It was raining today and quite cool, but after another huge breakfast, we headed off with our guide Irene to our first stop – the factory where they make terracotta warriors and lacquer furniture. We had a go at making a miniature warrior using the same type of clay used to make the original warriors we would shortly see. There were loads of souvenirs to be purchased, but we resisted all temptation to buy anything. One great advantage of this stop was the very clean western-style toilet. Oh, and the fact we were able to pose as warriors too!
Irene told us the story of how the warriors were accidentally found by three farmers in 1974 while they were digging a well. The main farmer now leads a “very rich and easy life” and every day is on site to sign books. He is 74 but looks much younger. He is Mick trying to get up close to him.
Facts Irene told us about this 2000 year old treasure that we did not know included the following.
1.There have been further pits discovered since and only one of the 1000s of warriors was in tact. The rest of the warriors, each with their unique face, and horses were badly broken due to the tomb being raided by others to re-claim the real weapons each warrior was carrying. Despite this, more than 40,000 bronze weapons have been found, many of them being chrome plated. The metallurgy skills of the Chinese was far ahead of other civilisations. Archaeologists and students have pieced together 100s of them, but there is years of work still to go. This is a photo of the only intact warrior – an archer.
2.The warriors were built by approximately 700,000 men who created this tomb for an emperor, who she described as “crazy”. His tomb has been located but remains unopened because it is surrounded by a river of Mercury and it would be too dangerous to open it. She said he would drink some Mercury each day so he would be immortal – big mistake.
3.The faces of the artisans were replicated on the warriors.
4. This emperor had all of these 700,00 artisans killed so they could not tell anyone of his tomb.
5. There were also brass horses and chariots with ornate silver and gold trims.
6. Each of the warriors and horses was originally brightly painted but the colours have all faded. There are plans for the warriors to be painted in the future.
The scale of the place surprised us. In Pit 1, there are approximately 6000 warriors.
After a lunch at a “local restaurant” we visited the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. We enjoyed Irene’s tours as they were pretty quick. Lots of information in her very good English, but strong Chinese accent. We understood most of it, but too much to remember. She explained that a recent survey indicated that 80% of Chinese do not have any religion, like her family.
We headed back to our hotel to get dry and warm before enjoying some wine and dinner at our hotel. We tried the local hotpot and bought a bottle of Californian white wine. Without question, the worst wine we have ever tried, including Greek retsina.
Jane and Mick's Holiday Adventures 