Due to the creation of the Silk Road, there is a large population of Muslims in Xian. After the city wall, we went to the largest Islamic Mosque in Xian. The Great Mosque was built in 742 A.D and is a beautiful blend of Islamic and Chinese architecture.
There was a huge ceremony going on at the time in honor of the New Year:
We stopped in for lunch at yet again another 500 person arena. You will begin to see a clear trend in my entries that almost every place we went to eat was one where you sat with 10 strangers and shared the same plates of food, using your own saliva-ridden chopsticks to dish it out. Unfortunately, I think the mass produced food didn’t leave me with the best impression of Chinese cuisine.
Finally, it was time for us to go to one of the places I was looking forward to the most, The Terra Cotta Warrior Museum. The Terra Cotta Warrions were uncovered in 1974 by peasants digging a well. They were built by the first emperor in the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huangdi. There are over 8,000 soldiers, including the varying officers and horse drawn carriages. Each figure is unique to the person who built it. The initials of the creator were marked on the back of every figure’s necks. They are each on average 5’10. Qin Shi built the army to protect him in the afterlife. He was so adamant on keeping the army a secret that when he died many of the sculptors and architects, as well as his concubines were buried alive with him.
This carriage was buried with the warriors, weighing over 2 tons.
I got a book chronicling the discovery of the terra cotta warriors signed by the farmer who originally found the warriors.
After the museum we stopped in at a local orphanage in Xian. We viewed where the children sleep, bathe, and take lessons. There were about 30 orphans there at the time, whereas we were with over 100 students. This was a stop I wish we had not of made. It felt as if we were touring and taking pictures of their disparity as if it were a zoo. The children acted as if we were not there, appearing as if tourists were a common occurrence at the orphanage. I felt a little better knowing that included in the price of our trip there was a donation, but I still wish we could’ve given back in a more substantial way than just touring their complex. However, I am thankful because it was inspiring to make more of an effort to help those who are living in such unfortunate situations.
Entrance to orphanage:
Sleeping quarters:
That night we attended a Tang Dynasty Dinner Show. The dinner was pretty good, however anything is better than the feeding troughs we had recently been frequenting. The show was spectacular. It was all based on music and dance from the Tang Dynasty over 1000 years ago. The costumes were elaborately decorated and the grace of the dancers was stunning.
Annecdote
2/18/2010: The Chinese love seeing Americans. Everywhere we went, the people would stop and wave or take dozens of pictures. We even had a few instances of awkward stalking. Jason and I became local celebrities however when we were at the Terra Cotta Warrior museum. A reporter and her cameraman approached us and asked if they could tape a segment about the tourists in Xian during the New Year. Of course we did not pass this up, and so she began giving us a historical tour of the museum while on camera. I am now a famous Chinese-American celebrity. You can have my autograph when I return from my world tour.
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