China, Tourism → Terracotta Army — 兵马俑
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I recently visited for the first time the Terracotta Warriors, the symbol of the city of Xi’an and one of the most ancient relics of Chinese culture.
The site, part of the Unesco World Heritage, is composed of one museum and three hangars.
In the museum, one can learn about the history of the Terracotta Army, which was created around 210 B.C., and of their discovery, in 1974.
The first emperor of China had ordered that a terracotta army be created for him to be protected in his afterlife. At his death, the army was placed in his mausoleum.
The army was discovered in 1974 by some peasants who were trying to drill a well. They notified the government about their discovery, which converted the place to an archeological and touristic site. Now, the peasants are seeking a compensation. I don’t know if they were expelled from their land that lied over the mausoleum, or if they were relocated. The history doesn’t tell!
As you can see, after more than 2200 years buried underground, the Terracotta Warriors were in very bad shape when they were discovered. They were repaired to their original shape by archeologists.
Some of the statues have no head.
Here is a picture from the main hangar, the one containing most statues.
There are statues of all shapes: slim, fat, tall, short, …
A police officer told us to carry on. When I asked him why we couldn’t stay, he replied 接待, which I originally thought it meant “you have to follow the group in front of you”, but actually meant “we are receiving a VIP”.
But who was this very important person? I couldn’t find out, so I carried on with my visit.
Notice all the details on the horses.
Here are some of the Terracotta Warriors that could not be completely repaired.
Other soldiers…
Suddenly, I was pushed back by some bodyguards. I asked the guy on the left with the suitcase who this VIP was. He replied to me “vice president…” Wen Jiabao? The Vice President of China? Here? “No… not China, Myanmar”…
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maung_Aye.gif
I checked on Wikipedia who this guy is. It turns out there is no Vice-President in Myanmar, but rather a Vice Senior General. His name is Maung Aye, he is a ruler in the military junta in power in the Union of Myanmar.
Find Waldo.
When he left, I could freely take pictures without any problem.
No trespassing.
No Photo. Archaeological excavations.
Of course, no touristic activity in China would be complete without someone asking to take a picture of you!
Two friends, from Beijing.
Tags: bingmayong, Terracotta, Tourism, xi'an
July 27th, 2009 at 21:06
Enfin! Après tout ce temps!