A day in Xi'an with the Terracotta Army

With my deadline to get to Nanning (南宁), I was intending to skip Xi'an (西安) this time. There is lots to see around the city and I have heard good things about life in Xi'an from people I met who have lived and worked there, so I wanted to spend some time there, some time I did not have at that moment. But, train schedules meant I had to go there, change trains there and, in order to secure a ticket for the onward journey to Nanning, it was best I get there with plenty of time to spare. So taking the only feasible option, I arrived at around 5:30 am in Xi'an with 14 hours before my evening departure. I thought about it before and decided I would not go to see the Terracota Army, I would save it for the future, to ensure I did return to Xi'an, but as I arrived in the early morning and thought about what I could do for 14 hours, I decided that some kind of tourist attraction had to be visited, an all day trip was too much, walking aroung town all day was not enough. I knew the easiest one to make in a few hours was the Terracotta Army, so I found a bus heading that way and jumped on. It's about 25-30 km I'd guess outside of Xi'an and as you get closer the signs of expansion around the site are obvious, a town that is stretched out along the main road, with scores of shops making terracotta soldiers which stand on the roadside watching the traffic go by.

I arrived there early and was one of the first inside, which meant great peaceful viewing with only 2 or 3 other people for a while until the throngs of tour groups started to arrive and took over the place. This is a good tip for anyone going there, get there early, before it opens and be the first in, it was well worth it for the virtually private viewing you get for the first 20 minutes or so.

The Terracotta Army discovered in 1974 was built to protect the tomb of Qin Shi Huang. During his time on the throne of the western state of Qin, he managed to subjugate all the warring states and hence during the third century became the first emperor of a unified China; he was also responsible for beginning construction of the Great Wall. No records exist of the army and was probably designed never to be seen.
There are 3 pits in all, plus a museum. Pit 1 is the original find and most excavated, the first view as you walk into pit 1 and see the lines of soldiers stretching into the distance is something you will never forget. The pit has hundreds of soldiers lined up in battle formation, behind these are more unexcavated areas plus an area where the latest finds are being re-assembled into complete soldiers for re-placement in their correct position, I estimate only about one quarter of this vast pit has so far been excavated. Pit 2 has few reconstructed finds, though the best of these are displayed in cabinets and show a variation of positions and ranks to those in pit 1. There are also some unearthed, broken soldiers showing the damage state in which the soldiers have been discovered, and here you can also see the collapsed roof structure which still covers whatever is hidden below, waiting to be discovered in future excavations. Pit 3, a smaller pit has some reconstructed soldiers and clearly shows the layout of a building that is the battle headquarters.

There are also two bronze chariots being led by horses which have also been discovered and are on display in the museum. The design of the chariots is incredibly detailed and shows clearly that so much effort must have gone into the design.



Left: Army in battle formation in pit 1.
Right: Bronze horse-pulled chariot.

Finally there is a pretty interesting short documentary about the history of the site and its discovery which you can watch in a 360 degree surround vision hall. Just outside of here in the cafe was also a bemused looking old peasant signing guide books for visitors, he had a fan in one hand which he used to cover his face, probably as he did not want the attention and photos. I can only assume this was the man who originally discovered the site.

Found a bus back easily to Xian, traffic jams slowed us down, but I had time to kill, so even the driver becoming impatient and holding up all the traffic in the opposite direction turn round to go back a few kms to try another route was not a concern for me. Back in Xian, I saw very little, just found a place to lunch, walk around a little, eat dinner, get food and drinks for my 34 hour journey and head to the train. Nanning here we come...