The peaceful scenery of Huashan, one of the 5 sacred mountains of China
Qiānlǐ zhī xíng, shǐyú zú xià
(A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step) – Laozi
We have taken the first step into the fascinating world of China, and Xi’an is the starting point of our exciting journey.
So why Xi’an, and not Beijing or Shanghai?
Our tour guide Jacky Wu explains it this way. He compares the history of China to a tree.
“If you want to find the crown of the tree, with all its fancy palaces and the Great Wall, go to Beijing but if you want to find the root of that tree, come to Xian,’’ said Jacky.
“Xi'an is the birthplace of Chinese civilization.”
Somehow this sounds so much better in Mandarin.
Xi'an was the capital city of China for 13 dynasties, starting with the Zhou Dynasty over 3,000 years ago. Among the ancient cities of the world, it is ranked among the top 4 together with Rome, Athens and Istanbul.
We have always wanted to visit China to discover its many wonders, both ancient and modern, but kept putting it off because we do not speak Mandarin.
Imagine our joy when the Sri America travel agency decided to introduce its English-speaking tours to 8 destinations in China. And Xi’an is one of them.
In our group of 10, only a young man in his 20s who accompanied his mum is fluent in Mandarin. The other 9 of us are very comfortable with English. Six of us are above 65 years old, meaning we can get into some tourist attractions free.
We were lucky to have Jacky as our tour guide. He teaches English at a local university, has a wealth of information but more important, he is a very good singer and kept us entertained throughout our stay.
Before this trip, I thought Xian would be one of those backward cities. Silly me! I soon discovered that it is a bustling modern metropolis of 10 million, with over 3 million cars on the road, served by 3 ring roads around the city. It is home to 63 universities, and each one takes in about 5,000 students every year.
There is now a network of only 4 subway lines in the city but there are plans to expand that to 23 lines. When this is completed, you can take the subway direct to the Terracotta Museum from the airport.
Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi province, is also linked by high speed train to Beijing and Shanghai for those who think there is not much to do here.
There are four aspects of China that intrigued me:
1. Ancient history, palaces and emperors
2. Culture and arts
3. Beautiful and breathtaking scenery
4. Futuristic China
I managed to experience the first three on this 5-day trip, so I am definitely coming back for more in the other Chinese cities.
Video: Xi'an history
Video: Modern road system
Video: City by night
Video: Bell Tower at night
Terracotta warriors in Pit No 1 getting ready to do battle for Qin Shih Huang in the underworld ... every face, and expression, is unique
Photos of terracotta warriors
Video: Pit No 1
Video: Terracotta warriors up close
Video: A woman terracotta warrior
The big attraction, of course, is the terracotta warriors. However, I soon discovered there are also other fascinating historical attractions here.
The terracotta warriors are truly a sight to behold. It has left visitors and even world leaders spellbound and in awe. The arrangement of the warriors in battle formation will scare anyone, living or dead.
Former French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac was so impressed with what he saw that he described it as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” President Bill Clinton made Xi’an his first stop on his official visit to China to see the terracotta warriors before going to Beijing.
Although I have seen pictures and video documentaries of the terracotta warriors, there is nothing like seeing the figures up close.
The First Emperor or Qin Shih Huang (秦始皇) was truly a scary monarch. After uniting the whole of China, he wanted to live forever. So, he assembled this terracotta army to conquer the underworld.
Three pits housing these warriors have been discovered so far. Pit No 1 is the biggest and most impressive, where they found over 6,000 figures. Over 1,400 figures were found in Pit No 2 but only 68 figures were found in Pit No 3.
Why was Pit No 3 so small? At first, this confounded the experts, until other findings led them to conclude that Pit No 3 was the command centre for the other two pits.
The faces and expressions of the life-sized warriors are all different, so you can imagine the detailed work put in by the skilled artisans. However, this skill was lost to future generations, as the emperor ordered all the workers to be buried alive after they had completed their work.
Cruel, and also selfish, right?
What about the Emperor’s tomb?
It is believed that the emperor is buried deep inside the mountain nearby but for now, no one has the skill to safely excavate the emperor’s burial site. I can imagine all the booby traps set up all around the tomb, like what we see in the Indiana Jones movies
Imagine, what hidden treasures and knowledge await us if we succeed in this undertaking.
A winged horse guarding the Spirit Way stretching over 1 km to the tombs of Empress Wu Zetian and Emperor Gaozong
Photos of Qianling Mausoleum
Video: Walking along the Spirit Way
Going down to the tomb of Princess Yongtai
Another mystery which is still waiting to be uncovered is the tomb of Wu Zetian (624-705), the only reigning Empress in Chinese history.
