Train to the Terracotta Warriors

There were basically four options to get from Beijing to Xi'an to see the Warriors: 1) plane 2) train 3) automobile 4) bus. As far as option 1 was concerned, we have taken our share of planes so flying seemed too ordinary. Option 2 was intriguing as trains are a huge part of Chinese culture and the way millions of residents undertake long distance travel. Option 3 was too expensive. Option 4 just wasn't going to happen. Apparently the kids and I were the only 3 people in China that don't smoke so the thought of spending hours on a crowded bus that was a glorified cancer factory wasn't appealing. If I'm going to give up a lung it's going to be for something amazing, not someone else's cigarette. Also, bus travel isn't all that fast and I didn't want to lose a lot of time in transit. Option 2 was the clear winner as the train was overnight so we wouldn't lose any daylight hours.

Miniman was able to travel for free as long as he slept with me which meant we'd be sharing our four bed cabin with two total strangers. As the kids and I had never travelled by train before, I had no clue as to train etiquette. For instance: Do you tell the other people in the cabin goodnight when the lights go out? No. Do you wear pajamas for an overnight trip or sleep in your day clothes? Sleep in your day clothes. I didn't see anyone in pj's. Who decides when to turn out the lights at night or turn them on in the morning? This is decided for you. At a certain time an announcement comes on the loud speaker nicely telling everyone that it's late and time to go to sleep. Another announcement tells you that it's time to wake up and start getting ready for your arrival.
Our arrival in Xi'an was met with absolute chaos. There weren't any signs to tell me where to go and there wasn't anyone to ask as no one spoke english. No one. There were buses and people and tour groups everywhere and I had a hard time finding the one bus I was looking for. My kids were the only non-asian kids that I saw and everyone wanted to touch their faces and their hair and get pictures of them and with them. It was enough to make me start to panic a little. About the time I started to really regret the decision to travel to Xi'an by myself with the smalls I stumbled upon the elusive bus I was looking for that would take us from the train station to the Warriors.

The terracotta warriors didn't disappoint. The level of detail in the faces, clothes and animals is mind blowing. The three hangars that house the warriors are laid out in large rectangles which means there is plenty of space for viewing regardless of the hordes of tourists. The site itself is actually lower than the viewing platform so you're looking down on the remains of Qin Shi Huang's army. Many warriors have been put back together and are standing upright but many more lay in piles of random heads, torsos, clothes, etc. Not all of the artifacts have been uncovered and it was interesting to see a working archaeological dig site. As much as Miniman and BGC are not sightseers, they really loved seeing the warriors and learning about how they were discovered and how experts think they were made.

On our way to the train station to catch the overnight train back to Beijing, we stopped at the onsite Subway and enjoyed sandwiches we could just of easily have been eating in America. The Subway in Xi'an sells Corona and the dichotomy of eating an American sandwich and drinking a Mexican beer while in Xi'an, China didn't go unnoticed. It really is a small, small world after all.

Our trip got off to a bit of a rough start but turned out to be one of the things my kids talk about the most when we talk about China. I guess new experiences aren't always easy but are almost always worth it. Now that we had walked on the Great Wall and viewed the warriors in their final resting place I could afford to just relax and enjoy the rest of what China had to offer.