Xi’an was known as Chang’an in ancient times. As the capital city of many dynasties, it is world-renowned. Chang’an is a world of both dreams shattered and dreams fulfilled, recording countless stories of prosperity and decline. The prosperity and glory of the Tang Dynasty are all recorded in the history of Chang’an. Below, I will share with you some of the interesting places to visit in Xi’an.
Chang’an is a great starting point, from which you can reach anywhere.
There’s Rome in the west, and Chang’an in the east.
Chang’an has always been the capital of emperors, with 13 dynasties, including the Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Xin Mang, Eastern Han, Western Jin, Former Zhao, Former Qin, Later Qin, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, and Tang dynasties, having established their capitals here.
Date: 2017.3.23 Weather: Sunny
With a backpack on my back and a big suitcase in tow, on the bus, a little girl asked her mother, “Mom, where are they going?” Her mother smiled and said, “They are going to a very far place. Do you want to go too?”
Departing from Shanghai – Xianyang International Airport, in the air, it seemed as if I could see the horizon meeting the sky. Little Z said it reminded her of “Big Fish & Begonia,” where every fish belongs to the sky. And we, like fish, were flying to the Chang’an of our dreams, embarking on a month-long journey through the northwest.
We arrived safely and met up with Tingjie. We took a bus to the city center. Along the way, there were pink apricot blossoms, their colors unassuming and serene. The bus had no lights and was silent. Everyone was tired and asleep.
In the evening, we went to see the Bell Tower and Drum Tower, just gazing at them from afar, not going up. The sound of the drum in the evening and the bell in the morning, Xi’an’s Bell Tower and Drum Tower are typical Ming Dynasty architecture, with gilded peaks and magnificent splendor. With the sky as a curtain, lights as clothing, and trees as barriers, the glazed yellow and Chinese red lights make the night sky even more dazzling.
The night was full of sentimentality, with a cool breeze blowing. In March, the greenery of Xi’an hadn’t yet emerged, and the streets were covered in dry branches and rough trunks, as if they were just about to welcome spring.
In the evening, we went to the Muslim Quarter and ate stinky tofu, lamb skewers, and meat sandwiches. The Muslim Quarter was bustling with people, everywhere you looked, there were lamb trotters, lamb racks, pomegranate juice. Xi’an’s city flower is the pomegranate blossom, and you can see pomegranates with their large red seeds and juicers everywhere.
Early in the morning, we took a bus to Lintong District, to Lishan Mountain and Huaqing Hot Springs. Looking at the sculptures of Yang Guifei and Emperor Xuanzong dancing together, it seemed as if we were back in the Tang Dynasty, filled with joyous singing and laughter, with pipe and flute music.
The weather was gloomy, and Lishan Mountain was faintly visible, still beautiful and secluded. There was an old man writing poetry on the ground.
It was the time of year when winter and spring were changing. The graceful, bare trees and the goose-yellow willow branches that swayed in the wind complemented each other. The forsythia and apricot blossoms were in full bloom. Following our tour guide, we came to the large performance stage at the foot of Lishan Mountain. The character “Li” in Lishan means a beautiful pure-blue horse. It is said that when Nüwa repaired the sky, she sent this horse to guard this place. Over time, it turned into a mountain, forever guarding this place.
“The Song of Everlasting Regret” is inscribed on a stone tablet. People love to recite the lines, “If I wish to be a bird in the sky, I’d wish to be a pair with you; If I wish to be a tree on earth, I’d wish to be intertwined with you.” But who still remembers the ending, “Time can exhaust the long years, But my sorrow can last forever.” The sculpture of Yang Guifei just before she took a bath is there for people to admire. It was crafted by a master. Beside the sculpture is a place to wash your hands. We all experienced washing our hands in the hot spring water of Huaqing Palace with our companions. The tour guide said that you can’t wipe your hands, you have to let them air dry naturally to have good fortune. The hot spring water is rich in minerals and stays at a constant temperature of 43 degrees. Emperors throughout the ages have loved to build palaces around the hot spring water source for their enjoyment.
We came across a grafted fire-gold persimmon tree. The persimmons were smaller than regular persimmons and were known for their lung-moistening effects. Huaqing Pool, “Hua Qing,” also means to cure illness.
