This photograph
taken (ahem, illegally) by Mike Clark in June 2000 shows the extent
of the Terracotta Soldiers in the tomb. Note that there are very
few people on the viewing platform in the distance. We time our
visit to have the place all to ourselves. |
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Depending on our departure times and traffic, we may make a further stop
or two in Beijing before getting to airport for our flight to Xi'an. This
city is a cultural treasure reflecting a history dating back 2,000 years
to the Qin Dynasty. It is also extremely multi-cultural, reflecting the
three centuries when it was the capital city during the Tang. We will
be staying in the Hyatt Hotel, a luxurious property right smack in the
middle of the city.
We will be visiting the "must see" sites such as the Tomb of
Qin Shihuang and the Terracotta Warriors, but will do such in such a way
that we will be missing the usual crush of midday visitors. We have also
schedule a visit to an historic mosque, and we will wander through what
most of our shoppers considered to be the best shopping arcade area nearby.
We will also visit the Big Goose Pagoda, another Xi'an
landmark and well worth the time and effort to climb to the top. However,
we also have one stop that is not in the tour books that we discovered
by accident in 1999. Tour members Charlie Thomas and George Ow Jr. spotted
a fanciful statue on a street running alongside Big Goose and wandered
into one of the most unusual places in all of China, Xuangzang's Cultural
Palace. We've never been the same since.
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The
Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an. We will visit this site early in the
morning and provide enough time so those tour members who wish to
may climb to the top. |
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The
old air raid tunnel in Xi'an that leads down to the magical world
of Xuangzang's Cultural Palace. |
One
of the many fanciful exhibits in the Cultural Palace depicting scenes
from Chinese history. |
Xuangzang's Cultural Palace
- Built inside Xi'an's Underground City beginning in 1989, it is an incredible
world of history, art and arcade. Dedicated to the famous monk Xuangzang
whose journey to India was immortalized in the work Journey to the West,
we will enter down a long tunnel lined with Chinese red lanterns. Tourist
groups pour into the Big Goose Pagoda, but none of them even knows about
this more mischievous world nearby. When we revisited the place in 2000,
neither our National Guide nor our local guide (born and raised in Xi'an)
had ever heard of the place. It's a place to be silly and giggle and have
fun. There is also a great shopping area along this same street, one where
Ann found her "treasure-of-the-trip" in 2000, a carved Tibetan
cow skull. (We'll explain this skull thing someday.)
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Xi'an
at night, near one of the old city gates. |
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Chinese
Muslim seated at the old Mosque, Xi'an. We will visit the mosque
as well as tour the Muslim section of Xi'an. |
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