The Magnificent Western Han Tomb

What we saw today was a relatively new touristic attraction in Xi’an. The Western Han Tomb was a fairly new museum and not known (yet) among the mass. The Western Han Tomb is the burial ground before the actual tomb of the first Han Emperor. The tomb itself is about one kilometer away. It was built in the year 153 AD and covers an area of 20 square kilometers (4,942 acres). It is a magnificent and abundant cultural relic, comprising the emperor’s tomb, empress’ tomb, the south and north burial pits, ceremonial site, human sacrifice graveyard and criminals’ cemetery. The mausoleum is neatly arranged, centered with the emperor's tomb, revealing the strict hierarchical social structure.

It was all underground, which made it different from the Terra-cotta Warriors, and they put glass plates over the excavations, so you got those nice blue plastic pullovers for your shoes so you didn't scratch the glass. You could actually walk over it and had to look down to see everything they found. It is very original and different from the normal museums.

It was very nice to see, this time it weren't only soldiers, but also dancers, servants, horses, dogs, cattle, chickens, pots, pans etc. It was all miniature which also made it a bit less impressive.  Everything was made out of stone, except for the people’s arms. Those were made of wood and were able to move. They also used to wear clothes but because of the natural process the wood and clothes are gone now. There are some replicas to show what it should have looked like.

Another nice thing was the 3D show. They made a movie about how the first Emperor became the ruler, how found his Empress, and how it all ended as well. Ok, in short, he became emperor at a young age, his empress was a dancer at his court (brought in while she was already married but well you can't really refuse a call to the court), and before they died he build the Han tomb...well gave the assignment to build it, which was found hundreds of years later. It was very cool to see how they made it. And it was in English as well. So sweet!

After that we had the afternoon off to shop around in the old part of Xi'an Well the old part is the most fun, the newly build shopping malls are the same you find in any other country. So we went to an old market where they also sold plenty of souvenirs of course. It was nice to bargain all the way. The all want to sell but don't drag you in which was a relief.