Shaanxi | Blue Lapis Road

DAY 7 – FAREWELL JIUZHAIGOU & XIAN, China

Leaving Huanglong behind, our taxi drove northwest into the mountains. The ride to Jiuzhaigou-Huanglong Airport was roughly an hour long. The mountainous scenery along the way was pleasant under the sun. The airport was busy with passengers designated to either Chengdu or Chongqing. Our flight to Xian only operates during peak tourist season. It was already dark when we arrived at Xian after the 1.5 hour flight. Stepping out of the airport, we could immediately tell the difference in the air, from the refreshing highland air of Sichuan to the typical urban smog of a Chinese big city. It was raining heavily and we decided to take a taxi returning to Hantang House, the guesthouse that we stayed at in the first half of the trip.

Hantang House is a simple guesthouse hidden in an alleyway within walking distance from Xian’s Bell Tower. Given the affordable price, central location, youth hostel ambience, good selection of international beer and local ice pop, we were quite happy with the stay. We dropped down our backpacks and walked out to a nearby shopping centre for dinner. Originally we opted for a popular hotpot restaurant, but eventually gave up when we were told that the wait for a table would be 2.5 hours. We ended up going to a fish based hotpot restaurant in another shopping centre. In the next morning, we walked across the alleyway to Xiaohe, a street eatery right outside of our guesthouse. That was our second and the last opportunity to taste the spicy noodles and local burger made with crispy baked bread. At the lobby of Hantang House, we said goodbye to the friendly cat which always greeted visitors whenever it was awaken. We sat around the high wooden table in front of the lobby reception and waited for the American lady whom we would share a taxi to the airport. Our short trip to Xian and Jiuzhaigou had come to an end. This concludes our record for this trip.

The mountainous terrains near Huanglong reminded us that we were at the southern region of Minshan Mountains.

Enroute to the Jiuzhai-Huanglong Airport from Huanglong.

Ascending to the sky from Jiuzhaig Huanglong Airport, we could see the a series of snow capped mountains in the area.

Hidden in an alleyway, it took us a little while at our first night to find our way to the front door of Hantang House.

The lobby of Hantang House resembled a pub.

The front desk of Hantang House.

Xiaohe, the local eatery just across the alleyway from Hantang House.

Local burger with fried egg and mixed vegetables in baked bread.

Spicy noodles were quite delicious, though we had to causally sit on tiny wooden stools at the sidewalk to finish them.

Xiaohe Eatery and its table and stools on the sidewalk.

We said farewell to the cute cat at Hantang House.

The friendly cat in the lobby was part of the hospitality of Hantang House.

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Our posts on 2016 Xian and Jiuzhaigou:

DAY 1 – NIGHT ARRIVAL, Xian, China
DAY 2 – QIN EMPEROR’S TERRACOTTA ARMY, near Xian, China
DAY 2 – BIG WILD GOOSE PAGODA (大雁塔), Xian, China
DAY 3 – HAN YANG LING MAUSOLEUM, Xian, China
DAY 3 – SHAANXI HISTORY MUSEUM, Xian, China
DAY 3 – GREAT MOSQUE (西安大清真寺) AND MUSLIM QUARTER, Xian, China
DAY 3 – MING CITY WALL, Xian, China
DAY 4 -FIRST GLIMPSE OF JIUZHAIGOU (九寨溝), Sichuan (四川), China
DAY 5 – ARROW BAMBOO LAKE (箭竹海), PANDA LAKE (熊貓海) & FIVE FLOWER LAKE (五花海), Jiuzhaigou (九寨溝), China
DAY 5 – PEARL SHOAL FALLS (珍珠灘瀑布), MIRROR LAKE (鏡海) & NUORILANG FALLS (諾日朗瀑布), Jiuzhaigou (九寨溝), China
DAY 5 – LONG LAKE (長海) & FIVE COLOURS LAKE (五彩池), Jiuzhaigou (九寨溝), China
DAY 5 – RHINOCEROS LAKE (犀牛海), TIGER LAKE (老虎海) & SHUZHENG VILLAGE (樹正寨), Jiuzhaigou (九寨溝), China
DAY 6 – ASCEND TO FIVE COLOUR POND (五彩池), Huanglong (黃龍), Sichuan (四川), China
DAY 7 – FAREWELL JIUZHAIGOU & XIAN, China

