We just got back from Xi’an and it was an amazing
experience! We set out for the train station early Sunday morning and took the
extremely long eleven-hour train ride from Chongqing to Xi’an. Even though it
was a long ride, we managed to have a good time on the train. Megan and I were
being goofy and took a selfie every hour during the train so you can see the
gradual changes of how we felt during the entire eleven hours. We ended up with
a pretty funny collection of selfies of the two of us. We finally arrived in Xi’an
at around 9:00PM and went to the hotel, which was quite nice. We all settled
in, then set out to dinner, then cleaned up and went to bed. The next morning,
we were up fairly early and set out on a forty-five minute drive to the site
where the Terra Cotta army was discovered. On our way there, we stopped at the
Terra Cotta Army factory. At the factory, they make authentic terra cotta
warriors, and we had the chance to learn about how they are made, and see them
in different stages of the process of being created. After seeing the factory,
we continued to the site of the army. I cannot even explain what it was like
when we walked into the building where the warriors were, and the feeling we
all got when we saw them in person. I have learned so much about the Terra
Cotta Army in school and seen so many pictures; I never imagined having the
opportunity to see them with my own eyes. The pictures of the warriors don’t
even do them justice, they were so amazing! When the army was discovered, just about
all of them were broken into pieces, but since then, many of them have been
pieced back together. I liked that they displayed many of the warriors that
were fixed, but they also showed what it looked like when the warriors were
discovered. Seeing their original condition gives you an idea of how much work
and effort the archeologists had to put into restoring them. After seeing the
Terra Cotta army, we went to the Huaqing Hot Springs, which served as the
winter palace for the Emperor during the Tang Dynasty. The palace was enormous
and absolutely beautiful! All of the buildings were what you would think of as “classic”
Chinese architecture, and the surrounding area was incredible, with a lot of
foliage, koi ponds, and a mountain in the background.
Our next day in Xi’an started out
with visiting an amazing temple where one of the Buddha Relics is being kept.
The entire temple was made up of many different buildings, some of which are
only a couple years old, and others which are hundreds of years old. Once
again, the architecture was incredible, and there were many beautiful statues
as well. After seeing the temple, we went to see the tomb of one of the
emperors during the Tang dynasty, but the tomb ended up being closed. Instead
of seeing the tomb, we ended up climbing the mountain there which was so much
fun! It was a really steep path up to the mountain, but the view on top was so
worth it! We had a great time on top of the mountain, and of course, took
probably about one hundred pictures. Dr. Huang always makes fun of us for
taking as many photos as we do, but hey, we’re making memories! Finally, we
headed to the train to take a night train back to Xi’an. Most of us have never
taken a night train before, so it was quite the experience. There were tiny
rooms with four beds in each. Megan, Casey, Janki, and I got lucky and ended up
in the same room, so we all hung out for a while before going to bed. Sleeping
for most of the ride certainly made it go a lot faster! Even though it was a
long trip to get to and from Xi’an, I definitely think it was worth it! We saw
some really incredible sights while there that I will never forget.
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