Things to see and do Xi'An 西安

To see absolutely! The "Great Search" museum has been open to the public since 1979. This is the site of Xi 'an. It is also classified as UNESCO's World Heritage Site.

History

In 1974, peasants digging a well made the archeological discovery of the century: a fabulous army of 8,000 clay warriors who stand guard around the first emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. This terracotta army was called the eighth wonder of the world. The ensemble exudes incredible realism that surprises the visitor, giving the impression of being back…

At the moment, there are only three pools that have been released: the first in 1974, the second in 1980 and the third in 1994. But they are only partially. For when the opening of the pools was undertaken, the Chinese were amazed by the splendor of these statues all different and painted with finesse. But after three days paints that were so long buried did not resist air contact. The Chinese were very surprised at the disaster and stopped digging. That is why we can see many mounds where other soldiers are preserved, especially in the first pit.

It is estimated that it took thirty years of work, and more than 700,000 people to carry out the clay army, which was to accompany the emperor in his last voyage to the kingdom of the dead. Chinese archeologists believe that the three shoots discovered are part of an even larger ensemble, but excavations of the entire site will take decades (a model of the whole mausoleum allows to evaluate the scale of the site).

Visit

Hall of entry. Meet before you visit the pools in this first room. Two beautiful bronze tanks drawn by horses were found in 1980 in a wooden sarcophagus. Their scale is half the actual size. The reins are in gold and silver (the Chinese were masters of metallurgy techniques). These reduced models of real tanks represent a "comfort" tank and a "high" tank for large inspection tours of the vast kingdom. The comfort tank had warm water indoors and a cold water system for cooling during periods of high heat, some kind of air conditioning. The high tank had a dais protecting against weather, the opening and closing of which was controlled by a small joystick. They are displayed in the museum on site.

You can see photographs showing that the tank has literally been found in "thousand pieces" and that it took a very long and thorough work to the archeologists to replenish it fully. The discovery of this fabulous site is explained by photography.

Many art lovers would like to have even one of those soldiers. A Hong Kong billionaire would have offered to buy a whole soldier for 1 billion yuan. The Chinese government declined the offer.

Fosse No. 1. The first search, the most important by its size, is now protected by a structure. It is 210 m east and 60 m from north to south. It contains 6,000 warriors, engaged in battle training according to the most perfect military strategy of the day, reinforced with combat tanks drawn by horses (wooden tanks disappeared). The first rank is formed by generals and counselors and then follows four categories of soldiers: the riders, the simple infantrymen, the arkles laying a knee on the ground, and the chariots. This is distributed in 11 galleries and 38 columns. Warriors were equipped with 10,000 real weapons (now exposed separately). The steel of the arrows had undergone a kind of protective chromium that meant that the spikes reached us, without rust, still sharp.

Fosse No. 2. The second, smaller pit has about 1,000 statues. Still being excavated, it may be more striking, because we see the wooden roofs more or less slumped on the trenches and broken statues, slept, messed up… An archer, a non-commissioned officer and a general (distinguished by their hairstyles) are exposed to be seen. closely. Unfortunately, this pit has been loosely looted.

All trenches were protected by a roof roof impregnated with a conservation product. Clay statues were cooked at 900 ° C and are slightly larger than nature (approximately 1.96 m), probably to be more impressive. The faces of the faces are different from one statue to another, and show that the real army of Qin Shi Huangdi was composed of different ethnic groups (Han, Mongols, Tatares, etc.). The way of laying their long hair in different shades indicates the rank of each in the military hierarchy.

The details and diversity of faces, the folds of clothes testify to the mastery of artists, the technological knowledge of the time and the high level that Chinese art had already reached in the third century BC.

Fosse No. 3. It's the smallest of all the pools. It was discovered later, two years after the bulk of the troops. There are about 60 soldiers and a trolley. That would be the command post.

The parts discovered are likely part of a larger set. It was at the time that an emperor was buried with his often sacrificed servants and ministers. Pottery statues replace men. This army was built to accompany the first emperor Qin Shihuangdi in the kingdom of the dead.