December 15, 2016 | Categories: China, China: Xian and Jiuzhaigou 2016, Sichuan | Tags: cat, China, Hantang, Huanglong, Jiuzhaigou, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Xian | Leave a comment

DAY 3 – MING CITY WALL, Xian, China

We chose the historical city wall to end our visit of Xian. Constructed upon an earlier imperial fortification network of the Tang Dynasty, the First Emperor of Ming Dynasty, Hongwu (洪武), erected the 14km city wall in the 14th century. Today, this Ming city wall has become one of the most well preserved of its kind in China. Our taxi dropped us off at the West Gate, also known as Andingmen (安定門). There was a belt of public park running along the city wall where the locals engaged in all kinds of activities from dancing to playing badminton. After walking around the area for several minutes we finally found the ticket office and the stair going up to the city wall. Up on the wall we reached another network of public space where people strolled and cycled. Against the background of the cloudy sky and charcoal grey bricks, rows of crimson lanterns began to lit up as we walked towards the South Gate Yongningmen (永寧門). It turned out to be less than an hour of leisure stroll. Our two friends opted for cycling to complete the journey, while we chose to take our time to walk, take photos, and watch the city below gradually lit up.

Our taxi dropped us off at Andingmen (安定門).

Dusk had fallen upon Xian as we began our walk from Andingmen (安定門).

Signage on Xian city wall.

Xian city wall is a popular for cyclists.

Vivid lighting and red lanterns turned the city wall into a focal point of Xian at night.

Atmospheric dining in traditional houses seemed common along the city wall.

It was interesting to watch the busy street scenes as we walked.

Traditional architectural style is still commonly used for restaurants and hotels in Xian.

After slightly less than an hour of walk, we finally reached the archery tower of the South Gate Yongningmen (永寧門).

Archery Tower of the South Gate Yongningmen (永寧門)

Man played with his kid in front of the flood light of the Archery Tower .

The South Gate Yongningmen (永寧門) is perfectly aligned with the Bell Tower.

The South Gate Yongningmen (永寧門).

Closer up of the Archery Tower of the South Gate Yongningmen (永寧門).

Descending down the South Gate Yongningmen (永寧門).

The South Gate Yongningmen (永寧門).

Looking back at the Archery Tower from the South Gate Yongningmen (永寧門).

We walked through the South Gate Yongningmen (永寧門) to enter the city centre. We ended up having a fast food dinner and finished the day early. We needed time to pack our stuff and get ready for our morning flight the next day to Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟).

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Our posts on 2016 Xian and Jiuzhaigou:

December 7, 2016 | Categories: China, China: Xian and Jiuzhaigou 2016, Shaanxi | Tags: Andingmen, China, Chinese, city wall, emperor, 西安城牆, Hongwu, Ming, Shaanxi, Xian | Leave a comment

DAY 3 – SHAANXI HISTORY MUSEUM (陝西歷史博物館), Xian, China

Back from the Han Yang Ling Mausoleum, we continued our historical journey at the provincial history museum of Shaanxi. There was a long queue at the gate for people to collect the free admission tickets (4000 daily). We skipped the wait by buying a ticket to the special exhibition of “Treasures of Great Tang Dynasty”, which we wouldn’t want to miss anyway. We entered the museum building which was designed to mimic the traditional architecture of the Tang Dynasty.

