11:04PM Back just moments ago. Another exhausting but exhilarating day. We fall into bed now, tired, melatonin a distant memory. We visited the Terracotta Warriors today. We started at a sort of factory where the kids had a chance to make their own warriors out of clay, a great little intro to the day’s adventure. Afterwards, picked up a miniature warrior at the gift shop (paid too much, a bit of a theme) before we realized that we were able to take our creations home with us. The clay was still damp when we left and so our warriors fared rather poorly on the bus ride, with lost heads and broken feet and flattened noses. Maybe not such a bad thing that I bought one, after all.
Our guide did a tremendous job of setting the stage for us on the way to see the Terracotta Warriors. Walking into the building that housed Pit 1 and seeing them there, lined up, tall and stately, felt altogether dramatic. And I like the idea that a farmer discovered them when building a well in 1974. There’s something marvelous about that, a sense that incredible discoveries are out there to be made everyday. There was considerable speculation among the group on which of the warriors was Hua Mulan. I love the story of Mulan, and so I was quite game to find her. But at this point—probably 30 minutes in, maybe 40—I had had my fill of our lifesize clay friends and could have happily completed my tour there. By Pit 5, the kids were running in circles, and I was more than a little ready to enjoy my first Tsingtao of the day.
Here’s a great shot of the warriors, taken by my faithful travel companion.
http://ourdoings.com/davidsky/
Tonight, after dinner, we went to the Huaqing Hot Springs for what could only be described as a spectacle. Sort of an operetta with pyrotechnics and music and water and high-wire acts. It was a love story, that of Emperor Xuanzong and his concubine Yang Guifei during the Tang Dynasty. The effects were breathtaking. Ours were the only Western faces in the audience. I was smitten with a little girl standing behind us, probably eight or so, pigtails and such a sweet face. She was simply rapt with the show. How is it that the children here look so different? Hairstyle and clothing, I suppose. Our girls look so North American to my eyes. I wonder if the locals think so too.
Everyone slept on the bus on the way back and headed quietly to our rooms, bleary-eyed after a long, hot day.
Tomorrow we move on to a different phase of the trip.
Deep breath.
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