by Keith Kellett
One day, in 1974, a group of Chinese farmers near the city of Xi’an set out to dig a well. What they found was to become world famous, and some of their finds would tour the major cities, for as many people as possible to see.
Instead of water, they came face to face with a soldier. Not a miniature soldier, but a life-sized models, in terracotta. And, there were more. The size of the models varied with the status of the soldier being modeled; the officer was always taller than the foot-soldier, and the Generals were tallest of all.
Pottery has, of course, been known about since prehistory, and one of its earliest forms was earthenware, or terracotta.
These particular models date back to about 220 BC, and are believed to have been placed there to guard the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang in the after-life, in a similar way to the ushbati figurines of ancient Egypt.
This was quite a common practice in China. The tomb of Lady Fu Hao, the influential wife of the petty king Wu Ding, who had died a thousand years before, was found to contain skeletons … believed to be servants who had been executed, so they could continue to serve the lady in the afterlife.
Emperor Qin’s tomb is only a couple of kilometres away from the soldiers, and occasional random artifacts had always been found in the area. But, the tomb has never been excavated.
When archaeologists investigated the site where the soldiers had been found, they were astonished at what they discovered.
There was much more than the few figures that the farmers found. Here was rank upon rank of model soldiers, each one different; it was believed that actual soldiers had acted as models for each piece. If this was the case, their facial characteristics, and differences in their dress and equipment show from what a large area the soldiers were recruited. There were archers, cavalrymen, charioteers and foot-soldiers. Most of them held real weapons; some of these still exist, but many of these have either decayed over time, or been looted in the past.
Originally, the figures were brightly painted, but this has faded almost to nothing over the ages. It’s believed there are many more still to be discovered; some estimates put the total figure at over 8000. But any further excavation has been put on hold, for it’s thought that any still to be discovered figures may have retained their original colours, so they’re waiting until such time as a method of fixing those colours can be devised.
Most of the soldiers are still in their original positions, ranged in their files in the three pits which have been excavated so far. Some, though, have toured the world, visiting such places as London, Toronto, San Francisco and Sydney. They proved so popular that, when they were exhibited at the British Museum in 2008, the Museum had to remain open until midnight to accommodate everyone who wanted to see them.
The public aren’t allowed into the pits themselves. That’s a privilege normally reserved only for trained archaeologists and visiting Heads of State. There’s a balcony around each pit, though, from which they can be viewed. But, if you want some close-up images, there’s a gallery within the museum in which some selected figures are displayed in glass cases … most spectacular of which is the bronze chariot, provided to convey the Emperor in the afterlife.
Better still, there are more examples in the Shaanxi Museum, in Xi’an. We took many shots here, for we had heard that photography was forbidden around the pits themselves. We subsequently found that was wrong, although use of flash is not allowed. But, people appeared not to be taking a great deal of notice of that!
Xian Terracotta Warriors and VIP Access to Tang Dynasty Murals Private Tour
If You Go:
♦ There is an airport at Xi’an which serves most Chinese cities, as well as a limited number of overseas destinations. Most travelers will probably arrive at Beijing or Shanghai, and connect to a domestic flight from there.
♦ From these cities, it is also possible to get to Xi’an by long-distance bus or rail. Typical journey times are 14 hours from Beijing on a standard train; five hours on a ‘bullet train’. From Shanghai, the times are given as 18 hours and 11 hours.
♦ Special tourist buses operate to most of the attractions around the city. These are available to independent travelers as well as organised groups. Local people use them, too. The but for the Terracotta Warriors is Line 5, which leaves frequently from the square to the east of the railway station.
Skip-The-Line One Day Small-Group Terracotta Army Discovery Trip
About the author:
Having written as a hobby for many years while serving in the Royal Air Force, Keith Kellett saw no reason to discontinue his hobby when he retired. With time on his hands, he produced more work, and found, to his surprise, it ‘grew and grew’ and was good enough to finance his other hobbies; traveling, photography and computers. He is trying hard to prevent it from becoming a full-time job! He has published in many UK and overseas print magazines, and on the Web. He is presently trying to get his head around blogging, podcasting and video. keith-kellett@tinyworld.co.uk
All photos are by Keith Kellett.
Amazingly one of the largest mosques in Central Asia was built in just five years as Timur rushed in architects to finish the job. This lack of patience, as well as humility, fatally undermined the building and as large cracks appeared in the masonry it fell into disuse before an earthquake in 1897 leveled a significant section. The mosque is still in this semi-ruined state. The main prayer hall sits beneath a light blue dome which crouching behind another large tiled entrance façade. The sky blue dome is now crowned by a growth of moss and along the outside walls parts of the tiled covering have crumbled away littering the ground with dark and light blue fragments.