We started our visit with the special exhibition of Tang treasures unearthed from Hejia Village (何家村) of Xian. Known as the Hejia Village Hoard (何家村唐代窖藏), the 1000+ treasures ranged from gold and silver wares, coins, jade items, agate wares, crystals, etc. These treasures were carefully stored in clay pots roughly 65cm tall, hidden underground sometime after AD 732 during the An–Shi Rebellion (安史之亂) when Tang China was engulfed in a nasty civil war. As the east terminus of the Silk Road, the treasures of Changan (now Xian) revealed the degree of cultural exchanges in the Chinese capital during Tang, when goldsmiths and silversmiths from Central Asia such as the Sassanian Empire (now Iraq and Iran) came to Changan and brought with them the world’s most advanced metal crafting skills. The treasures from the hoard were mainly made domestically with a mixture of techniques and styles from both within China and other places along the Silk Road. It was an impressive collection and indeed, a very fortunate case for Chinese archaeology that these items could survive the Cultural Revolution when the collection was first unearthed.

We then moved on to the museum’s permanent collections. We quickly walked through the prehistoric exhibits, and focused on the bronze items from the Shang Dynasty 商朝 (1600-1046 BC) and Zhou Dynasty 周朝 (1046-256 BC), Terracotta Warriors of the Qin Dynasty 秦朝 (221-206 BC), treasures of the Han Dynasty 漢朝 (206 BC- AD 290), and more artefacts from the Tang Dynasty 唐朝 (AD 618-907). In this post we have included selected photos of the magnificent artefacts from the Shaanxi History Museum.

The Main exhibition hall of Shaanxi History Museum was inspired by Tang architecture.

Small gold dragons (赤金走龍), Hejia Village Hoard.

Gilt Silver Plate with Double Foxes in Shape of Double Peaches (鎏金雙狐紋雙桃形銀盤), Hejia Village Hoard, is inspired by Persian influences in style and technique, combined local references of good fortune: peaches and foxes (foxes and a few other animals were also considered a reference to good fortune in Tang China).

Gilt Silver Plate with Phoneix (鎏金鳳鳥紋六曲銀盤), Hejia Village Hoard

Silver Vessel in Form of Nomadic Leather Flask Depicting a Dancing Horse (舞馬銜杯仿皮囊式銀壺), Hejia Village Hoard. Another piece of silver ware reflected the influences from the nomadic tribes of Central Asia.

Gold Bowl with Design of Lotus and Mandarin Ducks (鴛鴦蓮瓣紋金碗), Hejia Village Hoard. A golden bowl for wine.

Agate Cup with Beast Head (獸首瑪瑙杯), Hejia Village Hoard. A rare piece of Tang treasure with influences from Persia.

Bronze blades and masks for rituals, Late Shang Dynasty (13th-11th Century BC)

Bronze Bianzhong (編鐘) of Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC), an ancient music instrument.

Terracotta Warriors of First Qin Emperor, Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC).

The Kneeling Archer, Terracotta Warriors of the First Qin Emperor, Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC).

Gilded Incense Burner, Han Dynasty (206 BC- AD 290), depicting a fantasy mountain supported by dragons. The incense smoke would leak from the gaps like mountain mist.

Oil Lamp depicting a goose with a fish in its mouth, Han Dyansty (206 BC- AD 290). The smoke from burning the oil would go through the goose’s neck to its body, which was filled with water.

Gilded Bronze Dragon with iron core, Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907).

Tri-coloured Watermelon, Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907).

Terracotta figure of Lady, Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). A selection of these terracotta figures revealed the impressive hair, makeup and fashion styles of the Tang Dynasty, which changed every few years.

Terracotta figure of Lady, Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907).

Terracotta figures of the Chinese Zodiac, Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907).

Funeral Procession of the Prince Qinjian from the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368–1644).

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Our posts on 2016 Xian and Jiuzhaigou:

November 27, 2016 | Categories: China, China: Xian and Jiuzhaigou 2016, Shaanxi | Tags: army, artefact, Changan, China, Han, Hejia, History, museum, provincial, Qin, Shaanxi, Silk Road, statue, Tang, Terracotta, treasure, Xian, 何家村唐代窖藏 | Leave a comment

