#ibmcsc China 30
Today was the day most of us were looking forward to...the visit to the Terracotta Army!
The Terracotta Army or Warriors is a collection of thousands of sculptures made of Terracotta (baked clay) which were buried in 200 BC along with the emperor Qin Shi Huang to protect the emperor in his afterlife. These were discovered in 1974 and the site was opened for public in 1979.
The tomb of the emperor is also nearby but it has not been restored for public yet.
It is a sight to behold as you enter the pits where they have excavated these warriors. Thousands of warriors ready to greet you along with cavalry and weapons of that era. The excavation and restoration is still going on at various sites. The sculptures are being found in pieces and as per the guide, it takes 2 archeologists about 6 months to restore one sculpture. We went on a weekend, otherwise we could have actually seen the archeologists working on the pits and at the restoration site (also known as the 'hospital for the warriors'). It is all awe-inspiring and the whole experience is difficult to put in words.
Everyone I met at the museum spoke to me about our Prime Minister, Mr. Modi, visiting the Warriors a few months back and how the entire museum was shut down for security purposes. I also got to know about the Warriors in details when those pictures were published in the newspapers back home. I had never imagined that I will be visiting the place just a few months :D
A day very well spent with visits to Ban Po Village museum and the Terracotta Warriors with just a small hiccup at the end. We took about 4 hours and 30 mins to travel 40 kms back to our hotel :)
It was all due to heavy rains and flooding all the roads leading to massive traffic jams. The driving here reminds me of home and helps me not be homesic...ha ha...
But, as they say, everything is an experience and we got all that time more to spend with the team in the bus!
The weekend ends and we are back to work...
Today was the day most of us were looking forward to...the visit to the Terracotta Army!
The Terracotta Army or Warriors is a collection of thousands of sculptures made of Terracotta (baked clay) which were buried in 200 BC along with the emperor Qin Shi Huang to protect the emperor in his afterlife. These were discovered in 1974 and the site was opened for public in 1979.
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| The Terracotta Warriors |
The tomb of the emperor is also nearby but it has not been restored for public yet.
It is a sight to behold as you enter the pits where they have excavated these warriors. Thousands of warriors ready to greet you along with cavalry and weapons of that era. The excavation and restoration is still going on at various sites. The sculptures are being found in pieces and as per the guide, it takes 2 archeologists about 6 months to restore one sculpture. We went on a weekend, otherwise we could have actually seen the archeologists working on the pits and at the restoration site (also known as the 'hospital for the warriors'). It is all awe-inspiring and the whole experience is difficult to put in words.
Everyone I met at the museum spoke to me about our Prime Minister, Mr. Modi, visiting the Warriors a few months back and how the entire museum was shut down for security purposes. I also got to know about the Warriors in details when those pictures were published in the newspapers back home. I had never imagined that I will be visiting the place just a few months :D
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| All lined up to protect the emperor |
 |
| At one of the three pits |
A day very well spent with visits to Ban Po Village museum and the Terracotta Warriors with just a small hiccup at the end. We took about 4 hours and 30 mins to travel 40 kms back to our hotel :)
It was all due to heavy rains and flooding all the roads leading to massive traffic jams. The driving here reminds me of home and helps me not be homesic...ha ha...
But, as they say, everything is an experience and we got all that time more to spend with the team in the bus!
 |
| Cars waiting for the water level to go down... |
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