Picking up where I left off last week, I would like to continue writing on my trip to Xi'An. I am bringing you to the infamous Terra Cotta dig site this week.
The chinese takes so much pride in the terra cotta they call this the eighth wonder in the world. I did not know how should I react to that statement when I first heard it but after seeing live I must say it indeed was breathtaking.
The Terra Cotta dig site is not too far away from downtown Xi'An, only a two hour bus ride from the train station to the drop site along the main road that runs parallel to the dig site. (I keep using the word dig site instead of terra cotta monument museum because it is really, still a dig site.) When you think about it, two hours ride is really nothing in China. It might mean a lot in Singapore though.
Alright, so we went to the bus station to catch the bus. The following picture might give you an idea of how it looked like. The space in front of the station was as big as dataran merdeka. The locals told me the whole place would be so flooded with people during peak seasons that they could hardly walk. wow...
And so we got on the bus. It was semi air-conditioned and the tiny LCD screen up ahead the aisle was showing a Jackie Chan movie. I havent seen that one before. A hollywood production.
It was a long walk from the place where the bus dropped us to the entrance of the dig site. It was so faraway that I dont want to waste your time showing you the endless rows of food stalls and souvenior stores. (and I bought stuff you know)
There are three dig sites in the whole museum ground. The biggest is site 1 and so on.
This picture was taken outside of dig site 1.
This is what you'd see getting into site 1. All of a sudden the whole world opens up right in front of you, hundreds of dirt dolls staring at you. I imagine if they were alive they might have thrown their spears at me.
Akiko was naturally overwhelmed.
A picture showing the main entrance. I wanted to show that this whole formation was and is underground.
There were many, I repeat, many foreigner visitors, with the most of them being French. (on that day that time)
Here is a piece of doll waiting to be restored. This was a manifest of time that spans 2200 years. I was overwhelmed.
You can still see the bones there. There was a tomb right on top of the site. The tomb was built during the time of Han dynasty.
On site 2 and 3 there were displays with proper lighting and explanation. This was the best shot I could take without taking in the people standing around the doll. I dont know how to put it in words but it was very creepy to see it in live. I mean, they really looked real.
A site waiting to be restored. I suppose it was a chariot.
All in all the Terra Cotta was very educating and we have had the time of our live going there.
We werent with any tour group so we got to see many things a normal tourist would never be showed.
We bargained and argued with the locals, we asked directions and ate like the locals and we even tried to act like the locals. It was all fun.
I would very much like to go there again.