DAY 2 – QIN EMPEROR’S TERRACOTTA ARMY (秦始皇陵兵馬俑), near Xian, China

In the morning, we headed to the main railway station of Xian. At the station’s east plaza, there were a number of municipal buses designated for major tourist attractions near the city. We hopped onto one of the several buses heading to the Terracotta Army (兵馬俑). The bus ride took roughly an hour to arrive at the parking lot, which was about 15 minutes of walk from the gate of the archaeological site. On our way to the gate, we passed by an alleyway full of vendors. An elderly woman selling baby woolen shoes beautifully handcrafted in traditional styles caught our attention. From the ticket hall it was another 15-minute meandering through a park until reaching the main site, where four exhibition halls housed the most important archaeological discovery in China in the 20th century. We started from Pit 1, the biggest and most impressive exhibition hall where about 2000 terracotta warriors were on display in rows of excavated ditches. There were over 6000 warriors in this pit alone. It was unbelievable that no two warriors have the same face. At Pit 3 a number of high ranked terracotta generals were unearthed, prompting archaeologists to believe that it was the vault for the commanders. However the pit had been partially damaged. We then moved on to Pit 2 that offer close-up encounter with different types of warriors: archers, infantry, chariots, troopers, etc. The extraordinary details of the warrior’s hairstyles and armour were captivating, leaving us plenty of clues to piece together an impression of what being one of the thousands of warriors protecting the mighty First Qin Emperor (秦始皇)might be like 2200 years ago. Before leaving, we dared not to miss the “Qin Shi Huang Emperor Tomb Artefact Exhibition Hall”, in which two bronze chariots and horses unearthed near the mausoleum were on display.

We have learnt about the Terracotta Army since early childhood in Hong Kong from books and school. We had seen an amazing traveling exhibition of the warriors at London’s British Museum back in 2008, but none could compare with seeing the real excavation site of the army. Discovered in 1974 by a well-digging farmer, the Terracotta Army belongs to the outer part of the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. Famous as a cruel tyrant, the First Qin Emperor was also widely recognized for his contributions on unifying China, not only militarily, but also the language, culture, economy and measurement units. Built between BC 208 to 256, the mausoleum construction began in the first year of his throne when the First Qin Emperor was 13 years old. The 8000+ terracotta warriors unearthed revealed the high level of sculpting skills and artistic craftsmanship of the Qin Dynasty, as well as the selfish personality of the First Qin Emperor. Legend had it that the First Qin Emperor had huge fear of mortality. Not only he sent out travelers to look for the medicine of immortality, he also commissioned a build a terracotta army to safeguard his tomb from his uncounted enemies in the Afterlife. Ancient texts also described the exquisite construction of the mausoleum, including river streams filled with mercury so they would never dried up. Before the actual digging of the mausoleum may take place one day in the future, our generation could only imagine the exquisite of the emperor’s underground mausoleum from ancient depictions and archaeological studies of the excavated terracotta army.

Like many railway stations in the country, Xian Railway Station is a huge building.

The old woman making traditional woolen shoes near the parking lot of the Terracotta Army.

Aisles of the Terracotta Army in Pit One.

No visitors were allowed to go down to the aisles, except archaeologists and occasional VIP.

Looking at the warriors, it was hard to imagine all of them were once fully coloured.

Built in 1976, the huge building covering Pit One felt like a railway station.

The terracotta warriors seemed like they were queuing for a train, but in fact, the warriors were facing eastwards and battle-ready to guard the Emperor’s tomb from enemies of the east, namely the six nations that Qin had conquered before unifying China into a single nation.

A number of the terracotta warriors were in different stages of conservation.

Terracotta warriors and horses at Pit 2.

Overview of Pit 2.

Scattered pieces of warriors and artefacts at Pit 2.

Photographs of the coloured warriors during excavation.

Several terracotta warriors were displayed in glass boxes at Pit 3.

All of them had different hairstyles, dresses, postures, and faces.

Terracotta statue of an high ranked official.

Belly of the high ranked official.

Archer without the bow. Some of the weaponry were also on display.

Cavalry and his beautifully carved horse.

The details of the horse’s headpiece was magnificent.

Closeup of a warrior’s head showing unique hairstyle of that time.

Two bronze chariots were discovered near the mausoleum. They are roughly half the size of the real objects. The chariots were unearthed in 1980 and took archaeologists years to put back together the broken pieces. These chariots are one of the fifty or so designated artefacts that can never leave the country.

