Terracotta memories

Despite decades of travel, every so often I visit a place that delivers a “pinch me” moment. An experience so profound I’m in awe of it long after returning home. China’s world-renowned Terracotta Army is one such precious moment. Garry and I were lucky enough to visit this mind-boggling heritage site near Xian on 20 October 2003.

Our day started with an early morning visit to the Great Mosque of Xi'an. This proved to be a rather ramshackle affair with decaying stone buildings and dishevelled gardens. The complex opened in 742AD during the Tang dynasty. However, most of the structures visible today date from a restoration completed in 1384 AD.

We then went for a walk along Xi’an city wall. This is an extraordinary structure. The old city is completely surrounded by a 14 kilometre long series of imposing stone walls. These massive fortifications are 12 metres high and 15 metres wide. They trace a 36 square kilometre rectangle around the old city, separating it from the modern central business district outside.

The walls were built more than 637 years ago during the Ming Dynasty. When completed they were surrounded by a moat and featured intricate drawbridges, arched gateways and a series of guard towers. While the moat has long gone, the walls, gates and towers remain today. 

We kicked off our brief wall walk from the South Gate, the oldest and grandest of the wall’s four main gates. Then, with the help of the hotel concierge, we made our way by private taxi to the Terracotta Army Museum, approximately 40 kms from the old city.

The Terracotta Army was discovered on 29 March 1974 by a group of farmers digging a well approximately 1.5 km east of Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s tomb mound. The mound itself has never been opened. However, its terracotta companions have been extensively excavated, a work in progress that continues unabated today.

Four main pits approximately 7 metres deep have been excavated. Each is enclosed by an enclosed steel atrium that protects it from the weather. It appears that the soldiers within were laid out as if to protect the tomb from the east, the direction in which the emperor’s conquered states reside.

The largest pit, known as Pit 1, extends more than 230 metres and is 62 metres wide. It contains the main army consisting of more than 6,000 life-size figures. When it was originally constructed, it featured 11 corridors, about 3 metres wide, that were paved with bricks and enclosed by a wooden ceiling supported by large beams and posts. According to Wikipedia, this design was also used for the tombs of nobles and would have resembled palace hallways when built.

The entire site was then covered by more than two metres of overburden and thus remained hidden for two thousand years. Over the centuries the internal structure collapsed as the timbers decayed. However, since its discovery some of these filled corridors have been excavated and their rows of terracotta statues painstakingly restored from shattered fragments. 

Words simply cannot convey the size and scale of this excavation, nor the majesty of such an impressive ancient edifice.

The other pits on display proved equally memorable. I particularly liked Pit 2. It has cavalry and infantry units as well as war chariots. It’s thought to represent a military guard. Pit 3 is the command post, with high-ranking officers and a war chariot. We later learnt that Pit 4 is empty for reasons still unknown to scholars. 

Some of the site’s best-preserved finds have been put on display at an onsite museum. It houses several impressive examples of the warriors, life-size terracotta horses and a restored chariot. Again, words simply cannot describe how magical this entire experience was.  The Terracotta Army is one of those unique tourist attractions that really does exceed all expectations

As I reflect on this day, I still marvel at the fact that I was fortunate enough to return a decade later to share the experience with my parents. This was one of a bucket list of travel adventures I enjoyed with my father during his final year of life. Both he and Mum were blown away by the size and scale of this incredible archaeological site.

My return visit also came with a hidden benefit. During the first visit with Garry, I’d set the default resolution far too low on my digital camera. Sadly, this resulted in images that were rather small and grainy. For my return visit the camera’s resolution was set much higher.

We walked for miles that day before returning to collect our luggage and head for the airport. Our flight to Beijing left shortly after 8:00pm. We finally made it to our hotel shortly before midnight.  My company put us up at the Traders Hotel, centrally located in the Chaoyang Central Business District.

