Our post-tour didn’t start well. We won’t have a national guide with us. Rather, there are going to be a series of hand-offs between local guides. It all sounds fine, in theory, but none of us speak Chinese and the local guide can’t go beyond the security barrier. I’m glad that I bought a local SIM card. I have a feeling that we may need it. It is very foggy/smoggy today at the airport and we are flying to Xi’an.
The flight was delayed in boarding and once they closed the doors, we sat on the tarmac for long time. Of course, most of the announcements were in Chinese, but one of the attendants did make brief announcements in English, which was helpful and for which I was very grateful. They were very vague about when we were leaving and I’m not sure why they were in such a rush to board us if they couldn’t take off. When they went through the cabin to serve us drinks and later a meal service, I took it as a bad sign. I assume the fog/smog caused flight delays. After a long wait, the plane was finally cleared for take off (in mid-meal I might add, so the food was hastily yanked away from us) . We arrived in Xi’an hot, sweaty, and about two or three hours late.
Once we collected our luggage, we had a big change in our schedule and headed not to Qin’s tomb with the life-size terracotta warriors, but rather to the Hanyangling Underground Museum, which displays some of the burial pits surrounding the tombs of another emperor, Jingdi (188-141BC) and his wife Empress Wang of the Western Han Dynasty. The burial pits include miniature terracotta figures (~3’ high) with weapons, court women in Han costumes, and countless animals, all set up to attend to the dead emperor.
We were rushed through the museum because it was going to close soon, which was a shame. The museum was an impressive presentation. If the photos are grainy, it is because the light is kept very low and the temperature is kept cool to preserve the figures.
We drove into the city of Xi’an, often bumping along on an access road that paralleled a perfectly good highway. I’m not sure why, but I suspect that the driver was trying to avoid the road tolls.
Xi’an is a fascinating city. It stills retains its intact city walls (recently refurbished from the look of them). Historically, Xi’an was an important city, serving as the capital for 11 Chinese dynasties. There is even a Muslim section in the city that we were supposed to visit, but the tour was scrapped. Again, I’m not entirely sure why. I’m sure that our late arrival messed up our tightly packed itinerary and the Great Mosque was closed, although I didn’t quite understand why we couldn’t walk around the historic area, as scheduled. Maybe it wasn’t safe to do so; I really don’t know.
Instead, we were hurried into a restaurant a bit ahead of schedule and had a hasty meal of dumplings, which is the local specialty. The dumplings were great, but after 18 different types they were all starting to taste alike to me. They also served a type of rice wine, which reminded me of sake.
It was a relief to reach our hotel and take a shower.
