A Mountain, a Theft and a Double Bicycle
I took off to Xian way too early in the morning, with way too much stuff. I’d packed boxes of goods to send home but, after cursing my way through both Wuhan and Xian airports, I decided that I needed to send more stuff home. I cried my way through it, “but I need those jeans and that top” but got things down to a manageable amount and sent the rest away by post.
After settling into what was going to be my home for the next week, I was dragged to a museum by one of the guys who was staying in the dorm room with me. Ended up being almost interesting, with the remains from “Lantian Man” being a highlight that I’d actually heard of. Lantian man is the second oldest subspecies of Homo Erectus. The mandible dates to about 710-684 thousand years ago while the skull dates to 1.65–1.59 million years ago.
The following day I visited the Terracotta Warriors. While I was expecting it to be inspiring, I was also expecting it to be full of tourists, taking away the beauty. I was right. The sheer tourism of the place, the roof over the top and the overly coordinated maze of paths contributed to a sense of surrealism. But then you stop to think about how old they are, how well maintained they are, and the fact they were built in the first place and you are awestruck.
The army is part of a broader cemetery built in 210-209 BCE for the First (Qin) Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Discovered by farmers digging a well, there are thought to be over 8000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses, along with other terracotta non-military statues of officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians. The mausoleum itself has not been excavated, and it is believed that it incorporates an underground palace. The army, east of the tomb mound itself, was built to protect the Qin Emperor from evils that could attack him in the spiritual world.
Headed back to the Xian hostel and headed downstairs for some food. Somehow this ended up at a nightclub with a bunch of crazy foreigners (hi guys!) and some even crazier Chinese.
The mountain was a long bus drive away and an even longer bus ‘sit’. I introduced the others to the concept of “the bus leaves only once it’s full”, even though there was a full timetable. Arriving in the dark early in the evening, we found ourselves in a tiny town at the bottom of the mountain. Not too many options for food, but it did have five karaoke halls (that we counted), fifteen hairdressers and a ballroom dancing club. We decided to go the karaoke option and spent several hours singing terrible songs (thanks to Darren), including Auld Lang Syne, a Christmas medley and Happy Birthday (the only one the locals knew).
After a while, Claire realised her wallet was missing. And the saga began. First of all, the club tried to deny that it happened. Then, after realising that my Chinese was better than they (and I) thought, they started searching. The wallet and passport mysteriously appeared in the toilets we had already searched. We thought about just leaving, but Claire had both US and UK notes, so we thought we’d stick around and push our luck.
After an hour of me being dragged into a room and talked to in Chinese, Claire remembered when she thought her stuff had been taken. Pointing out the “thief” from a lineup, we watched each staff get taken in for strip-searching, with no luck. Then, we watched the staff search the bar in the most exacting of ways. Four men attacked each room. One lifted stuff, one shone the torch into dark spaces, one checked for money, and one (the senior member) checked special spots, like vases. Ten seconds per room, cold, hard and calculating. Then, half a minute later…the money arrived! Complete with an extra 5c that someone must have left under the couch at some stage. Needless to say, we packed up and left as soon as possible.
Exhausted the next day, we got up at almost dawn and climbed a mountain. Hua Shan, to be exact. Could have taken the cable car up… but no, decided to walk. Nice and steep.
The next day, a little worse for wear, the crazy foreigners decided to head off to Hua Shan (Mount Hua). Hua Shan is one of the five great mountains of China, first recognised in the warring states period from 475 BC to 221 BC. The first sovereigns of China formed a procession to each of the summits, incorporating both hunting trips and ritual offerings. The emperors, starting with the first Emperor of Qin, visited each mountain early in their rule to lay claim to their newly acquired domain.
The views from the top were incredible, especially the views of men carrying all sorts of things up to the temple at the top of the mountain, including a wardrobe.
Travelled back to Xian that evening and went to bed… tired, exhausted and happy. My last day was spent riding around the top of the city walls on none other than a “double bicycle”. We couldn’t see much because of the fog, but we enjoyed how surreal it felt.
To the Terry Potter army, thanks for the fun!
