summer2009 roadtrip day 3
Jul. 14th, 2009 09:45 pm西安(XiAn): 兵马俑(Terracotta Warriors Exhibit), 半坡博物馆(BanPo Museum)
Got lost on the road today, Betty/Baity (nickname for GPS) wasn't updated and got us lost. Good thing Heity (nickname for Mom...this is a Chinese pun on black&white...) was there to help.
Had hotpot for lunch.
Mutton hotpot is yummy but I like beef better.
Went to Terracotta Warriors Exhibit first, had to walk uphill for a pretty long time...didn't bring umbrellas so basically got fried.
All three pits were all pretty interesting. Dad's been there for the 9th time.
First Pit was huge, the hole in the middle's apparently a tomb made by local people before the pit was discovered.
Most of the full statues seem to be replicas.
( # video # )
It's actually quite magnificent, even though it was the product of a tyrant emperor enslaving half the peasant Chinese population for his own selfish needs.
To this day, many parts of the tomb still haven't been opened in fear of a) setting off the hundred-year-old traps and b) exposing the rest of the tomb to outside air (why most of the original terracotta statues have eroded).
Second Pit was smaller, most of them were tops of the wooden beams that have caved in...not much stuff to see. Seemed to have burial chambers, some broken statues.
There were also some "restored" statues that have been brought out of the pits that were put on display 'cause really, the second pit is pretty boring.
( # photos # )
Also, here's a visual comparison for the ranks of each warrior, according to headgear and armor (from left: Cavalryman, Charioteer/Chariot Soldiers, High-ranking Officer).
Third Pit was smallest, contained statues of generals and acted as "command center".
( # video # )
Bought two souveniers, a small toy tiger (like the traditional colorful ones I played with when I was a kid), and a red, embroided DuDou (Jeff calls it an apron).
( # photos # )
Next, went to visit a museum for the ancient civilization living in the BanPo area 6000 years ago.
Lots of animal fossils in the second gallery and pottery in the first.
( # photos # )
The main museum housed an excavated settlement site with post holes and pits made for homes.
They also had a large moat running around the border of their settlement to keep other tribes from invading.
What I found most interesting was the ways they buried their dead: there were the typical "common" burials, jars for children, and then deviant burials with different positions, as well as homosexual group burials.
At the back of the exhibit was a small gallery for how their kilns looked and worked.
( # photos # )
Found a peacock and large white rooster in the "large model village" (more like restaurant made to look like a village) out back. The birds must have been lonely in that deserted place (I think the rooster went to keep the peacock company under the bush it was hiding in as we left...adorable).
Took a bristlegrass with me ("dogtail grass" in Chinese) to play fake caterpillar.
Went out tonight to look for the foreign book shop for Jeff, but it closed before we got there. Went to the shoe store next to it to buy Jeff some new shoes instead.