In the early 1970’s Chinese farmers digging a well in Shaanxi province China found strange objects under the dry soil. Digging further they found vaults buried for thousands of years filled with clay figurines of ancient Chinese soldiers. The sleeping army of terracotta warriors is related to the first emperor of China as he is buried very close by.
The location of this army is quite far from most other civilization deep in the outback of Qin Shi Huangdi around 15km from the nearest city. Since the 70’s, archaeologists have excavated over 500 pits across a 21 square mile area. In the most popular pit, long lines of warriors stand in full military uniform to attention. Each soldier was hand crafted and given an extraordinary level of detail. This main pit originally had broken soldiers that have now been reassembled, but there are examples of how the soldiers were unearthed in the 70’s. The second pit near to the first one has soldiers buried in soil, some lay on the ground.
Holidays to China usually involve visits to the terracotta warriors, the great wall, notable UNESCO World Heritage sites as well as a Yangtze Cruise. But if your holiday here is to Beijing, the terracotta warriors might be further than you’d like to travel. Fear not… you can always visit the Terracotta warriors in the London Museum – they have an exhibit there as well as in Santa Ana Cali USA.
Beijing is the tourist centrifuge. There is ancient history to soak up, endless sightseeing and some quite strange food to experiment with. Stroll through Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum, check out Tiananmen Square and obviously the great wall. I find that on holidays where the history is so rich, for example in Paris, London and New York, a tour guide is quite helpful. There are so many museums, boat rides and ‘experiences’ that it is quite daunting to figure out how to make the most of the limited time you have on your holiday. Beijing tours can help cut down on wasted experiences to make the most of your precious holiday time. I’d like to take a tour to the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. This site was built by a Chinese emporer and is a architectural wonder of the world. The emporer used to visit this temple twice a year to pray for a good harvest. During the Second World War the allies used the temple as a base camp. Definitely check it out early in the mornings as outdoor yoga sessions are going on and you can join in. For those of you with an eye for numerology, the temple was created with the belief in 9. The altar is made of slabs that are in multiples of 9, the Hall of Prayer into 4 sections to represent the seasons and there are 12 columns for…the months of the year.
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