Well actually my flight wasn't until 1.25 pm, so we decided to visit another museum en route to the airport: the museum of the Western Han - the people who settled this part of China way back. It turned out to be a variation on the Terracotta Warriors theme. The Han dynasty was more recent than the Qin, but here too was a burial chamber for the emperor, with outlying pits containing countless figurines. This time, the archaelologists were better clued up. It was not pure chance that led them to excavate this site, but the similarity of the situation and appearance of the royal burial mound; they expected there to be something, based on their experience of the Terracotta Army. They weren't wrong. Before 1974 nothing was known of this practice, but now it looks as though it may have been common amongst the ruling class.
There was an important difference though between the Qin finds and the Han. These figures were also made of clay, but they were much smaller (about 18 inches tall), naked and, curiously, armless; every single one - and again, thousands have been unearthed.
Again, many clay animals were included in the ranks of figures
And some of the figures were supposedly female cavaliers.
(The horse in the above is modern, but the rider is genuine.)
There were some figures, though, that were complete, clothed, and painted.
This type of figure was moulded all in one piece.
However, the majority had peg-holes in their shoulders to which, it is assumed, wooden arms were fitted. It's generally supposed that they would have actually been dressed. The wood and fabric has rotted away over the years. The figures seem also to have been virtually set in concrete - or at least a slurry of mud.
There are so many of the figures that the museum happily re-clothed a few of them to illustrate how they might have looked. Very impressive - for something that was meant to be buried never again to be seen:
And as well as the figures, there was every conceivable piece of military hardware and domestic appliance. Again, the idea seems to have been to give the ruler eternal life.
Well, back outside, you can see in the background the unopened emperor's mausoleum.
And here we all are in the carpark - back to present-day reality
And so onward, to the airport. On the way, Chi rang the Regent Beijing to check that they were expecting me. Luckily, they were.
Now it's just as well I made Chi take back the two large apples and two large pomegranates that she wanted me to have (on the grounds that security wouldn't let me take them through): my suitcase was 3.9 kilos overweight. That cost 60 yuan - about four quid!
Unfortuantely, KLM won't be as generous. Their charge for long-haul is £15 per kilo overweight. I'm going to have trouble.
The flight up to Beijing was smooth and - as all the others have been - on time.
I joined the short queue for a taxi, and was at my hotel within about 35 minutes.
Now, if you thought the Hyatt Regency in Xi'an was posh, just cop an eyeful of this:
And the view from my room - on the 12th floor:
And just one shot from one of the many huge public areas of the hotel:
This is one of those joints where people like me never stay. Where they deliver you a newspaper every morning, and supply a complete office kit - hole-punch, staples, etc etc.
I'm rather glad I'm not paying for it. (At least I hope I'm not! But with Expedia who knows?)
I ate dinner in one of the hotel's several restaurants. I chose an Indonesian dish - Nasi Goreng - just to be different. It was quite delicious.
Later, I found an email from Shuai to say that she'd contacted one of her friends in Beijing. Her and her husband would be busy at work, but her friend's cousin (or maybe her niece? Or Sister? I'm not quite sure which) would be able to show me around. She left some phone numbers for me to ring, as she didn't know my room number.
So that should be good.
Bye.
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