Left the little guest house at Pingyao and headed south towards Xian. It was a sunny day and there was little in the way of smog until we got close to the Yellow River. The view of the river and mountains would have been great but it was not possible to see far.
The day was not very exciting as we had to cover over 490km on freeways. It was really just a blur of very good roads and frequent toll booths. At the end of the trip we will add the tolls up and give a total.
We arrived at the site of the Terracotta Army and museum at around 3.30 and decided to go ahead and visit as it did not close until 7.00 pm. Entry was 110 Yuan and parking 15 Yuan.The site is set in park like grounds and big hangers protect the pits that contain the remains of the army. There is also a modern museum with lots of photos and relics from the site. There were also pictures of celebrity guests (like the Clintons) walking among the soldiers in the pits. We had to make do with the view from above!
Among the other items on display were replicas of the chariots that the Emperor Qin Shi Huang (first emperor) of China used to ride in. He was 13 when he took the throne and it is believed that work started on his mausoleum 246 BC! He was buried here in 210 to 209 BC. As our boys would say … well old!
Having spent about two and a half hours at the site, we drove into the nearby village and then out into farmland to look for a camp spot. We found a place only a couple of kms from the site. It was actually next to a grave and so Spring was not totally relaxed in her little tent!
Apparently in the small villages people can be buried on your own land. Cremations are recommended in city areas for obvious reasons …. there are so many people here!
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