Raw video of the White Sleeve Dance is posted.
We visited the Terra cotta Army and found out China's rich ancient history.
Quick History
In 1974, some farmers were digging a well not far to the east of the Qin emperor's tom. They found no water but broken pieces of terra cotta figures depicting soldiers and horse, and the remains of ancient bronze weapons. What they had stumbled on was part of a great pottery army, designed to accompany the emperor into the afterlife. Within two years, three huge pits had been uncovered, containing more than 7,000 figures of warriors just over life-size, with hundreds of horses, generally in lines of four., interspersed among them. The chariots that they were pulling were made of wood and have long since rotted or burned away, although impressions of them can be seen in the earth.
Historians suggest that Qin Shihuang might originally have wanted his real imperial guard to be buried with him, but realized their morale and perhaps loyalty would suffer when they heard of the plan.
Us in Pit 1
The remains show that some parts of the pit were burned
Each warrior and horse are unique to each other.
Look how intricate their designs are, from the wrinkles in the face to soles of the shoes
In the afternoon
We visited a local art museum and learned about the different Chinese art. They also gave us a crash course on writing calligraphy
Ysa's attempt at calligraphyAt night
Most of us went to a cultural show known only to Xi'an. Here's a raw video of one of their dances.
White Sleeve Dance from Ysa Tan on Vimeo.
We ate an 18-course dumpling right after, wherein the shape of the dumplings represents the meat in it. For example, a shark fin-shaped dumpling means inside the dumpling is a shark fin--which according to them is a very expensive type of meat/cartilage.
More Photos
//more photos to come
