Xi'an is the locale where they recently (~10 years ago) found the largest cache of archaelogical treasure ever - 6,000 full-size terra cotta soldiers, in full battle array. I'll warn you now - they do not allow picture taking within the museum, so I have no pictures of the actual site. Mebbe after I make this first pass by all the stuff I do have, I'll scan in some of the photos from the picture books I purchased, to fill in the gaps.

Before we went to see the big-name site, we went to visit a smaller museum, the Banpo village museum. This site was discovered as they began to dig the foundation for a coal-fired power plant, forcing the relocation of the plant. The village was determined to be approximately 5,000 years old, the houses made of sticks and mud. The society in this village is assumed to be matriarchial. I don't know how they determine that from a few remains of pots and such... Anyway, to honor the matriarchial nature of this village, they erected a statue at the entrance, depicting a young woman pouring water from a jar. They continued this theme in the architecture of the museum cafe.

Inside, we could walk around a catwalk surrounding the actual dig site. It was fairly dark, so there isn't much detail in the pictures. The houses were either square or round, the assumption being that the square ones were later. Posts were stuck in the ground to define the perimeter, then covered with straw matting, and plastered with mud. Similar treatment for roofs over lashed-on roof poles to a center support pole. Some of the houses had fire pits in them, while others did not - it was assumed these were for animal shelter. There were several jar-shaped pits around the site, with small openings, and larger bases below ground. It was assumed these were for food storage. The dead were buried in graves, except for infants, who were interred in clay jars right next to the dwellings. the jars were left with a small opening above the surface, supposedly so the spirit could escape to go where it is that spirits go.

On the bus ride, we met our new local guide (name escapes me!), and were filled in on some more history. China made four significant contributions to the world: Paper making, Printing, Gunpowder, and the Compass. One of the new concepts in China today, is private ownership of real estate. Rather than be assigned an apartment, there is now a market to purchase apartments, at the rate of 3,000 yuan per square meter, with a typical apartment averaging 60 sq meters.

We were now getting closer to the main attraction. First stop was the factory where they make 'official' replicas of the statues for sale to tourists and art collectors. We were warned about buying inferior copies that may be available on the street. Terra cotta literally means 'baked earth', so it begins with clay, molded or sculpted, then fired at a high temperature. Some of the statues are molded in several parts, then assembled by the workers prior to firing. Our guide displays a two-part mold used for a small figure. Josie examines a full-size statue displayed in a broken-away mold. You'll notice that there is no head. The bodies were apparently formed in molds, with only a limited number of patterns, yet they have not yet found two heads alike. It appears that they had every member of the emperor's army sit for a sculptor to individually form the heads. After firing, some of the figures are decorated with colorful glazes and fired again. This was not the process used on the original terra cotta warriors. They were painted after firing, but not glazed. Some pictures exist of brightly-painted faces and armor as the excavation was uncovering them, but the paint faded almost immediately upon being exposed to the air. We were then led to the showroom where we, too could purchase copies of the antiquities we were yet to see. On the full size pieces, they would gladly include shipping for the price (~$1500 each) Smaller replicas were easier on the wallet, and fit better in a suitcase, too! We were shown a movie depicting the construction of the army, as well as a re-enactment of the discovery of the site by four farmers digging a well. One of the four farmers is still living, and was on site to sign autographs. Several of us bought picture books of the site, and had the priviledge of shaking his hand after he signed them for us.

We then went into the museum itself. It is huge - three large field houses covering the three major pits they are digging. Only the first quarter or so of each area has been unearthed. It is obvious the Chinese are taking great care of this treasure, and taking their time to preserve it properly. Some additional sites are also expected to contain additional significant objects, but they are intentionally delaying the opening until the technology is developed to inhibit the immediate oxidation and deterioration that occurs when it is exposed to the air for the first time in several thousand years. At a nearby site, to the side of the first emperor's burial mound, they found two bronze half-size chariots, ostensibly so the Emperor's spirit could come out and tour his kingdom. Back in the hotel lobby, they had a replica of the second (Emperor's ) chariot, which I was permitted to photograph. an amazing amount of detail was represented in it's construction, right down to the driver and horses with authentic harnesses, all in bronze.

On the way back to the hotel, we passed by a ceremony just outside a new restaurant. The guide told us that they were being given an award for excellent performance, and it appeared that one of them was lucky enough to be given a car. The next stop was a brief visit to an open market. Here, I had hoped to be able to interact more with the Chinese people, but I found I was largely ignored. We weren't being pestered by street vendors, the shop vendors were ignoring us, and it was difficult to elicit even a smile from anyone but the kids. Next to where we parked the bus, there was a new restaurant about to open. I managed to catch a few of the men working on the facade and sign, and one paused long enough to wave. While waiting for the others to get back to the bus, John and I took a walk down a side street, where we saw several small independent business - the chinese version of the fuller brush man, and several popcorn vendors. One small storefront was doing its cooking right in the doorway, and the flame from its stove shot several feet across the sidewalk - watch your step! This I saw all over China - small stands or bicycle-mounted carts selling food items. Especially in the summer, it is customary to go walking in the evening after dark, and pick up a snack from one of these vendors. In Guilin, there were several fairly large markets which did not open until after dark, and they remained open until after midnight. It was also common to see people, mostly men, crouched on the sidewalk playing a game which resembled checkers, but with mahjongg-like markings on the playing pieces.