Continuing our tour, we came to the Haitang Tang (Sea Tang Pool). The Haitang Tang was where Yang Guifei bathed. It was named after the bathhouse’s shape resembling a sea tang (crabapple) flower. The bathhouse is shaped like a crabapple flower, with two tiers, built from blue stone, exquisite and small. The bottom of the pool is made of black jade, which is heavy and dense. When it comes into contact with water, it turns green.
The Lianhua Tang (Lotus Flower Pool) was where Emperor Xuanzong bathed. In ancient times, couples were expected to sleep together but not bathe together. This pool was built by An Lushan to curry favor with the emperor. The shape of the pool is square and rectangular, symbolizing unity between heaven and man, and all under heaven is the emperor’s territory.
The Xingchen Tang (Star Pool) was where Emperor Taizong bathed; the Shangshi Tang (Imperial Food Pool) was where the imperial chefs bathed. It is said that the emperor would bestow the bathing water on officials who had made contributions as a gift. This is equivalent to being showered with imperial favor today.
There is another figure closely related to Lishan Mountain and Huaqing Hot Springs: Chiang Kai-shek. The bullet holes from the Xi’an Incident are still on the wall, allowing future generations to truly experience the gunshot and rain of bullets of that event.
In the afternoon, we went to visit the Terracotta Army Museum. It was Saturday, the weather was gloomy, and the gardens were full of apricot blossoms. Mistaken for cherry blossoms, they were unassuming, unpretentious, and uncompetitive. Their pale pink color swayed in the wind, and the fallen petals covered the blue Veronica on the ground.
We followed a local tour guide to Pit 1. The terracotta warriors, each with a different shape, were there before our very eyes, a place we had only observed countless times in history books.
Pit 1: is the largest of the three pits of the Terracotta Army. It is 230 meters long from east to west, about 62 meters wide, and has a total area of 14,260 square meters. So far, 4,000 square meters have been excavated, and nearly 2,000 terracotta warriors and horses have been unearthed, along with 20 wooden chariots.
Pit 2: is located to the northeast of Pit 1 and to the east of Pit 3. It is 96 meters long from east to west and 84 meters wide from north to south, with a total area of about 6,000 square meters. Pit 2 contains over 1,300 terracotta warriors and horses, over 80 chariots, and tens of thousands of bronze weapons. Among them, the general terracotta warriors, saddled horses, and kneeling archers were discovered for the first time.
Pit 3: is 25 meters from Pit 1 and 120 meters east of Pit 2. It covers an area of about 520 square meters. The terracotta warriors unearthed in this pit have more intact paint and brighter colors.
The Terracotta Army was discovered by a local farmer. It is a treasure of China. It is said that every brick in it is worth a fortune. Leaders from all over the world have visited it, including French President Jacques Chirac, who praised the Terracotta Army as the eighth wonder of the world.
The complete Terracotta Army we see today is the result of long and painstaking restoration. When they were first unearthed, they were all fragments. When Xiang Yu entered Xianyang, he burned the Xianyang Palace and Qin Shi Huang’s tomb, severely damaging the Terracotta Army. The Terracotta Army is still being excavated and restored. On-site, you can see terracotta warriors that have not yet been restored, which shows how precious each complete artifact is.
Each terracotta warrior is nearly two meters tall, and their height is slightly exaggerated. This shows that Qin Shi Huang wanted to show the grandeur and power of the Qin soldiers.
The Terracotta Army has stood for thousands of years without decaying or rotting. This was achieved using a chromium salt oxidation treatment technique, a miracle of world metallurgical history.
The kneeling archer, a symbol of Shaanxi Province, is the only one that has been preserved intact without restoration and its shape closely resembles the map of Shaanxi Province. When we arrived at the shop area, it was full of dazzling goods, of various sizes, colors, and shapes.
After our visit, I had a high fever in the afternoon that made my legs feel like they were floating and my head felt heavy. I was helped back to the hotel by my friends. I took medicine and went to sleep. Tingjie and Little Z went to the Muslim Quarter and brought back stinky tofu and cold noodles for me.
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