After a generous breakfast at my hotel, nothing like a gentle walk to
South Gate and then walking by the Old City Walls, enjoying walking in
the park between the wall and the canal, and away from traffic
pollution and noise. Interesting to see all the gym equipment that is
installed in the park, not just some bars to do pull-ups, but massage
equipment, static bicycles of various types, running machines...
All this relaxing atmosphere came to an end when, just a few metres
from the next bridge to the street, the path was blocked by some
works, and I could only walk back again the whole length of the park
and again the same distance, this time by the traffic-packed-road to
the train station where the buses to the Terracotta Army
Archaeological site stop.
Imagine a surface like half Tiananmen Sq. nearly as long but half as
wide, in front of the station. In that surface there a taxi stand with
literally hundreds of taxis, and a square with literally a thousand
people arriving, leaving, selling drinks or food, or trying to meet
someone who is arriving by train or bus or who is simply lost, or
carrying a huge sack of some rice, cereal, whatever... Actually, in
the middle of that crowd, there's a fence so that security people can
check the tickets of people intending to travel by train before they
are allowed to even get closer to the station building.
Finally I arrive to some part of this chaos where plenty of buses,
minibuses, urban buses and long distance coaches are arriving, waiting
or departing. My guidebook says I should look for a green coach or for
urban bus number 306.
A somewhat angry mob surrounds the door of a green minibus not far
from me. It says on the bus that it goes to the "Terracotta Army and
Horses", so that must be it. The bus is full already, and not taking
any more customers, and that's why the mob is angry. The bus finally
leaves and the mob kind of relaxes a bit. Meanwhile I check for the
306 bus as alternative, but the queue is about 300m long. 306 buses
arrive, load and laave as fast as it takes to load and unload, but I
guess it will be better to wait for the next green coach.
Two white and purple minibuses arrive to next parking place. It also
says "Terracotta Army and Horses", in very small letters, but no one
from the mob (in which I'm now included) try to board those. After a
while, two more green minibuses arrive, and like a cell reproducing,
the mob splits in two and proceeds to attack each bus. Slowly, the
people trying to alight from the bus manage to filter though the mob
trying to get in. Once all passengers have alighted it's brawl time.
No quarter, no gentlemanly courtesies, everyone wants to board the
bus, and there are no friends in that. Long years of going to the
second-hand book market in Barcelona pay off. I'm in the bus!! And I
even have a seat!! (yes, the very last one, at the very end, to the
left, by the window).
The bus rapidly takes off as soon as noone else fits, surely to avoid
any retaliation from angry mobsters left behind. Now it's time to make
sure I'm in the right bus, but I seem to be the only westerner in the
bus. No one seems to speak anything but Chinese. I show my guidebook
to the guy sitting by my side, and point at the name in Chinese of my
destination. He replies in Chinese (obviously) and pointing to the
parking lot, which I guess it means I should have taken another bus,
but he doesn't seem worried in the least, which in turn I assume means
that this bus, may be not being optimal, will also get me there. When
I show the same to the woman charging for the ride, she just charges
me the same fare as to everyone, so it must be the right bus.
I wait, I look at the landscape (grey, smoggy, industrial... there are
some mountains in the distance, but you can't really see them as they
are deep in the haze), I try to learn to count to ten in Chinese, and
also to count with my fingers Chinese style, with the help of my
neighbor. I also eat some cheese biscuits.
At some point, most of the people leave the bus. It's time to ask
again, this time to the driver. He gestures me to wait and sit in
front. We are not there yet. Some time later, he signals me to leave
the bus, and points emphatically towards the other side of the road. I
leave the bus, I cross the road.
The first large building, behind a coach parking lot, seems to be a
restaurant for organised tours. I keep looking for the Archaeological
site. I arrive to an a promenade full of fast food restaurants,
souvenir shops and other businesses typical of tourist destinations. I
must be getting closer. As many people walk downhill I head for that
direction... but after a while I discover that is the direction of the
parking lot. So, uphill it is... I finally arrive to the top of the
hill and that starts to look like the entrance to either a Sci-Fi
military complex or to a Chinese archaeological touristic attraction.
Of course I need a ticket. But tickets are sold... guess where... yes,
at the bottom of the hill, by the parking lot.
20 minutes later I'm back with my ticket but little patience left. I
pass two ticket check barriers and security controls (it must be the
Sci-Fi military complex, after all), and after crossing some park I'm
in.
I start with the exhibition hall to learn about the discovery, the
different finds, what was in each pit, and the plans for the museum
expansion. Then I head to the buildings that contain the excavation
sites themselves (yes, those that look like Sci-Fi space station
military bunkers).
First one contains the larger excavation pit. It's literally the size
of an hangar. A large one. Many hundreds of real size clay soldiers
stand to attention in their pits, while others are still being dug and
reconstructed. There's no way to describe the size of it all, probably
not even the pictures can transmit that feeling. Anyway, there are two
more pits, one that is being attributed to be some sort of
headquarters with the high ranking officers, and another one with more
soldiers.
All of this is very impressive, but the crowds of Chinese tours are
also overwhelming, and once I've satisfied myself that I've seen,
photographed and explored all there was to see, it's time to retreat
and start going back to Xi'an. This time I manage to get a bus almost
as soon as I get to the parking lot by the road, and the way back is
rather relaxing.
Once in Xi'an, I do a small detour on the way from the station to the
hotel to visit the Taoist Temple of the 8 Immortals, from there,
passing by an antiques market, and back to the old town and to rest a
few minutes in my hotel before going for dinner to the oldest
traditional Chinese restaurant in Xi'an.
