Vacation in Xian China with Asian Vacations, Inc.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site

Terra-Cotta Warriors and Horses Pits (Qin dynasty, 221-206 BC)
In 221 BC, Emperor Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty established the first centralized feudal dynasty in China. (Centralization was particularly important in the Yellow and Yangtze regions because flooding periodically wiped out years of work and coordinated planning was required to build canals and avoid political as well as geographical fragmentation.) After his death, he was buried at the northern foot of Lishan Hill in the east of Lintong county. The tomb has been reduced to half its size after 2,000 years of water and soil erosion, but still impressive--76 m high and a fundamental space of 120,000 sq.m. One unusual detail about the construction of the tomb is that the emperor had the building begin shortly after becoming king of Qin at the age of 13. This action contradicted Confucian wisdom that a son should demonstrate respect for his father by building as impressive a memorial as possible and that a man should never plan his own funeral rites. Presumably, the king of Qin did not consider himself a mere man! In fact, he ordered the burning of books of history and philosophy as well as the death of 460 Confucian scholars who had had the temerity to continue teaching principles drawn from the past. The tomb took 39 years and 700,000 workers to reach completion. It had pearls embedded in the ceiling to represent the stars, and rivers and lakes were modeled with liquid mercury. The tomb itself has not been opened yet. In 1974, when digging wells about a mile west of the mausoleum, some peasants made the sensational discovery of the Terra-Cotta Warriors and Horses; these figures were distributed over three large underground platforms and formed part of the emperor's burial objects. Likely numbering more than 7,000 warriors if the site were completely excavated, the figures are cultural assets of considerable quality. In order to avoid the risks of weather damage, a giant hall has been constructed over the first excavation site to provide protection. Although the faces of the individual warriors all have different expressions (lifelike and colorfully painted), it is known that some were mass produced in large workshops. In 1978, a fourth pit was discovered; it is shaped as the Chinese character zhong (middle). In 1980, two bronze chariots with four horses were discovered. There are four main categories of figures: chariot warriors, infantrymen, cavalrymen, and horses. There are generals, middle ranking officers, lower ranking officers, ordinary soldiers, and armored warriors. The latter can be further divided according to their headgear into warriors with a square scarf, a cylindrical bun, or a flat bun. There are kneeling warriors as well. The entrance fee is exorbitantly high (for Chinese prices), but the visit is still worth the fee. It is possible to buy small replicas of the figures for a couple of Yuan. (Remember to barter!) Many hotels offer tours to the Terra-Cotta Warriors and other sights around Xian. However, prices differ considerably, as does quality. It is prudent to ask if the entrance tickets to the sights are included. Also, it is wise to be careful if the guide offers to buy tickets for you since some guides try to charge more than you would pay at the ticket booth. Of course, you may be lucky and the guide buying the tickets may save you some money! For all its grandeur, the Battle Formation of the Terra-Cotta Warriors and Horses is acclaimed by many as the Eighth Wonder of the World.

The Little Wild Goose Pagoda
The Little Wild Goose Pagoda. Located on the grounds of the Felicity Temple, this structure gets its name because it is smaller than the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, although it is more stories high. It was completed in 709 AD, when Buddhism was firmly established in China. The influence of Buddhism was so strong that Daoism, based on the teaching of Lao Zi, gradually adopted many of the Buddhist rituals in order to maintain popularity among the people. It is said that the Little Wild Goose Pagoda had lost several stories during an earthquake in the 1500s. However, it still looks complete. It has finer detailing in the brickwork than the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Above the arched doorways on the first tier are Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) engravings of ivy designs and Buddhist figures. The pagoda is part of a temple complex and monastery. It is also possible to climb to the top of this structure.

