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THAT'S A LOTTA TERRACOTTA!!
Arriving into Xi'an in the early evening we rushed straight to a city theatre to see the Tang Dynasty Palace Show and enjoy a 'dumpling banquet'. The performance was a variety of dances from the Tang Dynasty era with elaborate sets, ornate costumes and regal colours and was certainly a sight to behold. The food was tasty too. Joel definitely got his dumpling fix with an endless supply being brought to our table during the evening.
After the show, we dropped our packs off at the hotel and went for a wander to explore 'Bar Street' - a narrow lane full of different types of bars and pubs where we chose an 80s bar for a bit of a nightcap.
Up bright and early the next morning we went to check out the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, an old Buddhist temple in the middle of the city, and got shown some Chinese calligraphy and brushwork. I think the guide inside the temple was a bit miffed when she introduced us to an apparent "very famous artist" and when asked by him if we wanted our names painted we politely declined ("But I am Bamboo King, I am very famous in China"). Joel considered telling him he was "Paua King" and equally famous in Stokes Valley but somehow I think it would've been lost in translation.
We then drove out of the city to the site of the famous Terracotta Warriors and spent the afternoon wandering around the museum and the three enormous pits full of the ancient figures that were accidentally discovered in the 1970s by a farmer digging his well. The scene really is something very special and just like the Great Wall of China the photos don't really do it justice. The warriors were built and then buried as part of an elaborate tomb for the emperor and to this day they estimate that only 1/20th of the area has been unearthed. In fact, just last year they discovered another huge pit between Pits #2 and #3 that they will begin excavating in the near future. Our guide kept us in suspense and took us for a delicious noodle lunch (where we watched the very clever chef preparing 'stretch noodles') before we went to the largest section, Pit #1, which was filled with the impressive, restored warriors lined up row upon row.
After leaving the warriors (bucket-list, TICK!) we headed into the Muslim Quarter full of small shops and snack stalls. We visited the old Great Mosque built in traditional Chinese style (very different from the mosques we know in Arabia) and explored the busy market area buying a teeny-tiny souvenir warrior that we could squish into our already bursting backpacks!
We spent the remainder of our time in Xi'an roaming around a sundry of underground markets jam-packed with thousands of curios and trinkets, gadgets and gizmos - if I didn't drag Joel away we'd probably still be there! Surfacing from the underground warrens, we found the streets of Xi'an beautifully lit up with red lamps, fireworks displays and thousands of floating lanterns high up in the sky to celebrate the end of the Spring Festival.
On our final morning we decided to cycle around the old city wall and enjoy a different view of the area. Xi'an is the only city in China that kept its ancient city wall from being demolished by modern construction. We decided to try out a tandem bicycle and pedalled (well Joel pedalled, I mostly relaxed on the back) our way around the top of the city.
High: Pit #1 at the Terracotta Warriors - simply magnificent!
Low: Dropping my camera while biking around the city wall … thankfully it still works but is in dire need of some professional attention!
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