20251012 Viking Gems of China and Japan Day 8 – Xi’an Terracotta Warriors

Viking Gems of China and Japan Day 8 – Xi’an Terracotta Warriors - 8,000-strong and growing

The rain returned with a vengeance today, with unrelenting downpours. That meant yet another wet, cold, and gloomy day. The good news is that it is supposed to be lovely tomorrow, as we leave Xi'an.

Today's activity was a visit to the famous terracotta warriors. They were first discovered in 1974, and to date, none have been found fully intact. They have been meticulously restored.

There are several pits containing the warriors. They were constructed by Qin Shi Huang, King of Qin and first emperor and unifier of China, in 247 BC and continued until his death in 210 BC. They were designed to serve and protect the emperor in the afterlife. They are still assembling the army from fragments, and estimates are that there were more than 8,000, with new excavations discovering additional ones. Every warrior was unique with different facial expressions, hair, armor, etc.

We were greeted by a statue of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China

Hiding from the rain before proceeding to Pit #1

Our first view of the warriors

They were arranged in lines and positioned with different specialties, like archers and infantry

They are in various states of repair as more pieces are found

If you look closely, you can see that they all have different facial expressions

There are also horses, but their wooden chariots have long since rotted away

They are assembling more in what is described as the world's largest jigsaw puzzle

More ongoing repair and reconstruction

When pieces are glued together, they are wrapped with plastic wrap to allow the glue to cure

We left Pit #1 and visited the much-smaller Pit #3.

There were many more pieces still being excavated here

A highlight was four horses with drivers, but of course, no wooden chariots.

Leaving Pit #3

Heading to Pit #2

There was more active excavation in Pit #2, with climate-controlled excavation buildings in place over active areas

A well-preserved warrior - note the detail on the sole of his shoe

You can see the rear of a horse being excavated

Construction bricks over 2,000 years old

Higher-ranking officers have more elaborate headwear

We completed our time in the pits and headed to a temporary exhibition celebrating 50 years since the warriors were discovered.

The relation of the emperor's tomb and the warrior pits

The warriors were surprisingly tall, coming close to Arlona's height

Some of the very best examples of the warriors were on display

And some are still looking for pieces

A sampling of the various faces of the warriors

The warriors were painted, but when they were excavated, the paint oxidized

Weapons carried by the warriors

Other items buried included several birds

There were also entertainment figures like opera singers

I needed to pull my jacket down

With our visit complete, we boarded the bus and headed to our lunch venue. Like the jade factory the other day, this was paired with a silk embroidery, furniture, and jewelry facility. They also create replicas of the terracotta warriors using traditional methods. These range from a few inches tall to full-sized. Everything was, of course, available for sale and shipping.

We enjoyed a nice buffet lunch and some free time to peruse the shops. While browsing, a couple stopped us and said that they thought they had cruised with us before. Sure enough, they were on our Viking European Sojourn river cruise in August 2024. So now, we will be cruising with three other couples we've sailed with before.

Driving back to the hotel, we were struck by the endless rows of high-rise apartment buildings that we passed. It is a city of 10 million, and they have to live somewhere.

Tonight, an optional excursion with a cultural show and dinner was available, but we had not signed up for it. That meant dinner was on our own tonight. We wandered around the corner to a convenience store and picked up a few bottles of pop (soda for you non-Midwesterners) and some small bags of chips. We decided to have a calm afternoon and just hang out in the room and avoid more rain. It also let me get all the blogs from the last few days published using my new VPN software.

We have to have our checked luggage outside our room by 10:00 tonight. Tomorrow, we will leave the hotel at 10:30 in the morning and head back to the airport for our flight to Lhasa, Tibet.