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda
The Silk Road brought all sorts of strange and wonderful ideas to China in addition to the material trade. In 652 AD, Xuan Zang returned from India, where he had spent 18 years studying Buddhism. The entire city celebrated his return. The crown prince Li Zhi had built the Temple of Great Mercy and Goodness in 648 AD in honor of his mother. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda was added to preserve the manuscripts of Buddhist texts that Xuan Zang had brought with him to translate into Chinese. Of note is the calligraphy set into the walls on both sides of the south door of the pagoda. It is still possible to climb to the top of this structure. The quest of Xuan Zang is the basis for a folk tale called The Journey to the West. The Monkey King is a rebellious sort who is sent to live inside a mountain until he mends his ways. When Xuan Zang plans his trip to India, he needs an escort. Buddha is asked if he will allow the Monkey King to take on the task. The Monkey King has his work cut out for him. Xuan Zang trusts everyone, including evil spirits disguised as good spirits. The Monkey King prefers this good man to be a little more cynical and certainly less innocent. The Monkey King meets terrible forces of evil of every shape and size and defeats them all. The story ends when the group manages eventually to reach the west. Today the story is of the Monkey King's bravery and ability to resist evil. The original story emphasized the need to rebel and not believe everything you hear.

The Ming Walls
During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), Xi'an was refurbished and returned to prominence as a center of politics and trade. The Ming emperors rebuilt the walls, incorporating one corner left over from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD) in their design. While the architecture of the Ming is steadfastly angular, the curved rampart of Hun design adds grace to the overall effect. The walls are flat and straight, tempting one to a 15km jog.

Banpo Neolithic Village Museum
The remains of this village, located just east of Xian and inhabited from about 4500 BC to 3750 BC, were discovered in 1953. The museum was built in 1958. Placards in both Chinese and English help the visitor understand this very early settlement of the area. Inside the museum, there are the hall for the ruins, the hall for cultural relics, and the clay cave ruins. The Banpo Lady Statue on the rock in the garden pond bears a physical resemblance to the early Banpo people. Six to seven thousand years ago, a stable village was built by a late Neolithic people. Banpo had about 500 people lived in the village. Visitors today can see the remains of 45 houses, 2 stables, more than 200 cellars, 6 kilns, and about 250 graves. It was a matriarchal society based on farming. The houses were constructed of thatch over wood beams while the floors were sunk two to three feet into the ground. Heat was provided by a central fire. Food was stored in underground caves, dug deep enough to protect the provisions from being devoured by wildlife or contaminated by insects. Architecture, village organization, and food storage methods appear to have been strikingly similar to the way of life of some native American plains tribes. The Banpo worked together. They dug a trench around the entire complex both for protection and for drainage. There was a large meeting hall in the center of the village and a place for central storage. Most of the tools (e.g., axes, hoes, knives) were of stone, but some implements were of bone (e.g., needles for sewing). The stone tools look remarkably sharp, but it was still fortunate that the Banpo settled in an area where the soil was loose and easily tilled. Art, in the form of geometric designs and human and animal figures, is found on many of the pots. Some of the pottery items have marks scratched on them that may well anticipate a form of writing. The village pottery produced specialized pots for drinking, storage, cooking, and burial. (Although adults were buried in the cemetery outside the village, children and infants were buried alongside the huts in special clay urns; the reason for this continues to be matter for speculation.) Over the next 3,000 years, the descendants of the Banpo people founded new villages, began to build cities, used jade, bronze, and copper, and increased their skills in agriculture. The first dynasty (or unified government) was called the Xia Dynasty (210-1600 BC). Life changed more rapidly after that time - or so it appears from our modern-day perspective.

