furniture display. We had seen top notch stuff at Pingyao, this was a repeat, but great as well

The top of the tower commands a panoramic view of the city.

Our next target was the Great Mosque. But lost our way a bit and spent an hour wandering in the Muslim quarter. Lots of food but we finicky vegetarians felt " not a drop to drink!"

Great Mosque 大清真寺 Dà qīngzhēnsì :

8-19, 25 CNY

The Great Mosque in Xian is one of the oldest, largest and best-preserved Islamic mosques in China and its location is northwest to the Drum Tower on Huajue Lane.

According to historical records engraved on a stone tablet inside, it was built in 742 during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Arab merchants and travelers from Persia and Afghanistan during the mid-7th century had settled down in China and married women of Han Nationality.

 The Muslims played an important role in the unification of China during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. Hence, other mosques were also built to honor them.  

We were lucky enough to catch the Prayer call and watch the devout assemble. Sat there in the lovely compound enjoying the serenity.

Again the peach blossoms created an AWESOME ambience

We wanted to go the City wall next but were a bit tired. Greatly regret missing the Lantern festival there. Also I wanted son to go to the train station and buy tickets for the next day's trip to Luoyang. He did not and we totally regret this as we wasted more than an hour the next day buying the tickets!

VIDEO LINK:

Terracotta Army:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/FF3vSntoJR8NPDeT8

Report on our Luoyang day trip is here:

http://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2018/04/china-trip-report-day-9-luoyang-longmen.html