Before I begin, I posted a video of our Xi’an breakfast. You can view it along with all my photos and videos at http://www2.Snapfish.com/Snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3400894009/a=32703808_32703808/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=Snapfish.
Today was full of sunshine, clear skies (if you can believe that!), and history lessons as we toured the Xi’an Provincial Museum. Located in the southern suburbs of Xi’an city, it is one of the four largest and best museums in the country. The building covers a area of over 70,000 square meters and houses more than 37,000 historical relics evacuated around Shanxi (pronounced shan-shee) area, including Bronze wares from the Western Zhou Dynasty, 3,000 years ago, terra cotta figures, gold and silver wares and murals discovered in Tang tombs, and much more. The museum houses relics from the Prehistoric Period, the Zhou, Qin, Han, Wei, Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, and the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, with a focus on social development from the Stone Age to the decline of China's imperial era in 1840. The Terra Cotta Warriors (uploaded to Snapfish) are the real deal—we were meer feet from them!
We didn’t realize that it was National History Day, but were pleasantly surprised by performances and a fair-like envireonment outside of the museum. We arrived as a drum group was finishing—they sounded amazing. We were hoping they would play again, but we must have arrived at the end of the performances. We did see a small dance ensemble and I recorded it as well. Unfortunately, we all came to the conclusion that they made it up as they went along. It should be comical to watch! We also saw a “Keep of the Grass” sign that looks like it has a picture of a bird or goose on it; the students informed me that it was a dog. See…even I learn things on the trip! I swear it looks like a bird.
After concluding our museum tour, I decided to take the students to a tea ceremony (really more of a tea “tasting”). It wasn’t on the itinerary, but we went last year and I really wanted the students to experience it. It included an explanation of some of the teas, how to brew them, and lots of tasting. They really seemed to enjoy it, so I’m glad we decided to add it to today’s agenda.
For lunch we stopped at a fairly “touristy” place for a lunch buffet, meaning they have some Western and some Chinese food along with sushi, fruit, and noodles. Of course it was good and students were mad that there were only forks (no chopsticks) on the table. Many requested a set. The students had a couple hours to relax, shop, and sightsee on their own between the tea ceremony and our dinner theater.
Tonight we went to a traditional dumpling dinner and Tang Music and Dance show as we bid farewell to Xi’an. The show presented today is a recreation of a traditional entertainment attributable to a great variety of historical records and relics. In 1981, the artists of Xian's Shaanxi Provincial Song & Dance Troupe, inspired by the thriving tourist industry, conceived a series of programs to illustrate on stage the history, culture and artistic heritage of Xian. At that time, the Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show, as a comprehensive form of art being lost in admiration, promptly came into the sight of the artists. Even the male students enjoyed it—it truly is a great way to see culture as it was and as it has been passed along through generation.
We depart Xi’an in the early afternoon tomorrow. What a fantastic city. Panda Research Base, here we come!
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