The Shanxi Provincial Museum
Built at the site of a former Confucian temple in the southern part of Xian, this is the largest comprehensive museum in the province. It exhibits primarily historical relics of past dynasties and displays precious art treasures and stone carvings of the Han and Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). The first Han (206 BC-220 AD) emperors built upon the foundations of the Qin and expanded their territory enormously. Unlike the Qin, however, they allowed the cultures of the new territories to remain intact and encouraged trade and commerce among the various parts of the empire. One envoy reached India, but the ruling king of India thought it impractical to form a defensive alliance at such a distance. Instead, a multinational trade agreement emerged, for when the envoy returned to Xian with detailed reports of the western states, he was sent back with a large delegation and items to trade. Silk was an immediate hit. (Over time, silk exports reached as far as Rome, where it was a highly valued commodity.) Walking through the exhibits in the Provincial Museum is like walking through the history of what came to be known as the Silk Road. First, there are items from the Xia Dynasty (210-1600 BC) and then the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) and Qing dynasties. The collection from the Han through the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) and Sung Dynasty (960-1279 AD) shows the changes of art and craftsmanship. It is not just that the skills have developed and changed (many of the early pieces are detailed and executed to perfection), it is also the viewpoint that has changed. The later works have a stronger reality base--a knowledge of an expanded world experience.

The Bell Tower

Originally from the 14th Century, this huge tower was relocated in 1739. It is possible to climb to the top. The Bell and Drum towers were used to keep time for the town and sound alarms. Tuned bells date back to the 6th Century BC They can be made of stone, brass, or bronze. Different shapes of bells were used over the centuries.

The Drum Tower

Built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), the Drum Tower is located to the north of West Street. It is a very solemn and magnificent classical building within Xian city. Its blue brick foundation covers an area of 1,804.3 sq.m. The wooden tower itself has two stories with three layers of eaves, each story having seven rooms and a green glazed tile roof. Originally, above the southern eave there was a plaque with the inscription, Splendid Civil and Military Place� in big letters, and above the northern eave there was a plaque inscribed Sound Can Be Heard in the Sky in gold letters. The Drum Tower is smaller than the Bell Tower. However, it is just southeast of the Great Mosque and marks the entrance to the Moslem quarter of Xian.

The Great Mosque
The mosque is located in a district inhabited mainly by the Moslem Hui minority. There is said to have been a mosque here as early as the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). There are five courtyards in traditional Chinese style, but with Islamic decorative patterns. Built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), the mosque still has a number of its original stelae. It continues to be used regularly, with several prayer services each day. The Moslem community here is a reminder of Xian's former importance as a center of commerce with many trading partners as far west as Persia (modern-day Iran) and the Arabian world.

City Wall

Many dynasties have built city walls for their capitals. The present city wall is the renovation of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD)'s Forbidden City during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). There are watch towers and gate towers on top of the city wall. At the bottom of the wall, there is a city moat and round park of unique styles and features.

Famen Temple

This temple was first built during the East Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), but it suffered, much destruction over the years. The 1987 renovation opened the underground palace beneath the tower; this had been sealed for 1,000 years. The renovation uncovered finger relics of Sakyamuni and a large volume of precious cultural relics. The Famen Temple and Famen Temple Museum combine a Tang-style pavilion with a Ming-style tower.

Huaqing Hot Springs
Huaqing Hot Springs. The hot springs are located 16 miles east of Xian at the foot of Mount Lishan in a large park where there are a number of public baths and some modern palaces built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) style. The hot springs, rich in minerals, were highly regarded more than 3,000 years ago. The Tang Emperor Xuanzong often spent the winter here in the company of his favorite concubine, Yang Guifei. Shortly afterwards, however, all the buildings were destroyed by war. The new baths constructed in 1956 include one called the Bath of Yang Guifei ( Guifei - Honorable Concubine).

Ba Xian'an Monastery:

