Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and his Terracotta Army

Located east of the city is the famous Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and his Terracotta Army. Before seeing the real warriors, we stopped at a terracotta factory to learn how the army was made.


Got to love the silly things they set up for tourists!



The craft shop of terracotta had other artisans there as well including women hand weaving rugs.



It was amazing to watch and I had to admire how they were able to creates such beautiful designs one small row at a time.



The complex to see the warriors is quite large and each site that has been uncovered has been covered by structures like the one here:



Inside the largest uncovered area:







Each warrior was different from the next - they were not all made from the same mold. You can see the attention to detail as each face, hands, body shape, height, and dress were all completely unique.





The army actually protects a massive underground city built for the emperor Qin Shi Huang. We toured the site of a mausoleum in his honor and a small scale version of the city as they believe it is laid out but it was very dark in the rooms and my pictures did not turn out well.

Xi'an Day 1

Xi'an is the ancient capital of China which is famous for, among other attractions, its well preserved city wall surround the main city center. Our hotel was outside the wall located near the universities. To start our day we took a walk over to a public park which used to be the grounds of the Tang Dynasty Xing Qing Palace.





This girl seemed to be having a great time at the park...





That evening we took a taxi to see the Bell and Drum Towers located at the heart of the city.









The big white pipe looking thing is actually a telescope that a guy moves around the city so that people can then pay to look through. He seemed to attract a lot of attention and business.

Train to Xi'an

Our program moves locations for a week and today we took an overnight train to Xi’an where we were able to see a lot of the country side.


View Larger Map

We were warned that the train was noisy, smelly and crazy. However, I have to say it was a great experience, comfortable sleeper beds, and only the bathroom area was smelly. An interesting note would be the dining car experience where we went to have a drink. There was no bartender working and instead a woman (who I’m pretty sure was not part of the train staff) was selling warm beers from under a table in the dining car and thankfully one of the Chinese students handed the transaction for us since it seemed to be a complex negotiation.

At the train station:


Waiting Area for the Train:


Our Sleeper Room:


Views from the Train:

Raw Silk Attempt #1

So, my friend Luisa has requested that I bring back raw silk for her so that she may spin it herself (that’s right – she owns a spinning wheel). I had mentioned my task to one of the Chinese students during a class break and she surprised me the next day with three different shops in Beijing where she thought I could purchase raw silk. A group of us picked one off the list and set out to the south side of Beijing to the Xuanwu District. It would seem that this area is being completely remodeled for the Olympics probably because it is the main walking path to the Temple of Heaven (see my earlier post on this place).

After many tiny little side streets and much construction dust we arrived somehow at the shop where we were taken through the main store front, through a back alley, and into their main factory area (which was beautiful).

Side Street:




Front of Shop:


Main Store Area:


Back Alley:


Interior Hidden Workshop:






Unfortunatly, the language barrier failed me and they thought I was looking for bolts of silk cloth. But armed with my Blackberry I quickly found a picture Luisa had sent to me of what the raw silk looked like and was able to get my message across. As it turns out they did not in fact sell raw silk but drew me a map of another shop where they thought it might be sold. However, since the map had no street names and the woman didn’t know the name of the shop we thanked the stop owners kindly and gave up for the day and had lunch.

I wouldn’t even really mention my lunch except you have to see how our dishes were presented to us in wrapped plastic. Needless to say, this was the cleanest restaurant we have encountered in the city thus far.

Patent Office

Thanks to our Professor at Tsinghua University we were allowed a tour of the State Intellectual Property Office (China Patent Office). As you can imagine, it was like most government buildings and incredibly boring but they are very proud of the steps they have taken to offer patent protections.



Sort of interesting - these people are actually filing patent applications:

Pickled Mao Anyone?

Today started out at Tian'anmen Square where Mao’s Mausoleum is located among various gov’t buildings including the Great Hall of the People (China's Congress). You can actually see Mao – as he lays preserved within his mausoleum. The whole experience took about 15 minutes of shuffling in a long line past Mao laying there in a similar way that Snow White was laid out in her story. Unfortunately, they do not allow any belongings inside (they are making a lot of money off a bag checking system) so I have no pictures to share.

Tian'anmen Square:

Just north of the Square lies the entrance gate to the Forbidden City. It is amazing that this place was locked off from the outside world for so many years. It is interesting to note however, that the structures are designed to peek out of the top of the massive outside wall. So, although the commoners were never allowed in the city, they were constantly reminded of what their lower status and what they were missing.

Tian'anmen Gate:

Inside the Forbidden City:

Outside the North Entrance to the City:

The Wall is Great!

Simply Amazing! Our program planned a trip out to the Great Wall at the Mutianyu section which is about a two hour ride Northeast of Beijing.

The trip up to the Wall starts with many vendors at the base selling food, drinks, and souvenirs.



There was about a 20 minute climb on stairs, some of which are incredibly steep.



It was a rainy day but that didn't stop the amazing view and clear air at the top.













After two hours of walking the Wall it was nice to take the cable swing back down to the base.



For lunch, we stopped at a Jade Factory and were able to see the craftsmen carving the jade. I had no idea that jade came in colors other than green and to spot a fake you have to hold it up to the light to look for cloudiness and strike it to hear the tone and pitch the ringing makes.



Before returning to Beijing, we stopped to see part of the Ming Dynasty Tombs. The site has several different tombs most of which have never been opened.



We visited the Chang Ling tomb and walked down the Spirit Way which is the main pathway to the tombs.





The gold/dark yellow roofs are a sign of an emperor and only he is allowed to use the color.