However, our stay in the capital got off to a bad start. When we opened the door to our hotel room, we discovered it hadn’t been cleaned. We were presented with a bed unmade and piled high with towels and crumpled sheets. After a long day, we didn’t enjoy dragging our luggage back down to the lobby, arranging a new room, and setting off to try a second room. It would be fair to say I lost my cool In reception.

Welcome to Xi'an

In October 2003 I travelled to China on business. At the time, my company had recently opened a network of offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. As regional director for Asia Pacific, I was travelling to meet some of our new team and pitch for local representation of a new global account in Shanghai. I was also in town to chaperone a US employee who was conducting an initial recognizance trip. At the time, he and his wife were looking to relocate from California to Beijing.

Garry accompanied me on the trip. As it was his first time in China, I tweaked my itinerary to squeeze in a few sightseeing activities along the way. This included a side trip to Xi’an to see the Terracotta Warriors, a tour of the Great Wall, a visit to the Forbidden City and a trip up the iconic Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai.

The Xi'an side trip kicked off our two-week stint in China. We flew directly into the city after transiting through Hong Kong, arriving at our hotel shortly before midnight on Saturday 18 October. We then flew to Beijing the following Monday for eight days before moving on to Shanghai for another four days.

Xi’an is an extraordinary place steeped in history. It was the capital of the Chinese Empire at various times over a period of more than 1,100 years. It is situated in the fertile valleys of the Wei and Yellow Rivers, traditionally known as the "cradle of Chinese civilization." The earliest evidence of human habitation dates back more than 6,000 years to the villages of primitive Chinese tribes.

Over 2,000 years ago, Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the first ruler to unify China, built his capital of Xianyang just east of modern-day Xi’an. The terracotta warriors surround Qin Shi Huang's tomb. They depict the emperor's ancient army and were buried with him in 210-209 BC to protect him in the afterlife.

The Han Dynasty that followed also established its capital near Xi’an, calling it Chang'an or "Eternal Peace". During this period, Chang'an was the starting point for the great trade caravans of the Silk Road. In the 5th century, the Sui Dynasty rebuilt Chang'an on the plain where modern Xian now stands.

By the 7th century, the Tang Dynasty reigned over the Golden Age of China, and Chang'an had become the largest and most cosmopolitan city in the world, attracting foreigners from all parts of Asia and beyond. In 1368, the ruler of the Ming Dynasty renamed the city Xi'an, meaning "Western Peace." I must admit that before we went to Xi'an I had very little appreciation for this remarkable history and, beyond the world-famous warriors, I knew nothing of its other ancient landmarks.

 

For our stay, my travel agent booked us into the Bell Tower Hotel in the heart of the old city. This proved a sage move. Our room included a full-width wall of windows that looked directly over the old city’s Bell Tower. Imagine this, as we entered our hotel room after a lengthy day of travel, we were greeted by the incredible view you see above. The scene was just as spectacular by day!

The Bell Tower is an impressive structure. It was built in 1384 during the early Ming Dynasty and sits in the very heart of the old city. Including its brick podium, the multi-story wooden tower stands 36 metres high. The podium itself is a perfect square measuring 35.5 metres along each side. For centuries a large internal drum functioned as a daily time reporting and news proclamation service. However, in more recent times, it’s become the symbol of Xi’an and is now considered one of the grandest of its kind in all of China.

We spent our first full day in Xi'an exploring the Bell Tower and other ancient landmarks including the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Small Wild Goose Pagoda. We even climbed a series of narrow stone stairs inside the Small Wild Goose Pagoda to take in a view of the surrounding area and temple complex below. 

Unfortunately, as you can see from the photos we took, Xi'an was covered in a thick haze during our first full day in town. This haze is a combination of desert dust and smog generated by a growing population of more than eight million people. Sadly, in my experience, it's a ubiquitous hallmark of most Chinese cities these days.

