X is for Xian

The Generals, Qin's Terracotta Army

A few years ago, I travelled to Xian, mainland China, with two things on my mind.  One, was to see Qin Shi Huang's, Terracotta Army; the other was to climb a nearby mountain.  Qin Shi Huang was the First Emperor of China, and his army dates back to 210 BC.  Old and dusty, my friends.  Old and dusty.  What I remember mostly about Xian is the dust, unbearable heat and a backstreet encounter with some mushroom dumplings which is another story on its own.  Xian is an small city, developing, part old, part new, -all within its own fortified walls and gates, which I was informed, were still locked at night.   

On the day we visited the tombs of Qin's Terracotta Army, it was incredibly hot, the sun's rays blinded myself and my two travelling companions as we stumbled out of the once-was-white mini-van, gathering our gear...you know, all that paraphernalia, small bags and cameras.  We struggled whilst our ultra calm tour guide who barely broke a sweat, stood waiting on a nearby dirt path, chatting away with local stall holders. We had indeed arrived at the site of the famous 'Terracotta Warriors', but we would need to navigate our way through the surrounding crops of tourist markets to reach the front gates.

I stopped at the first set of stalls where rows of large coats of dark fur hung, suspended from rails, russet brown and black.  I reached out, brushing my fingers along the softness of the pelts.  "You want to buy?"  An old wrinkled dude, brown raisin skin, almost toothless, leered at me.  "What is it?" I asked.  "Volf." Came the toothless reply.  Slightly puzzled, I looked at our guide.  "Volf?  Does he mean Wolf?" Our guide laughed and leant in towards me.  "He says 'Wolf' but actually it's dog.  Like, Alsatian, yes?"  He nodded at me before walking away.  I released the doggy fur and waved off the stall holder.  He wasn't to know that my first dog was an Alsatian called Reckless.  There would be no sale today.


Photo credit: via friendlyplanet


A/N:  I could rabbit on about Xian but in the interest of keeping the post short, I'll just say this - it's worth a visit, there is so much to explore nearby, the Terracotta Army is amazing, the dumplings too, and I will return because, 'due to adverse weather conditions', i.e fog, I couldn't climb the mountain, and it still calls to me.