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We landed at the relatively new (1991) Xi'an Xianyang
International Airport, an ultra-modern facility that rivals any
airport I've ever flown into or out of, in a brilliantly clear,
Sunny day. We had barely emerged out of the main concourse when we
were approached by a woman who made an offer we couldn't refuse.
“You are here for the Terracotta Warriors, yes?” she
asked us in slightly inflected English.
All of us were a bit astonished, but Katarena
responded, “Yes!”
“I have taxi for you that will take you there,
anywhere else you want, all day for five hundred yuan.”
Enrique spoke next, “That's a pretty good deal.”
Looking at me, he now said, “Let's take it. We could spend a lot of
time trying to find the place, and your LP guide is six years
old. That information may not be good now.”
I was a stick in the mud about this. I told the woman
that we'd meet her outside to discuss it further. When we stepped
into the Sun, I saw that this airport was like so many, isolated and
far from anyplace. Worse, I couldn't see any indication of public
transit. I dropped my resistance and told the woman “OK.”
Smiling broadly now, she told us “Just go over there
by the curb. The car will be here in a moment.” and disappeared back
into the airport.
I started to get a bad feeling in my stomach when an
unmarked compact sedan pulled up and the door opened. My gut
queasiness increased; here we were, three foreigners about to get
into a car with a stranger driving us in a strange place. It had all
the earmarks of a nasty way to end one's life which I've heard
about (Mostly from Elena; you can bet I remembered her last
directive to me before she went into the secure concourse at
Schiphol International Airport, Amsterdam, a fortnight ago:
“...bring them home safe and sound.”), and the hair on the back of
my neck bristled.
It took me a few moments to decide, then I saw the
smile of the driver, urging us into his car. In an instantaneous
decision, I capitulated, having Katarena and Enrique clamber in the
back while I sat in the front passenger seat. I immediately began
figuring emergency plans, how we might have to subdue this
diminutive Chinaman as he gunned the car out of the airport onto an
interstate-quality road. I paid attention to our route, noting that
the signs, as elsewhere, were in Chinese and English, and that we
did not turn toward Xi'an, but were looping around, alongside
railroad tracks. Then he suddenly slowed down, and just over the
hill we saw a highway patrolman poised with his radar gun. The
driver looked at me and smiled that very familiar sign of “We
could have been stopped for speeding...” I smiled the same
knowing signal back, and relaxed. He was my kind of driver who was
going to take us exactly where the woman had told us.
Within a half-hour, we had turned off the main road
and entered the town of Lintong. I knew we were getting close as
signs, in English, began appearing that proclaimed the proximity of
the Warriors. The road narrowed, and dwellings that might have once
been homes were now stores where a tourist can buy “authentic”
terracotta warriors, maps of Chang'an and Xi'an, and numerous other
items reflective of this area. When I saw a cable car and hot
springs, I compared it to the commercial buildup located close to
most attractions around the world, whether it is the Eiffel Tower,
the Panama Canal, Bagnell Dam, Niagara Falls, etc. Then the car
turned into a large gravel parking lot, where it stopped and the
driver pointed to where we should walk. He motioned that he would be
here when we had finished walking around the grounds, and so we got
out, walking in the direction that he pointed.
I didn't see much initially, but as soon as we walked
underneath a tarp stretched over the path, we were beset upon by
sellers. There was no room to walk without running into a person
holding a miniature soldier or map in our face. Somehow, we were
able to emerge from from this pack, and faced a white fence and
ticket booth. This is it! I shelled out 125 ¥ ($15USD) apiece, and
we passed into an area that was immaculate.
Of the four large structures before us, we were
directed toward the building most downhill.. Inside, we found it
dark, a museum of the museum. Not much in the way of terracotta
soldiers and a bit disappointing. We went onto the next structures,
pit #3, which did not have the anticipated army, but still had
interesting exhibits. We were starting to fade, but pushed onto pit
#2, which had an outstanding excavation of the army, including a
non-enforcing enforcement agent. He ignored the “NO PHOTO, NO
VIDEO, NO FLASH” sign, posted only in English, just like he ignored
the tourists violating it. Enrique ensured that he had taken a photo
of the sign, with the disinterested agent yawning and looking away,
which, of course, is what makes the picture unique as well as
memorable.
Katarena was quite hungry by now, and we went into the garden of
stone tablets, found an impressive modern building which was serving
a buffet lunch, 38 ¥ ($4.50USD) apiece. Excellent entertainment was
provided by a skilled pasta puller. Starting with a lump of dough,
he would work it between his fingers, opening his arms wide,
stretching it into progressively smaller strands. Once they were at
the smallest diameter possible, he would plunge them into the hot
oil, creating skinny pasta that looked like toy dollhead hair.
This cooked pasta would form the basis upon which the
rice, veggies, meat, cheeses, and other toppings from the buffet
would be piled to create a tasty dish. Of course, there were gallons
of tea to wash it down. Sufficiently refreshed, we went returned to
the last of the gargantuan buildings, pit #1, and discovered what
we had come for.
Inside, we snapped alive as we saw thousands of
life-size terracotta soldiers, each one with unique face and having
a specific military purpose. A wooden sidewalk was elevated above
the army for the turistas to view this impressive archaeological
wonder. It was a challenge to walk around the pit as a large number
of tourists were positioning themselves for the best picture of
themselves, with the soldiers in the background. No posted sign
forbidding photos here!
After absorbing as much of this intense museum as
possible, we went to a 360° theater showing a film on all sides
surrounding the audience. It told the story behind the Terracotta
Soldiers, which was somewhat like the road signs, with a twist. The
film was in English, but subtitled in Chinese! However, the
most appealing aspect of the film was that the theater was air
conditioning. I'm sure the fire code was violated because capacity
was exceeded—there was little space left inside—and we were sitting
on the floor as the tale unfolded.
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