Exploring Xian and Gullin, China

My wife, another couple, and I recently took a Viking River Cruises tour of China, including visits in central China to Xian and in southern China to Guilin. Don't know why these were included in the tour? Well, Xian was one of the greatest cities in human history and is home to the unbelievable Terra Cotta warriors. Cruises of the beautiful Li River begin from Guilin, drawing millions of Chinese and foreign visitors each year.

Xian is located about 500 miles southwest of Beijing and is accessible through its very new and modern airport. The highlight of a visit to Xian is, of course, the Terra Cotta warriors but the city's history is a long one and there is much to see. The major stop on the ancient 'Silk Road' of trade between Asia and Europe, Xian's population may have reached two million when this trade flourished. The old city's wall and moat are more than nine miles in perimeter and encompass about six square miles. Several sights within the wall are within an easy and interesting walk, e.g., the Shaanxi Provincial Museum is in the former Confucian Temple along the wall's southern section. Among its holdings are a set of old stone tablets discovered in 1090, one describing the 8th Century arrival of a Christian priest and his establishment of a chapel in Xian. Less than a mile away, a large Muslim community, descendants of those who traveled the Silk Road from the Middle East, lives today near the Great Mosque. The city's Drum Tower and Bell Tower are just steps away from the Great Mosque. The Bell Tower was built in 1384 and was moved to its current site in 1582.

The Terra Cotta warriors are about an hour's drive on a modern highway from Xian's center. Many unexcavated tombs of kings, queens, and concubines from the Ming Dynasty line the road in the middle of farmland being worked almost exclusively by hand and animal power. Unlike what we had seen elsewhere in China where modernization was underway, we saw that day only one old tractor at work! The tombs' diameter and height indicate the importance of the one buried there, the bigger, the higher rank. The discovery of the Terra Cotta Warriors - one of the world's greatest archeological discoveries - was also one of its greatest strokes of luck! These warriors were hidden from view until a group of farmers digging a well in 1974 broke into their cavern!

Ordered more than 2200 years ago by Emperor Qin Shihuang to guard his tomb, today more than 6,000 life size infantry, archer, and charioteer statues still face eastward, standing silent guard about one mile from their emperor's hillside tomb. Plundered soon after their completion and suffering the effects of earthquakes, floods, and the passage of time, the warriors are, nonetheless, in very good shape although Chinese and American scientists who study them are increasingly worried about the long term effects of their being open to polluted air.

The warriors were fired from local clay and, remarkably, each statue's face is unique. Beneath a giant hanger, visitors can stroll and look into the pits in which the statue formations stand, getting as close as 30 feet. Think of the work required by the estimated 750,000 craftsmen and peasants who brought their skills and sweat to the project because their emperor ordered it! Photography is not permitted in some areas but is permitted in most. Even closer views are possible in exhibition areas in which some statues are encased in plexiglass. The entire site is a remarkable experience and a must in any trip to China!

Gulin is about 700 miles south of Xian and is also accessible via one of the several Chinese domestic air carriers. The name may be unfamiliar to many Americans but tourism to the area is increasing in number, e.g., upon our arrival in the town, we learned the King of Belgium and his entourage would share our hotel and enjoy a cruise similar to our own! The city was a trading center when the Pearl and Yangtze Rivers were linked by the Lingqu Canal but it was bombed heavily in WWII and most of its old buildings were destroyed. Guilin means 'forest of Cassia trees' and the air in fall is heavily perfumed when the trees are in blossom. Visitors should be forewarned the humidity in Guilin is as high as any place I can recall. It wraps itself oppressively around someone leaving air conditioning! It's a good idea to have an umbrella handy at all times, too.

The area's fame rests on the thousands of karst limestone outcrops which rise from the lush, tropical rice paddies and bamboo and which are viewed in their ever changing majesty in an approximately four hour cruise on the Li River. It rains a lot in this area but a little rain, mist, and fog make the outcrops even more interesting and one can see why artists have so memorialized them. In high season, up to 220 double decked boats filled with visitors load and depart in an orderly fashion although they seem to jockey for position along the cruise, particularly as the end of the cruise nears. Visitors of many nationalities on the many boats wave and greet each other across the water as they enjoy and photograph the scenery and enjoy an excellent buffet lunch. The brave among us - myself included, of course - also tried some of the 'snake wine' - rice wine from a bottle in which the cleaned body of a poisonous snake is coiled! I hope the promise of greater virility will prove out!

At one point, two men on a raft composed of three lashed together bamboo logs poled out to our boat as it was underway and tied themselves to our boat so they could offer local crafts for sale! Several minutes of haggling began but we noted the contradiction between old and modern when one of the men pulled a cellphone from his pocket, apparently, to get permission from someone ashore for a bargained price! It was a wonderful cruise with great scenery, good food, and a chance to meet and talk with other travelers. We had a chance for a bit of sightseeing and shopping in the little village at which we disembarked but the local 'vendors' were very, very persistent. They intimidated some of our older tour mates!

Our visits to Xian and Guillin were wonderful and, fortunately, many standard tour packages to China will include one or both of them.