She shares her burial site at this magnificent Qianling Mausoleum (乾陵) with her husband, Emperor Gaozong (628-683), on the summit of Liangshan Hill, about 80km northwest of Xi’an.
Leading up to the imperial tombs is this wide road called the Spirit Way which is flanked by stone animals and warriors.
This huge complex also houses the remains of various royal members of the Li family, including Prince Zhanghua and Princess Yongtai.
“Any Li among you?” asked our guide. “You can say hello to your ancestors.”
We were able to go down to the tomb of Princess Yongtai (永泰公主), the grand-daughter of Empress Wu Zetian.
This tomb has already been looted by grave robbers but there were still relics left behind, including over 800 pottery tomb figures, which gave historians invaluable knowledge of life during the Tang dynasty.
One interesting fact about Tang women is that they were big, based on the jewellery and paintings found.
It is sign of good fortune, according to our guide Jacky.
“If you have a slim wife, they will say you have not been feeding her.”
The scary part about going down to the tomb was that it was very steep and the guide was afraid we may not have the energy to climb back up. The tomb passage leading to the coffin chamber was 87.5 metres long and 3.9 metres wide. The coffin chamber itself was dug 16.7 metres undergound.
Phew, thank god we managed to get out.
Huaqing Palace, the winter retrreat of Emperors and their concubines
Photos of Huaqin Palace
We found out more about the decadent lifestyle of Chinese emperors when we visited Huaqing Palace or Huaqing Gong (华清宫) with its hot spring pools. It was used as a winter retreat by Emperors of Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui and Tang dynasties
It is said that Tang Emperors would bring their concubines here in October and stay until spring.
However, Emperor Xuanzong still holds the record for spending the most time here with his beloved concubine Yang Guifei. Their love story is immortalised in the poem Song of Regret by famous Tang poet Bai Juyi.
Photos of Xi'an City Wall
Video: Xi'an City Wall
Video: Walking along top of Xian City Wall
Xi’an also has its own version of the Great Wall which is reputed to be one of the largest and most impressive defensive systems in the world.
Built during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the Ancient City Wall or Gu Chengqiang (古城墙) was enlarged by Zhu Yuanzhang, the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
The wall, which stands 12 metres high and encircles the inner city, covers a distance of 13.7km with a deep moat surrounding it. A pathway measuring 12 to 14 metres runs on top of the wall, with a rampart at every 120 metres.
There are altogether 98 ramparts with a sentry building in each of them.
We climbed up the stairs to the top of the wall. I lost count after a while but I think I must have walked up 60 steps.
This trip is turning out to be one exercise after another. First, we had to hike for about 1 km in the Spirit Way, towards the imperial tombs, then it was walking down to an underground tomb, and now it is going up the stairs to the top of a wall. I must remember to get into shape before my next China trip.
If I thought the City Wall was impressive, the best of the ancient world was yet to come.
Minature model of the Daming Palace
Video: Minature model of Daming Palace
Video: Tour of Daming Palace National Heritage Park
Photos of Daming Palace
You have heard of the Forbidden City in Beijing and how large it is. Well, multiply that by 4 times, and you have an idea how big Daming Palace or Daming Gong (大明宫) was.
This palace complex was built during the Tang Dynasty in its capital Chang’an. It served the Tang Emperors for more than 220 years before it was tragically burnt down.
Preservation work was started after the ruins of the Daming Palace was discovered in 1957 and on Oct 1, 2010, the Daming Palace National Heritage Park was opened to the public.
They have recreated the huge Danfeng Gate with its 5 doors. As you enter the gate, you are greeted by a huge courtyard which covers 1,200 metres long and 800 metres wide.
A minature model of the original Daming Palace complex was also built in this park. Even at that size, the palace complex looks impressive.
There are exhibits all over this park, so it was a relief that there was a buggy to take us around.
This is one of two places in Xi’an where tall buildings are not allowed. The other is the starting point of the Silk Road to the West.
The Silk Road connects China to the West and brought together people and goods from countries along the way.
Two major religions, Buddhism and Islam, also found their way into China from the Silk Road through Xi’an.
We visited two Buddhist sites, the Famen Temple or Famen Si (法门寺) where a finger bone of Buddha is stored, and the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda or Da Yan Ta (大雁塔 ) where Buddhist scriptures brought back from India by Master Xuanzang (remember the monk from Monkey Goes West fame?) are kept and translated into Chinese.
