Terracotta Warriors? Shadow puppet shows? Welcome to Xi’an! 12/8

Hi, it’s Olivia! Today (12/8), we woke up with varying levels of restfulness on an overnight train. Blearily drinking our train coffee, we prepared for a new city, Xi’an. Once we arrived, we met our guide, Chris, and went to the hotel to eat breakfast. Xi’an is an amazing city whose history dates to the beginning of China (generally dated around 400 BC). It is the historic capital city where many of the ancient Dynasties’ ruled until the capital was moved to Beijing.

                I think giving some background of this city is important. The earliest it is known to be the capital is in 200 BC during the Qin Dynasty (Not the Qing Dynasty, important difference!). This dynasty was short, only 11 years, and ruled by Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. Shi Huangdi harshly ruled over his people and is accredited with the political philosophy of legalism, or the most effective manner to rule is through strict enforcement of laws. He is most well-known for creating the Terracotta warriors. After its completion, he was said to have buried alive the builders of his tomb in an attempt to hide the location of his tomb. And it remained hidden until the 1960’s when a farmer discovered it by accident.

                Visiting the terracotta warriors was the coolest experience. For me, it was amazing to see something that I had studied so much when I was little (shout out to the Magic Treehouse series for introducing me to the terracotta warriors). The one part that wasn’t so great was that we could only look down at them in a giant pit. Some members thought we would be down in the pit taking selfies with the warriors! Fun fact: did you know that every Terracotta warrior has a unique face?

                After that, we went into the Muslim Quarter to an old Hutong to watch a shadow puppet show. The Muslim Quarter was nothing like we expected. It had bright lights everywhere illuminating the street. It was like visiting a modern Old City with Chinese Characteristics. That’s not a very helpful description, but the important part is that it was a vibrant community and it was fun to visit. It was an overwhelming experience, too much to take in at once with all the shops and food everywhere I turned.

                Then all of that went away when we entered the Hutong. It was as though we were far away from the lively street. It was so quiet. We were ushered into a room where we watched the shadow puppet show. Basically, it was colorful cutouts pressed up against a thin screen controlled by string. We watched the story of a monk, a monkey king, and a wife. To be honest, I don’t really know what was going on—it was all in the local dialect! 

                To finish our day, we stuffed ourselves at dinner with way too much food, then split off in our different directions. Personally, I stayed and shopped some more. Love Xi’an!