Jack of All Trades: Back to Shanghai..

Yesterday was Saturday so we took some time out to go see the Terracotta Warriors site. It is about an hour from the city of Xi'an. I was finally able to travel through the countryside during the day. There were many small farms being tended by hand. Along the road near the highway entrance and exits people lined the shoulder trying to get rides. The houses were of brick construction and looked old and worn. Most of the windows did not seem to have glass and it was hard to tell, but it didn't seem like utility service was available either. Along the shoulder I saw a man walking a goat. People kneeled in the fields tending to their crops. In the towns in the surrounding area most people seem idle. There are small shops selling a variety of wares from brooms made from a bundle of sticks to cheap plastic housewares.

My coworker, Kent said the area around Xi'an is poor because construction is limited by the government. The reason is to preserve any artifacts found in the area. I think I wrote in my previous post that Xi'an was the first capital of China when the country of China was first united under one ruler. Artifacts are plentiful in the area and nobody is allowed to dig more than 2M into the soil.. thus, no construction. I guess that leaves the land available for farming and that's it.

So, in 1974 a farmer who was digging a well unearthed a terracotta head and some other broken pieces of statue. He stopped digging and contacted the government. The government sent archeologists to the site and they discovered what is now known as the Terracotta Warriors.. over 6,000 troops, horses, and chariots arranged for battle to protect the Emperor QinShihuang after his death. The tomb of the Emperor is not far from the warriors site and has been left untouched. The site is about 2,000 years old.

As the Chinese archeologists unearthed the statues they found nearly all of them were shattered from earthquakes and fires. Only one kneeling archer was found completely intact. The Chinese reconstructed the statues on display today. Further, each of the statues was painted during it's construction and the paint was intact when the statues were uncovered, but exposure to the air and mold caused all of the paint to flake off over the years. The statues are now bare terracotta with little or no coloring.

Each statue was made in sections. The legs and base are solid, the torso and arms hollow, and the head was the last piece added at the end. Each statue is different from any other with a wide range of heights and body types. The faces and hair style on each statue is unique as well. The body of horses have a hole in them to allow hot gases to escape when the piece was being fired in a kiln. Again, these were also made in piece with the tails added later.

Last there was a museum showing the Imperial Chariots that was discovered at another site closer to the tomb of Emperor Qin. The chariot were nearly as shattered as the soldiers and had to be completely reconstructed. The chariot that would carry the emperor had a roof in the shape of a tortise shell to signify long life.

The whole museum area was beautifully constructed and immaculately maintained. It was in stark contrast to the poverty of the surrounding area.

In the museum shop I bought a book on about the site and was able to get it signed by the farmer who made the original discovery while drilling the well. He is considered very lucky to have found such an important site.

Outside the gates hawkers sell very cheap souveniers and goods. They are very aggresive and will get right in your face and follow you to your car. Among the things available for purchase were silk blankets, animals furs and skins, "jade" jewelry and trinkets, carved wood objects, and models of the warriors.

After leaving the warriors site we picked up some tools and headed to the airport. We grabbed a flight back to Shanghai. The flight was running a little late, but otherwise no problems. One of the interesting things about flying in Asia - to get to the plane you pass through a gate and get on to a bus. The bus then drives you out to the plane sitting on the ramp at the airport. You climb a set of steps to get on to the plane. Fortunately we deplaned in Shanghai via a jetway - it was pouring when we got here.

We took the magnetic levitation train from the airport into Shanghai. A ticket cost about $5 and the train ride was around 7 minutes. The top speed of the train is 430 km/h.. amazing! This is the fastest I have ever traveled on land.

After checking in to the hotel I went to dinner with the sales team. This was fun and interesting. The team was very engaging and I enjoyed having dinner with them. The meal was more traditional Chinese, but the style was very different than what I had in Xi'an. Where the meal in Xi'an had a wide variety of mild flavors the meal in Shanghai was very spicy. I had duck for the first time, some sort of soup with a brown jello substance in it, fried pork, sea conch, salad, fish, and a fried rice and sesame seed patty. Most of the dinner dishes were very spicy and served with lots of chili peppers.

I am spending today, Sunday, in the hotel. I have lots of work to do to prepare for my training tomorrow through Wednesday.

Here are some pics from China..

People heading to work at the aircraft factory in Xi'an. Most people rode bicycles.