Made in China

Xi'an

About a week ago now we arrived in Xi'an. We've been staying at a really cool hostel, they have free internet, cheap beer and a cool cafe/bar were we've had many a good night teaching a number of people the "Gravy Train" drinking game. Our first day we did the usual wander around the central city which is surrounded by a 14km wall (they like their walls here). In the centre are two towers, the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower. As the names suggest one has a huge bell in it and the other a number of large drums. These used to have some practical purpose but now the only people ringing the bells/drums are paying tourists. The views however were pretty good as they are situated right in the centre of the city.

There's a fairly significant Muslim population here, and the Muslim Quarter is right next to the Drum tower. They have a big flea market selling dried fruit but the highlight is the street barbecues. The food is cooked out on the street and served in a basic restaurant. The best thing on the menu is the half kilo of bbq lamb (which was sensational) and a bargain at $4.50NZ! They dont mess around with side veges or breads just half a kilo of cooked animal on a metal tray, brilliant. Needless to say we've frequented that place a few times since being here!

One night we went to the "Goose Pagoda" to see a light show that's on every night. It was really impressive, they light up the pagoda and out the front they have a huge area where jets of water shoot up and around, all choreographed to music and lights. On another day we rented some bikes and biked around the city wall, there wasnt a lot to see but it was fun having a burn and pushing the cheap rental bikes to their limits!

Terracotta Warriors - Are they a hoax!?

The main reason people come to Xi'an are to see the Terracotta Warriors. These were built by the first Qin Emperor (same guy that built the Great Wall). The idea was that when he died he would take an army as well as servants etc... to the afterlife with him. These were represented by the life size terracotta figurines buried with him in his tomb. The Chinese claim these to be the 8th Wonder of the world, and the main pit is a hell of an impressive sight, over 1,000 warriors standing in formation and apparently another 4,000 or so still to be excavated. The problem I think though is that it is so hyped up and there are souvenirs/replicas everywhere in town that when you finally see the real thing it's a little disappointing. This is the general consensus among other travellers too, and hence a conspiracy theory has sprung up that the warriors may not be as authentic as they appear. For a start there are a number of factories around the city churning out life size replicas of these warriors. You could replace the actual warriors with the replicas and I dont think anyone would notice. Also, before the discovery of the warriors only 30 years ago, it seems no one knew anything about them, surely someone would have made a record of such a huge event?

So the theory is that someone planted these warriors (created at the many factories around the place) then "discovered" them. This would have been quite possible as the site is in the middle of no-where about an hour from town. Also all the current restoration and digging work is done at night when the facility is closed to the public. Around the warriors there is a ton of infrastructure going in to house souvenir shops and restaurants, it seems in preparation for the crowds that will come with the Olympics next year. The whole place appears to be a huge money spinner. Even the kind-faced old shepperd who apparently discovered the whole thing, sits there signing autographs, but only signs things that are purchased at the official souvenir shop!

Going Bush on Hua Mountain

After checking out most of what there is to see and do in Xi'an, we felt the need for something a bit more adventurous. So we decided that going bush on Hua Mountain for a couple of days would be the way to go. Another guy that we'd been hanging out with at the hostel, Iain, was also keen, so we packed some food and some wet weather gear and headed for the hills.

A couple hours on a bus got us to the base of the mountain, which would probably have provided us with a stunning view of the peaks beyond. Only problem was the low cloud enveloping just about everything. At least it wasn't raining though... yet. We headed off up the mountain, expecting an old trail or an unpaved road at best. Instead we found a wide, stone path winding its way up the valley. Turns out they paved the whole path up the mountain! After the first few kilometers the path became narrower and consisted mainly of steep steps (some were just ladders cut into the rock with a chain to hold on to). Only the country that gave us the Great Wall would even think about doing this, let alone actually carrying it out.

The hike up was enjoyable, despite the limited visibility and the rain that settled in after a couple of kilometers. Most of the difficult parts of the climb are after the 4km mark (and they certainly get the heart and lungs working!) and before you get to the North Peak. For this reason, they've installed the soft option cable car to get all the tourists to the North Peak (1680m). So after this point the trails get a fair bit busier. From here we had another couple hours ahead to get us to our goal, the South Peak, which is the highest at 2160m. The trail is quite amazing in parts, with a section of the ridge being only 3m wide and sheer cliffs all around. Upon reaching the South Peak, we were greeted with more of the same, a complete white out. It was quite eerie knowing that there were massive drops and deep valleys all around us but not being able to see any of it. Annoying too.

There are food/drink stops the whole way up the mountain and several places to stay as well. It's quite a set up that must require a lot of walking for some people. Especially these amazing, wiry old guys that ferry supplies up and down the mountain. They scale steep, wet stairs with a piece of wood slung over their shoulder that's got anything from LPG bottles to watermelons attached!

Of course, the whole idea of the trip was to go bush. The paved trails (and Chinglish signs telling us to stay on them) were making this a bit difficult. There was also a good reason for the signs, as most of the mountain side was actually fairly steep and uninhabitable. After a few off-trail missions we found a clearing flat enough and large enough to set up camp. And since we were wet through and starting to get a bit cold, this seemed like a very good idea indeed. Turns out we had bought enough tarpaulin for about two people. Of course, we now had three so it was even cosier than expected. Our rudimentary bivvy was keeping the rain off us though and that was good enough for us.

At about 5am, the fun of our adventure was starting to wear off a bit. I was freezing my nuts off and a bit of shifting in the night meant that Kev was now lying in a puddle. Iain was fine at least, since he had a sleeping bag (smart man) and the middle spot! So Kev and I decided we might as well get up even though the weather was going to be crap. As we made our way to the East Peak, in an attempt to see a sunrise, the clouds began to clear. By the time we were at the peak, we had an unimpeded view in every direction. The dense white clouds had sunk into the valleys, leaving exposed mountain peaks and rock faces all around. It was absolutely stunning. After just 30 or 40 minutes the clouds began to float back in and before we knew it the white out was back. But it didn't matter now. So we wandered back to the tent to tell Iain all about it!