Tomb Visit
This young man was on out tour group. He is seated at the site of the tomb of Qin Shi Huang. The young man in the picture has a Vietnamese mother a Spanish father and lived in Norway. His mom says he can speak four languages fairly well. Some kids have all the luck.
Soldiers at Ease
They’re cool, aren’t they? The Terra-cotta Warriors are a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the most significant arechelogical sites in the world. They’re certainly unique.
Big Place for Army
It’s called Pit 1. It’s supposed to contain up to 6,000 pieces of the terra-cotta army of Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of China which were buried by him around 210 BC. They were discovered in 1974 by some locals who were digging a well.
No Photo
This is Yang Xinman. He discovered the Terra-Cotta Army with some of his compatriots while he was digging a water well for his fields. Did he get to keep all the money. Think about it, this is Communist China. He’s lucky they’re still letting him walk around to tell about it. Today, he gets to sign the book(s) he wrote. Not a bad line of work if you can get it. We were taking bets on what it would cost for him to sign a t-shirt. Seems all we would have had to do was buy a book for $20. By the way, I didn’t see the No Photo sign until it was too late. Yes, I could have deleted the photo, but I’m trying to make him a little more famous so he can sell more books.
Terra-Cotta Tickets
The ticket price to see just the Terra-Cotta Warriors is 110 yuan. That’s about $16. I took a tour that got me Banpo Village, the Terra-Cotta Warriors and the burial site of the first Chinese Emperor for $260 yuan, including tickets, guide and transportation. That was about $38. I probably paid too much, but that’s what happens when I’m not trying to scrape every yuan off of the floor. It was a splurge, but how often will I ever get to see these sights in my life? I figure once.
China Fuel Price
I’ll help with the math. The pump price is about $4 a gallon. I didn’t expect it to be that high. I figured the government would subsidize the cost of oil here, but then again, the government is the oil company so I guess they’re making a killing as long as the Chinese population wants to drive and, if there’s one thing I’m certain of, it’s that the Chinese population loves their wheels.
Terra Cotta Who
Gee, that guy’s kinda cute to be a trained killer. Then again maybe those are the ones that have to be watched the closest. We stopped at an art shop so we tourists could buy, buy, buy and they had this cute terra-cotta statue without I head. I figured "Why let it go to waste?"
Banpo Village
It’s the sign at the front of the Banpo Village. This is one of the most significant archeological finds in China. It was at this location that a group of people lived during the late Neolithic period, about 4,500 BC, and a museum was created as a testament to their existence. The late Neolithic period is characterized by the use of stone tools instead of metal tools along with pottery and farming. Settlements are the rule rather than a nomadic lifestyle. Banpo had some interesting videos to explain the site and the day-to-day existence of the peoples who lived there.
Xian Hot Pot – China
It’s a picture of my first experience at Chinese hot pot. I found it a very interesting concept. There’s a pot at each table. There’s a food bar with raw ingredients. You put heat under the pot, put the raw ingredients in the pot of boiling stock and cook whatever you want to your heart’s content at your table in your pot. The ingredient list at the place where we dined was impressive. They had dozens of items for selection ranging from LIVE eels, crabs and shrimp to cuts of fish, chicken, mutton and beef which weren’t moving, thank goodness. There were also plenty of veggies and other items. Plus, I got really lucky, it was free beer night at the local hot pottery. In addition, you get to watch all the large Chinese groups all try to eat out of one of the pots. Yes, they do have larger tables and larger pots for larger groups. The Chinese have perfected the ability to serve ‘family style’ meals.
Hot Pot Crabs
They’re crabs. They’re alive. They’re meant to be placed in the hot pot and cooked. Right at the table where you’re preparing the hot pot. Talk about fresh…
