Weather: rainy
Air: polluted
Hotel water: still stinks
No. of tombs visited: enough to last a lifetime
No. of hills/mountains hiked: too many in a week
No. of times we drove on the opposite direction with on coming traffic on the highway: 1
Qian Ling (Qian Tomb)
Today, we took an hour and a half long drive to the outskirts of Xi'an to visit Qian Ling, the burial site of Emperor Gaozong and his wife, WuZetian (the only female king in Chinese history)of the Tang Dynasty.
What can I say? It was another tomb. Okay, so maybe I should sound a little more ecstatic about it. I think the fact that we visited the tomb of the ONLY female king in the history of China is more fascinating than the actual tomb itself. We didn't really SEE the tomb. And to be frank, I found the drive thru the village more exciting than looking at twenty-five more sculpture tomb guards.
There is something about the Chinese Imperial families and their burial grounds. Do you know how much land has been put to waste? You can probably build Disneyland on each of these sites. You're going to say, "But China is so huge. They can afford the land." That is not the point. By the way, many tombs have been robbed and destroyed over the years, but the Qian Ling tomb is said to be very secure and hence, has never been visited by intruders.
The two towers used to house the guards of the tomb; this is on the opposite direction of the guard houses, going towards the tomb
There are more than a hundred human and animal sculptures that line path towards the tombs
Apparently they represent certain officials/generals of the time
There's a story that Ren told us about the missing heads from the sculptures - I cannot remember the details, but it has something to do with hiding the identities of the people they were modelled after; and I guess if your master's head is gone, so is yours
Human sculptures are meant to have heads; this 100 tonne tablet is called (are you ready?) the "Wordless Tablet"...how original. There are no words on it except for a few carved dragons because it's supposed to show the grandeur and mystery of the masoleum. I guess that's why no robbers found Wuzetian's tomb after all these years.
On our way out, I came across this "cave house." Was most fascinated by it. Ren says that these cave houses are better than brick houses. They're warm during the winter and cool during the summer; Sign reads: Side Tower of Eastern Nipple Peak. You can't leave China without pictures of somewhat awkward Chinese-English translation (more to come)
Princess Yong Tai's Tomb
After we were briefed and reminded of the greatness of Wuzetian, we were shuttled to Princess Yong Tai's Tomb. Now we find out that our heroic female king had Princess Yong Tai's mother beaten to death because she had talked about Wuzetian's affairs with her male prositutes (by the way, Wuzetian ended up marrying one of the Emperor's son after the Emperor died.) According to some historical facts, Princess Yong Tai died a tragic death - except no details were given. But there are stories about her being murdered by Wuzetian.
Tunnel leading to the tomb; murals
Lots of pottery, figurines, etc were found; ceiling details
Famen Temple
At around 12:45pm, we got to Famen Temple.
History (DK): The remote Famen Temple is not easy to reach, but is well worth the long journey. This shrine is one of China's first Buddhist temples, and a venerated place for Buddhist pilgrims the world over. It was built in the 2nd century AD to house a finger bone of Sakyamuni (the Historical Buddha) donated by the Indian king Ashoka, who was dispensing Buddhist relics (sarira) around Buddhist lands...
Beware of ANYONE selling you ANYTHING. Also, they can be very persistent. This lady stalked Wang Wei for at least five minutes.
Souvenir stands. Most of the souvenir stands sell the same thing. When bargaining, don't feel afraid to walk away and check out other stalls. You will most likely find the same thing you were bargaining for, and sometimes you might even get a better deal!
Those lantern-shaped red balloons are everywhere in China; Main hall
Prayers and wishes being made
Interior of the main prayer hall
Wang Wei bought ice cream. Bad news. Apparently, we were supposed to be at the temple dining hall for lunch just as we started stuffing our mouths. Not wanting to be late, there we were, all 4 of us, walking into the TEMPLE DINING HALL with ice cream in our hands AND mouths, waiting to be fed lunch. First class idiots.
4-sided gold statue; room where the "finger bone" is being kept
From the Famen Temple Museum
When a freeway means 'free way'
We left Famen Temple around 4 and headed back to the city. It started raining cats and dogs the minute we got into our van. Nice. We can take a nap all the way back, enjoying the pitter patter of the raindrops on the windows. Hah. After 45 minutes, the driver slowed down and pulled over. We were lost. The rain was so heavy that he couldn't see the signs clearly. So, what do you do when you're going the wrong way? You turn around. And that was what we did. LITERALLY. WE TURNED AROUND ON THE FREEWAY. And we drove for a mile going the opposite direction of on coming traffic. Lanna and I were the only ones who panicked.
We got back to smelly-water hotel at 6pm. After half an hour (no shower necessary) we took a cab to Xi'an Fan Guan (a well known restaurant in Xi'an recommended by Lanna's boss) for dinner. It wasn't just a dinner. It was a feast.
When dishes become a fashion statement
The name of this dish is "Fashionable cold meat"...honestly; and it was liver they served I think, or tongue? I don't remember
Dates (really really sweet); veg; one of the tastiest lamb I've had
Fish in the shape of crysanthemums; mini meat sandwiches (Nonya's much better!); some stir fry meat and veg dish
We also had persimmon cakes for dessert, plum juice and rice. And all for RMB198 (about USD25.)
Needless to say, there is a reason why they put that weighing machine outside our room.
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