Fosse No. 0006: In this grave, next to the emperor's tumulus, four servants and many pieces of bronze carts are found. The discovery dates from 2000, and the site has been open for only a few years.

Fosse No. 9901: No soldier in this pit near the emperor's tumulus, but what seems to be acrobats and entertainers of the monarch. In total, six characters singly different from soldiers in other pools and currently in the process of restoration, barefoot and short skirt. Many bronze objects were discovered here in 1999, including vases. The main interest of this site is that we can see archeologists at work, behind a glass.

The tour ends with a one-quarter movie shot with a panoramic camera. This film is a historical reconstruction of construction, destruction until the discovery of the army in terracotta. The film is visible in English and is very well done.

Attention: the site stores crafts and copies of statues. Prices are very unfair.

Huashan is one of the five sacred mountains of China. The mount is famous for its four steep granite peaks that resemble a lotus flower (hence its name that means "Mountain of Flowers"). The landscape that jalonneront your hiking is very beautiful. You climb for 7 km to reach the first peak. It takes about 4 hours. It will take you a little more than an hour to reach one of the other three peaks. The south reaches 2 200 m above sea level, but the others offer beautiful views also… and you can then join the three peaks. From northern peak a trail links summits, but there are narrow passages that can be dangerous in bad weather. Traditionally, the Chinese are leaving the evening with lanterns to get to the top of the sun, particularly famous. The sunrise is beautiful but no more. The landscapes have much more interest.

This temple, founded in the th century, is located minutes walk west of the Tambour tower, next to the Hotel Xijing. There is a carved wooden portico, surmounted by Chinese characters in red. Two courses must be crossed before accessing the sanctuary. The original temple was built in 1376 and completely renovated in 1852. It is one of the best preserved Ming and Qing buildings in the province.

On the road to the Qin tomb, near the small town of Lintong, the hot springs of Huaqing. Known from the earliest Antiquity, the old Huaqing thermal baths served as a resort to the emperors and «warlords» residing in Xi 'an.

In the time of the West Zhou (1111-771 B.C.) who were masters in the art of bronze at a time corresponding to the construction of Jerusalem, the emperors had their summer palace in Huaqing, at "the Étang of Nine Dragons". They were going to take the waters, accompanied by their concubines.

In 771, the last emperor Zhou had a little melancholy concubine. To make her laugh, he lit up hoops on the top of the hills, signal to bring all the vassals in case of war. After a while, this game ended up lagging farmers who preferred to throw their work in the fields. And when there was really an attack, they came to defend the kingdom. It is the origin of the Chinese proverb that says: " Drop a kingdom for a laugh. " " "

The pleasure palaces, built around this hot mineral mineral source that came out of the mountain at 43 ° C, also served the following imperial courses of Qin, Han and Tang. The pavilions drawn up that composed the palace had names such as the hall of the Frostbite and the dragon pavilion which murmurs… The palace itself was named from the source, the palace of glorious Purity (Hua Qing Gong). The artificial pond is decorated with a marble boat.

In 644, Emperor Tai Zong built a palace that Emperor Xuan Zong enlarged in 747. The most famous characters associated with Huaqing were emperor Xuan Zong and his very beautiful concubine, the unfortunate Yang Guifei, whose badinages with the emperor greatly helped the decline of the brilliant Tang dynasty.

The site was then taken up by Taoists who built temples such as the one on Mount Lishan dedicated to Nu Wa, the mother of the human race.

In 1936, the famous «incident of Xi 'an» is happening here. Chang Kai-chek was captured by the Communists and released on his promise of collaboration against the common enemy, the Japanese who had invaded China at the time. Another version says he escaped to take refuge in a nearby cave that is shown today.

Following the establishment of Communist China, the government had established a thermal resort (which still exists) with water cures for the workers of the nation. Other recent buildings have been built to protect the ruins of the Tang imperial basins that have been released by Chinese archeologists.