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Our posts on 2016 Xian and Jiuzhaigou:

November 5, 2016 | Categories: China, China: Xian and Jiuzhaigou 2016, Shaanxi | Tags: archaeology, archer, army, cavalry, chariot, China, 秦始皇, emperor, excavation, funerary, general, History, horse, Lintong, mausoleum, necropolis, official, Qin, Qin Shi Huang, sculpture, Shaanxi, soldier, statue, terra-cotta, Terracotta, warriors, Xian, 兵馬俑 | Leave a comment

DAY 1 – NIGHT ARRIVAL, Xian, China

In Mid-October, we had the opportunity to reunite with two of our travel buddies for a short trip to China. It was the week after the week-long Chinese National Holiday. We had a simple travel plan consisted of two distinct parts: Xian (西安) for history and Jiuzhaigou (九寨溝) for natural scenery. Xian, historically known as Changan (長安), was the ancient capital of China for 13 different dynasties, spanning a total period of over 1200 years, including the golden age of Han and Tang Dynasty. The ruins of ancient royal palaces and tombs, such as the magnificent Terra-cotta Warriors of the First Qin Emperor, revealed the former glory of ancient China. Jiuzhaigou, on the other hand, has been renowned for its out-of-this-world alpine scenery. It is located at the north of Sichuan Province (四川) where the plains of Eastern and Central China begins to give way to the Tibetan and Qinghai Plateau.

After a minor delay, we flew out of Hong Kong in a Saturday afternoon. It was already dusk by the time we landed at Xian Xianyang Interational Airport. We took an airport bus into the city, and taxied the rest of the way to our hostel south of Xincheung Square (新城廣場). Our taxi passed by the well-preserved Ming city wall and the brightly lit historical Bell Tower. After getting off, it took us a while to find the alleyway where our hostel was located. We were delighted to find our hostel room clean and comfortable. After checking in, we headed out immediately to grab a quick dinner. According to guidebook, an old famous restaurant of Shaanxi Muslim food called Lao Sun Jia (老孫家) was just five minutes of walk from our hostel. We found our way to the restaurant at the fourth floor of a retail centre. It was about 21:00 and there was only one table of guests finishing off their beer and noodles. We sat down and ordered the popular paomo (泡饃), or crumbled flatbread in either mutton or beef stew.

After dinner, we wanted to checked out the beautiful Bell Tower (鐘樓) right at the historical heart of Xian. It was another five minute of walk from the restaurant. The tower was already close for the day, but we could still admire the historical architecture across the street from the tower’s roundabout. This handsome piece of traditional architecture was an icon of Xian. In the old days since the 14th century, the tower’s main function was to mark the moment of dawn with its bells. A few blocks away, we noticed another historical building prominently lit up. It was the Drum Tower (鼓樓), the building that originally housed 28 drums to mark the day’s end at dusk. Around the corner from the Drum Tower, we entered a busy pedestrian streets packed with snack vendors. We had entered Beiyuanmen (北院門) Street, the core of Xian’s Muslim Quarter. It was almost 10pm but the street was still busy with visitors. There were a number of vendors selling barbecue lamb kebabs, mutton or beef sandwiches, local pomegranate juices, traditional sweets, nuts, persimmon cakes, and many other kinds of desserts. After the filling meal of paomo, we gave it a pass for the street food. We slowly walked back to our hostel, hoping to get some good rest. In the next morning we would exit Xian and head eastwards to the foot of Lishan Mountains to check out the most popular tourist attraction of Xian: the First Qin Emperor’s Terra-cotta Warriors.

Mutton paomo (泡饃) at Lao Sun Jia Restaurant (老孫家).

Beef paomo (泡饃) at Lao Sun Jia Restaurant (老孫家).

Heading towards the icon of Xian, the Bell Tower (鐘樓).

The Bell Tower stands at the centre of a large roundabout.

The 14th century structure is lit up with atmospheric lighting.

The Drum Tower at a distance, and in front, the public square between Bell Tower and Drum Tower. The square is flanked by local restaurants, a department store, and a Starbucks.