The Ba Xian'an Monastery is located at the north side of Changle Fang Street, in the eastern suburb close to the east city wall of Xi'an City. It is an important historical part of the site of the Xingqing Palace which was built during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). It is also the largest Taoism temple in Xi'an. It is said that the Ba Xian'an Monastery was built during the Sung Dynasty (960-1279 AD), and then rebuilt in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD), Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), Qing Dynasties respectively. The building as it now stands is the one built during the Qing Dynasty. Ba Xian'an Monastery was named to commemorate "the Eight Immortals in Legend", whose statues are the largest in the Monastery. It is said that in the year of Guangxu (a period in the Qing Dynasty), the emperor's mother, Ci Xi, passed here to take refuge on her way westward. She remained to write and also made financial investments here. The entranceway to the Monastery is wide and open. There are two large brick toriis located there. Rows of trees have been planted on both sides of the square. On the opposite side, "Long Time Green (in Chinese, four characters)" has been engraved in the wall. There are three hill gates. The Bell Tower and Drum Tower stand on each side of the gate. The Monastery is divided into four parts-the middle, the east, the west and the west garden. In the middle, there are the Linggong Palace, the Baxian Palace (the main palace) and the Doumu Palace; in the east, there are the Luzu Palace, the Yaowang Palace and other features as well; in the west, there are the Qiuzu Palace and the Jianyuan Room. The Monastery covers altogether nearly one hundred Mu (Chinese acres). The street outside of the monastery is attractive. It is very small and very short-only around 100m. There are two-story ancient buildings all along both sides of the whole street. When you enter any room, you may find that all kinds of curios are on display. Some of them even have the mud of past dynasties on the surface of them. The arrangement of every small shop is very simple. On each of the four sides, there are glass windows set from the ceiling to the floor, giving the viewer an atmosphere of the common people's life. The decorations in the rooms are simple. Many old copper mirrors, screens, books, four treasures of the study (four things in Chinese study; they are pen, ink, paper and inkstone), copper swords, ancient falchion, gallipots, china, vases, jade small baubles and folding fans have been put together tightly inside the glass windows. No one item is purposely focused. Most of them are daily necessities. Many years ago, each of these things was used at someone's home. While walking in the street outside the Ba Xian�an Monastery, you will find the street to be filled with curio shops offering items such as Kwan-yin statues and baubles, small and large. On the first and fifteenth days of each lunar calendar month, nearly ten thousand men and women come here to burn joss sticks and make vows, which make the streets very crowded. For only �3, you can buy a bundle of joss sticks, and for about �10, you can buy two big red candles. For only �3-5 more, you can purchase a small Kwan-yin statue which represents safety. These are only some of the things for tourists to do. Wednesdays and Sundays are the days for antique exchange. Sellers will select several of their antiques to put on their counters. In the street you should not miss the small booths on the ground. You may often find many precious and valuable items there. You may not realize their value because most are dirty and covered with dirt. Transportation: By No. 102 trolleybus, or No. 11 or No.27 bus, set off at the bus stop named Jishi Guai. Ticket Price: 3. Half ticket price: Children lower then 1.2 m or Free: Children lower than 1m. Opening Time: 9:00 - 17:30

Daxingshan Temple

Daxingshan Temple once was the greatest Buddhist establishment of the Sui Dynasty (581-618 AD) and Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), but since the 10th Century it has been destroyed and rebuilt several times. The latest reconstruction was built in 1956. Today, it has been turned into a small, quiet and charming park. The main buildings have been repainted and a handful of monks live and worship there. The history of this temple can be traced back to the 3rd Century, when its original name was Zunshan Temple. During the Sui Dynasty, it was rebuilt and was given its present name. Since then, it gradually became the headquarters of an order with a network of 45 prefectural temples, which were all established by Yang Qian, the founder of the Sui Dynasty. During the Tang Dynasty, it became a great center of Buddhist art and learning. However, during the Buddhist persecution of 841-845, most of the buildings were destroyed and even ones that survived also disappeared by the end of the Tang. The temple was rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) and again restored in 1785 by an expert on Tang Dynasty Chang'an called Bi Yuan (1730-97). After its reconstruction in 1956 it was used by a community of Lamaist monks until the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). Today it houses the Xi'an Buddhist Association. The temple and Xinfeng Park are located south of the Little Goose Pagoda on a small street called Xingshan Si jie, behind the open market of Xiaozhai. Admission: �10

