Showing posts with label Xi'an. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Xi'an. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Ni Hao Part 9 The Terracotta Army

Terra-cotta Army of Qin She Huang  ink and watercolor by Meera Rao

From Xi'an City wall, after cheering the marathon runners, we drove to the archeological excavations site and museum of the  famous Terra-cotta warriors discovered in 1974 by local farmers. The subterranean life size terracota army(210-209 BC) of Emperor Qin Shi Huang was awesome to see. The sight of more than 5000 of  the dug up and restored warriors, horses, carriages, artifacts in the excavation pits took my breath away! There were three huge pits and a few warrior statues were displayed away from the pit on higher floor where we visitors could see them up-close.  The excavations and discoveries are still in progress.

Co-incidentally, I had recently watched a documentary about the discovery this archaeological site, the history behind it and also had visited the US tour of a small part of the Army and artifacts at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts at Richmond, Va. That helped me understand the scale and importance of this site. Again crowds here were just HUGE - had to squeeze and elbow our way to the viewing balcony to be able see anything at-all:) 


Terracotta Soldier ink and watercolor by Meera Rao

The details on these warriors, horses etc. were very impressive - no two are alike! This archer  was probably holding a bow and arrow ready to defend at moments notice by the looks of his pose.  


Stretching dough for handmade noodles   watercolor -no sketching  by Meera Rao 

For lunch we were treated to handmade noodles that were prepared right on the premises in the museums restaurant. It was fascinating to see how by just stretching and twisting repeatedly within minutes the dough is turned into to long noodle threads!!! They are then cooked in boiling water for a couple of minutes, drained and served. 

This last painting is not in my sketchbook but a part of the #30x30Directwatercolor, #nosketching challenge  :) 

Monday, June 18, 2018

Ni Hao Part 8 Xi'an

Cheering the Runners at Xi'an   ink and watercolor by Meera Rao 

Xi'an City Wall Marathon ink and watercolor by Meera Rao 

After a sumptuous breakfast, we set out early to explore Xian. Xi'an, an ancient capital of China has the oldest, largest and most well preserved fortifications.  Our guide was excited and flipped our itinerary a bit.  She drove us to city wall and gate (built in the 14th century) much earlier than planned because it was Xian City Wall Marathon day ! We too climbed up the city wall to watch and cheer as the runners went by. It was the very festive and Chinese version of the Rock and Roll marathon - with mostly retired elderly ( and mainly women) drumming and leading the cheers with ribbons, flags and colorful scarves as the runners breezed through.  We also had a great view of the city from the wall.  

China Post ink and watercolor by Meera Rao

Among the things that caught my attention during our trip to China were the green Chinese post boxes, mail vans and post offices. The mail delivery and pick up vehicles especially in the cities were all small and  three wheeled.  This one had a big basket on top.  

Umbrella for Motorcycle ink and watercolor by Meera Rao

Electric scoters with covers ink and watercolor by Meera Rao 

To tackle transportation and  environmental problems, China has millions of electric motorbikes and scooters - electric are the only ones allowed on the roads now. I saw a number of them being charged by the curbside with electric wires running from stores or houses.  They run very quiet and walkers have to be vigilant and  watch out for fast moving vehicles that sneak up suddenly in their path! Many of the bikes and scooters I saw had colorful umbrellas or covers to protect them from rain and sun :) 


Another interesting feature was how they used coats/jackets or special covers for their hand and vehicle handles but not the rest of the body!  
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