China - the Mainland

Then we got into the real China. I went on a crew tour where we flew inland to Xian where they are famous for the Terra Cotta Warriors. There is a mausoleum where Emperor QinShihuang, the first emperor of China lies along with wealth from 30+ years of his reign. In 1974, a farmer was digging a well and came upon a clay face of a warrior. They discovered there was an army of 8000 soldiers plus horses that were built to guard the emperor’s tomb. All the soldiers have different facial features and body types. The site is now series of museums. There are still archeologists piecing things together. They have determined there is so much wealth in the tomb but on trying to retrieve it, such things as fine silk disintegrate a few minutes after they are touched by air. So they are saving it until there is a technology which will protect whatever is inside.



I bought a book telling the whole story and met the farmer who first discovered this national treasure and had him sign my book! We don’t have to feel so bad about our Indian treaties – this man was paid 100 lbs of wheat by the Chinese government for all these treasures.



We had a traditional “dumpling dinner” that evening where the dumplings are in the form of what is inside – duck, pork (pig), chicken, etc. And everywhere we went, we ate with chopsticks. We attended the Ding Dynasty Chinese show that evening for some local music and dancing. One of our crew had a Canadian friend living in Xian and teaching English that we connected with. It was great to hear his stories. One of his teaching methods was to give an incentive to his students where the top 8 in the class were invited to his home for a traditional turkey dinner where they learned to eat with a knife and fork. We also visited the city wall – in the old city there were street markets of fresh fish and produce from the nearby farms. The custom is to exercise each day so on the new side there were ping pong tables as far as you could see with people playing, some doing tai chi, others kick-boxing and there were women with special chairs who gave free haircuts in the park each day. It’s quite an interesting culture and I hope to return some day.








I’ll have to continue my China story of the Great Wall at a later time as I am running late and as when we arrive in Japan, they block all internet so I’ll get this much posted for now.