Forest of Stone Steles Museum

Once the Temple of Confucius, the Forest of Steles at Sanxuejie Street near the South Gate in Xi'an, was originally built in the Northern Sung Dynasty (960-1279 AD). At that time (1090 AD) a large collection of Confucian steles cut in 837 AD - the oldest existing texts of the Confucian classics - was moved here for safekeeping. It gained its present name in the 18th Century and boasted the largest collection of its kind in China. The contents of the Forest of Steles can be divided into four groups: works of literature and philosophy; historical records; calligraphy; and pictorial stones. One of the more striking exhibits is the Forest of Steles, is the heaviest collection of books in the world with the earliest of these, comprising more than 2,000 large engraved stone tablets, dates from the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD). Also most interesting are the enlargements to the Confucian Classics stone inscriptions of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). With the successive collections of Steles in the Sung Dynasty (960-1279 AD), Jin, Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD), Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) and Qing dynasties, the museum was gradually renovated and expanded like a forest of steles. The Popular Stele of Daiqin Nestorianism, engraved in 781 AD, is recognizable by the small cross at the tip, and marks the opening of a Nestorian church. The Monk Bu Kong Stele in Tang Dynasty (781 AD) is noteworthy for its Buddhist value. The collections here are also of high value for exploring the history of Chinese calligraphy. Here there are many tablets engraved with works of many outstanding calligraphers through the ages. Chinese calligraphy boasts a long history in five basic script forms, namely: seal script, clerical script, regular script, running script and cursive script. Through more than 5,000 years of creative work various forms have constituted the abundant treasure and unique traditions of Chinese calligraphy. Typically, these include the Cao Quan Stele, written in Han clerical script famous for its elegant, ingenious inscription; while the Tang Dynasty witnessed the prosperous period with noted distinctive styles of regular script. The most distinguished Tang stele is "the Preface to the Holy Buddhist Scriptures" in the handwriting of Wang Xizhi, a famous Jin calligrapher. Some poems written in elegant calligraphy are also collected here. The Stone Sculpture Gallery, which was built in 1963, near the Forest of Steles has a collection of about 70 sculptures and relief carvings of unparalleled quality. The famous exhibits are the six bas-reliefs, four of them original, the Mausoleum of Emperor Tang Taizong at Zhaoling. A reproduction of the horse from the tomb of "Swift Cavalry" General Huo Qubing also stands here. At the end of the gallery are some Buddhist statues, of which the most famous is a very beautiful torso of a bodhisattva, showing strong Indian influence from the Tang period. Admission: �30. Opening Times: 8:30 - 18:30

Green Dragon Temple (Qinglong Temple)

Located 3km (about 1.87 miles) southeast of Xi'an city, Green Dragon Temple used to be one of the most famous temples in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). First built in 582 during the Sui Dynasty (581-618 AD), the temple was originally named Lingan Temple (Temple of Inspiration) and later in 711 during the Tang Dynasty renamed Qinglong Temple (Green Dragon Temple). The temple was destroyed in 1086 and the present one was the product of restoration. Green Dragon Temple is the ancestor temple of Tantra sect of Japan Buddhism, and the holy temple for Japanese. In the early and middle 9th Century, large quantities of Japanese monks were sent to China to study Buddhism scriptures. Among the well-known "eight monks entering the Tang", six once studied Buddhism in Green Dragon Temple, in which Monk Kukai was the most famous one. Monk Kukai was born in Japan in 774 AD. In the summer of 804, he arrived at the Green Dragon Temple to study, becoming the sitting master of the sixth generation of the Tantra sect of Buddhism. Monk Kukai made a great achievement in Buddhism, poem, Sanskrit, calligraphy and other aspects. After he returned to Japan in 806 AD, he built Diamond Temple and, on the base of Chinese Buddhism, founded the Japanese Tantra sect. Monk Kukai also brought back with him Chinese painting and drawing, sculpture, architecture, medicine and farming techniques, enriching the cultural exchanges between China and Japan. In 1982, a memorial monument of Konghai was built at the ruins of the original Green Dragon Temple in memory of Monk Kukai. Admission: �20