Only a small part of the Ak-Sarai is left but it’s enough to demonstrate the scale of the palace. Two towers of brick would have been connected into a giant arch but are now separated. Standing at 65m the towers dwarf anything in Samarkand. Whilst now two huge piles of brick, at the time the towers would have been awash with the ubiquitous blues and turquoise of Timur’s other constructions. Some traces of this beauty are found on the walls lining the gulf between these two towers. Hesitantly I climbed the interior stairs to reach the flat open air top. At first there was little I could do but stand in the middle of the platform gazing at the flat green country around. When I nervously approached the edge and took a quick look over a low wobbly fence to the distant ground below a sudden bout of dizziness quickly made me step back.
The most famous set of buildings in Samarkand are the three madrasas standing together on Registan Square. Once again I was staring up at large brick structures over laid with an array of blue tiles. Here though it is the decoration rather than the size which was meant to leave an impression. The three buildings form a square with one side left open, perhaps meant to be filled by a line of astonished onlookers. The area between, the ‘Sandy Place’ (Registan), was the main public square of Samarkand. The three madrasas seem to lean in and shrink the already small square.
Opposite, the 15th century Ulugh Beg Madrasa presents lighter colours, with yellows and purples adding to the traditional blue and turquoise. On the third side of the square sits the madrasa of Tilya Kan with a light blue dome poking up on the left side. Each of the buildings would be a major landmark on their own were they to be separated. Together they form an utterly unique space. Yet as I crisscrossed the square from one building to another there was the sad feeling that the space is a little too well restored. The cleaned and polished buildings, missing not a single inch of tile despite being several hundred years old, bear the hallmarks of a professional but perhaps overly zealous restoration.
Despite the hours, a co-teacher and I decided to spend one of our short weekends out of town, and made a bee-line from our Seoul address to the town of Samcheok on the eastern coastline.
Outside of notorious areas in South East Asia, I had normally found traveling through Asia to be (at least on the surface) a sexually tame area. Tradition and protocol seem to dictate that people keep modesty and save face. So it was a bit of a shock to come across such blatant eroticism in South Korea and of course begs the question as to why these penises exist in the first place.
We spent the day wandering among these outlandish statues, laughing and taking ridiculous photos. The dark colors of the penises blended beautifully with deep azure of the Pacific Ocean. After the park we walked along the beach and along with dozens of other families we frolicked in the shallow water, some cold beers in our hands. As the sun slowly set and we made our way back to the bus stand, our brief voyage into the world of South Korean dicks came to end. I pondered in my head how a park such as this would be received back in parts of the United States, and I realized that maybe South Korea wasn’t so prudish after all.
What a majestic creature! That hunts with Precision, Planning and Speed. We were very fortunate to see this majestic creature hunting in Zone- 3. Being there and observing the hunt from a distance, we could sense the fear that the prey (deer & sambars) felt while running for life in the lake. This bolt happened after one member from the herd made the call and informed others of the danger.
Some of the animals and birds showed curiosity towards the tourists entering their territory and some behaved as if they have been eagerly waiting for you to click their pictures, especially the Langoors. An interesting thing to note about them was that all of them were so used to humans visiting their habitat that they were least bothered and continued doing what they were busy with.
After a 75-minute flight from Shenzhen, we arrive in Guilin, Guanxi Autonomous Region, taxi to our hotel and arrange our river trip through the hotel concierge. Luggage deposited, and ready for lunch, Snow suggests we b-line for one of many street shacks to enjoy some of Guilin’s famous rice noodles or mifen (mee-fnn). We dollop the noodles with our choices of self-serve condiments: soybeans, scallions, fried peanuts and pickled white radish in chili sauce. This bargain-priced specialty’s spicy, seasoned broth simmered for hours, makes it.
We depart early for our four-hour river journey from Guilin to Yangshuo. Tourist vans and buses fill the adjacent parking lot. Hundreds line up for tickets. A fleet of boats nestled in the harbour braces for the throngs. Chinese tourists, as well as those from other countries, flock here. Once aboard, we navigate towards the front of the two-level boat where others gather, cameras clicking.
The magical passage ends in Yangshuo where rows of open-air market stalls greet us: souvenir scroll paintings, bamboo items, ethnic minority handicrafts and vibrant pashminas.Yangshuo’s famous Xi Jie (West Street) oozes with shops for tourists to leave a few Yuan. Prices are flexible.
The next day Zhao will take us to Xingping. His uncle has a raft there. We need to see the karst terrain up close and more personal before we leave.
We board the Xingping minibus at Yangshuo’s bus terminal. A regional centre in 265 AD, Xingping was replaced by Yangshuo around 590 AD. We stride past architecture reflecting history – flying eaves and black tiles on sloping roofs dating back to the Qing and Ming dynasty. Goal-focused Zhao hurries us through narrow, uneven streets, heading for the pipe-raft docks along the Li River.
After a tasty snack of dried fish, we motor back to Xingping. We pass the karst scene on the back of Chinese 20 Yuan note, a panoramic arrangement of taller karsts on either side of lower, background ones. We say farewell to Zhao’s uncle and race to catch the last minibus of the day returning to Yangshuo, again trying to keep up with Zhao.
