The Terracotta Warriors X’ian. China Day 5 May 4th 2019
We are often asked about our favourite sights and destinations. It is always hard to answer but today the warriors certainly made the “oh wow” list. I had seen some of the warriors in Melbourne but it is another matter seeing them in situ. Also, it is not only the number of warriors and the size of the pits they are in it also the amount of restoration work involved. In one pit alone it is estimated that it will take seventy years to restore the warriors buried there.
To get there we were picked up early this morning with a group of young backpackers from all over- they were great fun. It took about an hour to get to the site where we were capably bossed about by our local guide. Bossing about was necessary as the crowds were large but basically well organised. This was in contrast to what we had been told about the crowds on the previous days during the major public holiday when it was taking over an hour to move from the carpark to the entrance gate a feat that took us under 10 minutes. The photos and videos of the event the day before were unbelievable and we were glad to avoid them.
The whole area was dedicated to the memory of the Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di who is credited with unifying China in the third century BC. The work took forty years and seven hundred thousand people to complete. He himself is buried in the hill with his terracotta army arrayed around him. Whilst the tomb has not been open it is recorded in early texts that he created rivers of mercury within the hill itself. The discovery of the figures was made in 1974 by farmers digging a well. As you can see from the pictures the effort to restore and then protect the army from the elements and human beings is impressive.
A really good article can be found here https: Terracotta Army-National Geographic Article
Had a relaxed afternoon a few drinks with our fellow travellers an extremely spicy meal at a local restaurant and then to bed.