South Gate and then walking by the Old City Walls, enjoying walking in
the park between the wall and the canal, and away from traffic
pollution and noise. Interesting to see all the gym equipment that is
installed in the park, not just some bars to do pull-ups, but massage
equipment, static bicycles of various types, running machines...
All this relaxing atmosphere came to an end when, just a few metres
from the next bridge to the street, the path was blocked by some
works, and I could only walk back again the whole length of the park
and again the same distance, this time by the traffic-packed-road to
the train station where the buses to the Terracotta Army
Archaeological site stop.
Imagine a surface like half Tiananmen Sq. nearly as long but half as
wide, in front of the station. In that surface there a taxi stand with
literally hundreds of taxis, and a square with literally a thousand
people arriving, leaving, selling drinks or food, or trying to meet
someone who is arriving by train or bus or who is simply lost, or
carrying a huge sack of some rice, cereal, whatever... Actually, in
the middle of that crowd, there's a fence so that security people can
check the tickets of people intending to travel by train before they
are allowed to even get closer to the station building.
Finally I arrive to some part of this chaos where plenty of buses,
minibuses, urban buses and long distance coaches are arriving, waiting
or departing. My guidebook says I should look for a green coach or for
urban bus number 306.
A somewhat angry mob surrounds the door of a green minibus not far
from me. It says on the bus that it goes to the "Terracotta Army and
Horses", so that must be it. The bus is full already, and not taking
any more customers, and that's why the mob is angry. The bus finally
leaves and the mob kind of relaxes a bit. Meanwhile I check for the
306 bus as alternative, but the queue is about 300m long. 306 buses
arrive, load and laave as fast as it takes to load and unload, but I
guess it will be better to wait for the next green coach.
Two white and purple minibuses arrive to next parking place. It also
says "Terracotta Army and Horses", in very small letters, but no one
from the mob (in which I'm now included) try to board those. After a
while, two more green minibuses arrive, and like a cell reproducing,
the mob splits in two and proceeds to attack each bus. Slowly, the
people trying to alight from the bus manage to filter though the mob
trying to get in. Once all passengers have alighted it's brawl time.
No quarter, no gentlemanly courtesies, everyone wants to board the
bus, and there are no friends in that. Long years of going to the
second-hand book market in Barcelona pay off. I'm in the bus!! And I
even have a seat!! (yes, the very last one, at the very end, to the
left, by the window).
The bus rapidly takes off as soon as noone else fits, surely to avoid
any retaliation from angry mobsters left behind. Now it's time to make
sure I'm in the right bus, but I seem to be the only westerner in the
bus. No one seems to speak anything but Chinese. I show my guidebook
to the guy sitting by my side, and point at the name in Chinese of my
destination. He replies in Chinese (obviously) and pointing to the
parking lot, which I guess it means I should have taken another bus,
but he doesn't seem worried in the least, which in turn I assume means
that this bus, may be not being optimal, will also get me there. When
I show the same to the woman charging for the ride, she just charges
me the same fare as to everyone, so it must be the right bus.
I wait, I look at the landscape (grey, smoggy, industrial... there are
some mountains in the distance, but you can't really see them as they
are deep in the haze), I try to learn to count to ten in Chinese, and
also to count with my fingers Chinese style, with the help of my
neighbor. I also eat some cheese biscuits.
At some point, most of the people leave the bus. It's time to ask
again, this time to the driver. He gestures me to wait and sit in
front. We are not there yet. Some time later, he signals me to leave
the bus, and points emphatically towards the other side of the road. I
leave the bus, I cross the road.
The first large building, behind a coach parking lot, seems to be a
restaurant for organised tours. I keep looking for the Archaeological
site. I arrive to an a promenade full of fast food restaurants,
souvenir shops and other businesses typical of tourist destinations. I
must be getting closer. As many people walk downhill I head for that
direction... but after a while I discover that is the direction of the
parking lot. So, uphill it is... I finally arrive to the top of the
hill and that starts to look like the entrance to either a Sci-Fi
military complex or to a Chinese archaeological touristic attraction.
Of course I need a ticket. But tickets are sold... guess where... yes,
at the bottom of the hill, by the parking lot.
20 minutes later I'm back with my ticket but little patience left. I
pass two ticket check barriers and security controls (it must be the
Sci-Fi military complex, after all), and after crossing some park I'm
in.
I start with the exhibition hall to learn about the discovery, the
different finds, what was in each pit, and the plans for the museum
expansion. Then I head to the buildings that contain the excavation
sites themselves (yes, those that look like Sci-Fi space station
military bunkers).
First one contains the larger excavation pit. It's literally the size
of an hangar. A large one. Many hundreds of real size clay soldiers
stand to attention in their pits, while others are still being dug and
reconstructed. There's no way to describe the size of it all, probably
not even the pictures can transmit that feeling. Anyway, there are two
more pits, one that is being attributed to be some sort of
headquarters with the high ranking officers, and another one with more
soldiers.
All of this is very impressive, but the crowds of Chinese tours are
also overwhelming, and once I've satisfied myself that I've seen,
photographed and explored all there was to see, it's time to retreat
and start going back to Xi'an. This time I manage to get a bus almost
as soon as I get to the parking lot by the road, and the way back is
rather relaxing.
Once in Xi'an, I do a small detour on the way from the station to the
hotel to visit the Taoist Temple of the 8 Immortals, from there,
passing by an antiques market, and back to the old town and to rest a
few minutes in my hotel before going for dinner to the oldest
traditional Chinese restaurant in Xi'an.
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