Besides the sacred finger bone of the Buddha, the Famen Temple also houses a museum which has a very impressive collection of Tang Dynasty treasures.
Photos of Famen Temple
Video: Famen Temple
Photos of Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
Our guide Jacky introducing us to food in the Muslim Quarter
Video: More Muslim Quarter food
Photos of Muslim Quarter
Video: Bazaar in Muslim Quarter
About 60,000 Muslims, the descendents of traders who came in through the Silk Road, are now settled in the Muslim Quarter located just behind the Drum Tower or Gulou (鼓楼), a sister building to the nearby Bell Tower or Zhong Lou ( 钟楼 ). In the old days, the Drum Tower (dark drum) and the Bell Tower (morning bell) were used to indicate sunset and dawn.
The Muslims here carry out business in the nearby food street and bazaar.
There is a great variety of food being sold from 10.30am right up to midnight. Muslim burger seems to be a popular item as there is a long queue for it.
Ever heard of smoky ice cream? Well, it gets that name because smoke will come out of your mouth after you eat that ice cream.
In the Muslim Quarter stands the Great Mosque (大清真寺), one of the oldest and largest mosque in China. It was built in 742 during the Tang Dynasty.
The mosque complex, which is made up of four courtyards, is a combination of traditional Chinese architecture and Islamic art.
There is a big prayer hall which can accommodate 1,000 people in the fourth courtyard.
The beautiful scenery at Huashan
Photos of Huashan
Video: Hiking up Huashan
Video: Riding cable car up
Video: Riding the cable car down
Video: Winding road from Huashan
No visit to China would be complete without a visit to see its beautiful mountains, in this case Huashan (华山) considered one of the five sacred mountains in China.
As it is located about 120km east of Xi’an, we had to stay overnight in the city of Huayin so that we can catch the cable car early and avoid the crowd.
Our bus could not take us to the base of the mountain and we had to switch to a mini bus which took us through 20 minutes of winding roads.
The cable car ride up to the summit station takes about 15 minutes and you are treated to a spectacular view of the surrounding granite mountains, criss-crossed with steps for those who want to hike up to the top.
From the summit station, you still have to climb a lot of steps to get to North Peak which at 1,614 metres is the lowest of the mountain’s five peaks.
Like little children, we keep asking our guide: “Are we there yet?’ And as expected, his reply would always be: “We are almost there.”
The view from North Peak was spectacular. Picture postcard perfect, as they say. Or it’s like something out of a Chinese calligraphy painting.
Dotted along some of the slopes are Daoist and Buddhist temples. This is a good place for meditation.
An hour was allocated to those who want to climb to the next peak. Only two took up the offer, while the rest enjoyed a cup of coffee at and a much deserved rest.
Photos of Xi'an meals
To be fair, this 5-day trip is not all hard work. Much to my surprise, I enjoyed the food. We were served 10 to 14 dishes for every meal.
There is always noodle, sometimes two varieties. Xi’an people love their noodles. According to our guide, there are over 20,000 shops selling noodles in one part of the city.
And for brides-to-be, they have to prepare a noodle dish for their future mothers-in-law. Sorry, no marriage if the dish is not up to her expectation.
A scene from the dance and music show The Empress of the Great Tang
Video: Empress of Tang
We also wanted to enjoy a bit of local entertainment and we were given two choices:
1. A live theatre show, Tuo Ling Legend, which tells of a group of young men seeking their fortune along the Silk Road. Besides the extensive use of props and multi-media, the show also features 20 camels and 30 wolves onstage.
2. A dance and music show featuring the life of Empress Wu Zetian.
I wanted to take in the local culture as much as possible, so I went for both shows. I enjoyed both of them thoroughly.
We have finished our Xi’an tour, so the group is planning the next trip. Watch out China, we’ll be back.
A scene from the show Tuo Ling Legend
Video: The Silk Road story
https://youtu.be/3-wyVARFa0E https://youtu.be/4fXoNL6B4QM https://youtu.be/SBGZr9HZ0-w https://youtu.be/mGgBg-mMFD4 https://youtu.be/QNUHwxV8Yjw
Our group of 10 posing in front of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.
Front row (left to right) Chris Geh, Jessie Teh, Karen Loh, Jo Wan, Ivy Liew, Lily and Ken Koh and Michael Aeria.
Back row: SK Teh and KL Loh (red cap)