Warriors

An interesting eating experience last night. Our guide had recommended a restaurant opposite the hotel, with a caution not to eat at the smaller establishments. We headed over to the restaurant only to find we were in the land of no English speakers! Through a series of pictures on the menu we managed to order a main dish and rice each. The staff seemed to believe this was not enough and kept pushing for us to order soup and other appetizers. Luckily we were able to resist, when the dishes came we were convinced that they had brought us 2 main dishes each! Unfortunately, it didn’t’ all get eaten. After dinner we walked along the street where the smaller restaurants were. I now understand the caution from our guide. In many cases the food was stored outside and was still moving (as in living / breathing) There were bullfrogs that could be killed and cooked to order, lobsters suffered the same fate as did some unidentifiable thing that would have been at home on a Klingon dish.

This morning we headed out to the Terra Cotta Warriors site. Again you can read about them HERE.

Before we arrived at the site we stopped at a small factory that makes full size and miniature warriors using the same techniques as the original artisans used. The warriors are hollow and their heads are detachable. The reason for this is to allow the heat and moisture to escape during the firing and cooling process.

Full Size Torso

Detailing Models

The Kiln

The factory also made Chinese Lacquered Furniture

Having bought our souvenir warrior we headed off to the real thing

Both of us thought that the warriors were in the open, but they are all under the cover of buildings. Makes sense really, as they need to preserve them from the elements. The warriors were first discovered in 1974 by a couple of farmers digging a well. When the archaeologists started work they discovered most of the warriors and other artifacts had been destroyed, this destruction was not a recent thing, it dated back to shortly after the warriors were created when the peasants revolted and set fire to the wooden structure covering the site.

In the photos below, the complete warriors are the result of painstaking reconstruction from the damaged parts. Other pictures show the state that the site was found in, and also some area where digging has not yet commenced. Some areas have been left untouched while research into preservation was carried out. When the warriors were first discovered they were all brightly painted. Within days of uncovering them the colours all faded.

Only the first few rows have been restored

Below are the remains as found

The Warriors Hospital – renovation in progress


Pictures of the warriors before the colour faded

After touring the 3 pits that are known to contain warriors, we headed off for a visit to the museum and some lunch.

After lunch our luck changed (for the worse) as it started to rain. We headed back to the car for our trip to the airport. We were a little early and would have a couple of hours to kill, unfortunately after waiting an hour, a 90 minute delay was announced for the flight. Seems delays are common over here! Our delay was “undelayed” by 15 minutes so we got airborne about an hour late.

Driving into the city of Xining we were amazed at how man of the high-rises were lit up with both stationary and moving lights, a little like Las Vegas. On arriving at the hotel we had our first real issue of the trip, there was no reservation for us. After about 10 minutes of checking and hunting through the reservation system it transpired that we were a day early! Luckily there was room available so here we are. Travel agent has been asked to confirm the remaining hotel reservations!!!

The wait was worth it, we have a fantastic suite, enough marble to sink a battleship, two 40″ TV’s a full bathroom and an additional washroom, bedroom, sitting room and even a washing machine!!

Almost certainly there will be no blog tomorrow as we board a train in the afternoon and spend 22 hours going through the mountains to Tibet. Hopefully there will be reasonable WiFi in Tibet.