How to Experience Xi’an, China in 24 Hours

Terracotta Warrior Museum

• Emperor Qin Shihuang’s tomb is located in Southern Xi’an old city. An estimated 500 tombs have been found in the area. Emporer Qin Shihuang’s monument is the most elaborate in China, taking over 700,000 workers 37 years to complete. 

Pit 1

• The Terracotta Warriors are one of China’s greatest archaeological discoveries. More than 8,000 clay soldiers, horses, and chariots forced to serve in Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi’s army in his afterlife stand on guard. Endless rows of terracotta statues stand in lines separated by dirt walls streaked with ash.

• The Terracotta Warrior Museum consists of 3 excavation pits, an ancient weapons exhibit, and a bronze and chariot exhibit. The first pit was discovered in 1974 by farmers drilling a well. 

• The soldiers stand facing East at 5′ 11” high. Molds were used to create the warriors’ heads, arms, hands, legs, and hollow torsos. After the heads were made, artists used clay to create a unique expression for each warrior.

Pit 2: Military Units

• The second vault is still undergoing excavation and estimated to be roughly half the size of Pit 1. To date 1,300 warriors and horses have been found in the L shaped area. Here cavalry and infantry soldiers, kneeling and standing archers, and chariots were discovered. The kneeling archer, being more compact, was able to withstand the pressure and is the best preserved of the terracotta statues.

Pit 3 : The Command Post

• The third U shaped pit is the command post. This is the smallest pit and is still being excavated. Only 68 terracotta warriors and horses have been found so far. Piles of legs, arms, and torsos lie waiting to become whole again.

Exhibits

• Several well preserved warriors are on display in the weapons and bronze chariot exhibits, located inside Pit 2. At one time, the warriors stood vibrant with color, but as the warriors were excavated the paint reacted to the air causing the color to vanish almost immediately. Scientists continue to search for an answer to preserving the colors of the past.

• Many of the soldiers have curved hands once grasping a weapon stolen during the raiding and scorching by Xiang Yu. Weapons surviving the raid are displayed in the weapons exhibition. Scientists were stumped to find the weapons showing no sign of corrosion. Further discovery revealed the swords contain a protective coating of chromium. The chrome plating technology protecting against corrosion was used in China 2,025 years before it was “invented” by the Germans in 1937, and then “invented” again by Americans in 1950. 

Muslim Quarter

• The Muslim Quarter, located in the old city of Xi’an, is home to more than 20,000 Muslims. Architecture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties is on display among the shops, restaurants, and vendors selling silk pictures, Chinese dresses, umbrellas, scarves, t-shirts, jewelry, statues, jade, and local food. All of the businesses in the area are owned by local Muslims.

• Come hungry to enjoy the endless stands of noodles, pretzels, rice snacks, fruit, candy, soup dumplings, mystery meat, fruit pies, bread, and sticks of deep fried crabs, scorpions, and potato spirals.

Drum and Bell Towers

•  Similar to Beijing, the Drum Tower (pictured left) and Bell Tower (pictured right) were used to communicate the time to the city with morning bells and evening drums. Adorable cartoon characters line the stairs of the bell tower located near the South gate of the city walls.

Old City Walls

• The moat and brick walls enclosing the old city of Xi’an were once the largest display of military defense in the world. The old city wall is considered to be one of the best preserved in China. Visitors can rent bicycles and tour the city walls in about 2 hours.

• 3 watch towers guard each of the main gates along the wall measuring 8.5 miles long, 40 feet high, and as wide as 60 feet in some areas. The city is only accessible through one of the 4 gates: eternal joy, forever harmony, eternal peace, and harmony peace. 

*For more information on our tour check out: G Adventures China Express.

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September 2017