Xi'an! You're the Man! Day 2

Sunday

Now Sunday was going to be a busy day! I was up and out by 730 and on my way to the train station to get the bus to the Terracotta Warriors! I was excited! Not even the heat could put me off and believe me when I say it was HOT. I grabbed a couple of steamed buns with beef inside them, which the proceeded to burn my mouth when I took a bite and got on the bus. Thank goodness the bus had air conditioning for the hour drive.

The way out was nice, lots of beautiful scenery! However we eventually made it to the Warrior Complex! It was now even hotter, 45 degrees... But still I was unperturbed! I paid my entrance fee and began the walk through the park that precedes the warrior complex. It was really nice but I was eager to see what I had come to Xi'an to see!

I arrived in the complex and headed straight for Pit 1, the most impressive pit. I walked in and was blown away. The pit was so huge and inside you could see a thousand terracotta faces staring at you. It was incredible; there is no other way to say it! Each soldier was different, their faces, their hair, their attire, all individual. It is unbelievable to think that these are over 2,200 years old!! They truly were a wonder to behold!

So after wondering around pit 1, I headed over to pit 3 which was a lot smaller and only partially excavated. It was interesting seeing the warriors in pieces sticking out from the ground. Originally this was the command centre of the army but this is the most damaged pit.

Next was pit 2 where they found the archers, it was really interesting seeing how the process the archaeologists went through to excavate, catalogue, study and eventually reassemble the warriors. I also didn't know that originally they were all painted!!

Next step was the museum and some much needed air con! The museum was good, it was great to see the warriors up close and see the bronze chariots and their horses. I didn't realise that there are terracotta acrobats too!!

I emerged out and saw huge crowds building up, something was going on. There were what looked like special police everywhere, men in suits, dark sunglasses, ear piece, the lot! Someone important was here! I joined the crowd and waited patiently eager to get a glimpse of the apparent celebrity. Soon the crowd cheered as a woman walked past waving and shaking hands accompanied by a fair few security guards I might add! She shook my hand as she walked past, still didn't know who she was but the Chinese were green with envy. After asking around I finally found out it was the President of South Korea!!!! I shook hands with the PRESIDENT OF SOUTH KOREA!!! Apparently she's their first woman president and a REALLY big deal! Look at me chilling with the politicians!!!! I wish I had got better photos of her now...

She's under one of those umbrellas!

After some more wandering around the complex I decided to head back to Xi'an. I walked to the bus and grabbed a wrap from Dico's (fast food... don't judge me, I was hungry!). I got on the bus and we began the drive back to Xi'an. 

Once I arrived I headed to the Bell tower; the bell tower is positioned in the centre of Xi'an and gives good views of the city walls and the city. It is about 700 years old and it quite impressive. I eventually worked out how to get to it (its in the middle of a roundabout...) and climbed up the steps. The view was great! I hung around there for a while waiting for the bell show to begin, it was really cool seeing them play the old fashioned Chinese bells and other traditional instruments!

Next stop was Starbucks, not for a caffeine fix (far too expensive) but to steal some electricity for my camera! I had been using it non-stop all day so it was running low on juice!
 

After charging I headed to the Muslim quarter to do some shopping. I wandered around for a couple of hours and got ripped off when buying some souvenirs but I also met a lady called Helen who owned a calligraphy shop. I was looking through her work as she did some personalised work for some very pushy American tourists. Once they had gone she thanked me for my patience and I told her how much I liked her work. She then decided to give me a free calligraphy lesson and teach me a few things! I can't say I was very good but she was a patient teacher and I soon did some half decent Chinese characters!! So I got some souvenirs which I painted myself!!! It was really great, she was amazing!

Next was the Drum tower; like the Bell Tower, the drum tower was built about 700 years ago. They used the drum during the night to separate the night into watches, during the day they used the bells in the bell tower. The drum tower was good, not as impressive as the bell tower though. However the drum show was very good!

After the drum tower I headed back into the Muslim Quarter to find some Paomo. Now paomo is a traditional Xi'an dish involving tearing bread into bread crumbs and then adding meat, vegetables and stock.

First you tear your bread into small pieces, the smaller the better! 

It should look like this!

Then they add the stock, meat and veg and it will look like this.

You eat it and enjoy, eventually it should look like this!

I was joined at my table by an old Canadian couple who just didn't do it right, the Chinese kept telling them to tear it into smaller pieces but they couldn't be bothered. They were rather annoying and the typical ignorant tourists...

After paomo I headed to back to the hostel for a cold shower before going to the Wild Goose Pagoda. The pagoda was really impressive and I knew that there was a light show at 830 so I waited and I waited and I waited. It got to 915 and still no light show. 

I was exhausted and hungry so I called it a night and headed back to the hostel for some food. I got a pizza and then went to bed ready for my last day in the morning. What a day eh? I was certainly EXHAUSTED by the end of it!