The Small Wild Goose Pagoda was built between 707–709 AD, during the Tang dynasty. It was originally 45 metres high. However, an earthquake in 1556 destroyed the tower’s top two tiers. These were never repaired, thus leaving it at its current height of 42 metres. A rather unnerving crack that opened along its length during the quake also remains visible today.   

We also visited The Stele Forest Museum (also known as the Beilin Museum). This nondescript building houses more than 11,000 relics among which 19 are considered Chinese national treasures.  Some are stone steles and some are impressive stone sculptures. 

Its priceless artefacts include inscriptions from the Tang and Han dynasties that cover a variety of themes including Confucian teachings and the recounting of historical events. Fortunately for us, many of the more renowned steles included a plaque with a brief English description. We also had a local guide helping to interpret the more precious items.

In the stone sculpture room, one of its most famous exhibits is a pair of Stone Rhinoceros from Xianling Mausoleum. These creatures guarded the tomb of Li Yuan (the first emperor of Tang dynasty who ruled between 618 - 907 AD). Each animal is carved from a ten-ton bluestone and has a life-like expression on its face. The image above was sourced from the Internet as I forgot to take any of our own photos.

Much to our surprise we were also invited to sit on a stone Bixi. This is a mythical dragon with the shell of a turtle. For centuries the Chinese have used Bixi sculptures as decorative plinths for commemorative steles and tablets. The locals often rub them for good luck. Therefore, by straddling this mythical beast, I've supposedly set myself up for life.

Perhaps the most fascinating thing we witnessed during our visit was the copying of some steles. We watched as people wiped ink across the surface of a chosen stele before taking a print of it using enormous sheets of parchment paper. These rubbings are then sold to visitors in the museum's gift shop.

Follow this link to read about our visit to the Terracotta Warriors.

A life is a mirage

In June 2005 I cashed in some Starwood loyalty points for a Queen's Birthday weekend at the Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas. I've always wanted to give this resort a go. Therefore, an opportunity for Garry and me to do so on the cheap was simply too good to pass up. 

When the resort first opened in 1987, it was considered one of the South Pacific’s most exclusive destinations. It cost a reported $100 million to build and transformed, literally overnight, a sleepy coastal town into a playground for the rich and famous. In the years since, the likes of Bill and Hillary Clinton, Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall, Luciano Pavarotti, and Leonardo DiCaprio have all stayed there.

The resort boasts a golf course, expansive beachfront access, and a sprawling network of ten artificial lagoons that give most rooms a stunning water view. Our room was tucked away in a quiet corner with a sheltered balcony looking out over one of the smaller, more secluded, lagoons. The room’s only downside was its southern-facing aspect. As a result, it received very little direct sunlight for most of the day. You can see Garry hanging over the balcony in the image above (and me delivering a rather convincing whale simulation).

Sadly parts of the resort seemed to show their age. I recall some of the decor felt a little out of place and fittings in the public spaces looked a little tired despite a supposed refurbishment the previous year. However, the food was excellent including a dinner we enjoyed at a fusion-style restaurant near the golf course.

We ultimately enjoyed a four-day long weekend in Far North Queensland. We kicked off our vacation with a night at Reef House in Palm Cove on Friday 10 June, followed by two nights (three days) in Port Douglas, and a final night in Cairns. The Reef House kindly upgraded us to one of its larger Verandah Rooms overlooking its tropical gardens and courtyard swimming pool. It was refreshing to sit on its open deck looking across to the beach as we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast the following morning. Winter in far North Queensland is definitely my idea of the perfect "cool season".

We made the most of our rental car by visiting Mossman Gorge, driving north as far as the Daintree River, and driving up to Kuranda (rather than catching the train which was undergoing maintenance at the time).  However, driving the coastal escarpment was an experience of its own. As the road zigzagged its way up the hillside the narrow coastal plain slowly revealed itself. While in Kuranda we also drove to the Barron Falls lookout on the outskirts of town. The falls were barely flowing the day we visited. Although the exposed rock face was still an impressive sight.

The termite mounds along the road heading north also caught our eye. In the years since we've subsequently seen them many times in the Northern Territory and Central Queensland. It's fascinating to look back at how something like this became a familiar sight at some point. It's obvious from the many photos we took in the Daintree area that they were a rather unique, and memorable, vacation highlight.

Perhaps the only disappointment we experienced was our final night's accommodation at Cairns Queens Court.  We had an early flight home on Tuesday so I booked us into a cheap Cairns hotel on Monday evening to save money. 

This proved to be a false economy as the hotel's $69 "budget" room turned out to be a backpacker hostel set-up. We had a private room but, to our horror, it only offered a communal bathroom for showers and amenities. It was a real comedown after living it up at the Mirage.

Final night aside, all in all, this quick weekend dash was a wonderful way to kick off our final months in Australia as we prepared to relocate to London.

Kaprun Hochgebirgsstauseen

Here’s another retrospective post on our travel adventures. Shortly before relocating to London Garry and I flew to Europe for an initial recognizance visit. At the time my company was keen to reassure Garry that our relocation would be a positive experience. We flew SWISS airline to Zurich and then on to Munich before finally arriving in the UK.

The trip to Munich was shoe-horned into our itinerary in part to allow me to meet with several key European executives based there, and visit my brother in Austria. At the time, Hamish and his family lived in Kitzbuhel, approximately two hours by train from Munich.

We flew into Munich early on the morning of Friday, 1 July. I then spent the day in meetings with the team in Munich while Garry ventured out to grab a late breakfast and explore the neighbourhood. The Munich office was located about 15 minutes walk from the grounds of Nymphenburg Palace, one of the city’s popular tourist attractions.

Nymphenburg Palace was originally built as a summer residence for, Max Emanuel, who was born in 1662 to the Bavarian Elector Ferdinand Maria and his wife, Henriette Adelaide of Savoy. It subsequently became the primary residence of Bavarian royalty for the next two hundred years, The complex and its expansive gardens cover more than 200 hectares in the middle of the city.

Unfortunately, Garry never got to see the palace. In a rare moment of culture shock, he abandoned plans to tour the grounds after struggling to order breakfast in a local café where no one spoke English. Instead, he returned to the office and spent most of his time hanging out in the lobby.

Once I’d completed my duties for the day, we caught a late afternoon train to Wogel where we were met by Hamish. He then drove us back to Kitzbuhel. My parents were also staying at the time, so our arrival kicked off a minor family reunion. We spent a busy weekend with the family before heading on to London the following Monday.

While we were in Kitzbuhel, Hamish took Garry and I on a day trip to the Kaprun Hochgebirgsstauseen, one of the region’s popular tourist attractions. It’s an incredibly scenic hydroelectric complex consisting of two high mountain reservoirs, Wasserfallboden and Mooserboden, embedded in the alpine landscape at 2,036 meters above sea level. 

Hamish drove us into the area via the picturesque Thun Pass. We then bought a combined travel pass that included two bus rides, separated by an exhilarating transfer on the Lärchwald inclined lift. This is the biggest open platform inclined lift in Europe and the largest track gauge in the world for a passenger rail car. It carries up to 185 passengers at a time and lifts you 431 metres over a length of only 820 metres.

During the construction phase of the Kaprun high mountain reservoirs, this was the only means of transporting heavy equipment, construction materials, and lorries into the mountains. After the completion of the dams, it was converted into the tourist attraction that we enjoyed. Likewise, the narrow winding mountain tunnels our tour buses passed through are another enduring dam-building legacy.

The multi-modal journey is well worth the effort. As our final bus came out of a spiraling road tunnel, we were greeted by a breathtaking view of Grossglockner, the highest mountain in Austria. It’s 3,798 metres high and is surrounded by equally photogenic snow-clad peaks. On the day we visited, everything simply dazzled in the brilliant summer alpine sunshine.