Terra Cotta Army, Fat Lady’s Bath and dumplings galore.
“Tell them her leg looks like this,” I said pressing a dimple into my shin.
“Bu Hao,” [not good] the doctor lady said.
“Ta you bu hao tsaou.” [he has a bad swelling] she says.
“No..No…. tell her it’s not me… this is what her leg looks like…my left one always does this when I get too much salt.” [And boy have we been eating salty food lately, along with MSG galore]
Ahhhhhhh, not so fast… we have to get the day on the way first.
After the Dance of the no so Tiny but not greatly lit bathroom, I head to the business center to try sending yesterdays misfire and check mail while Illy finishes face and hair. I get back to the room to collect her for breakfast and we grab a quick buffet that was better than expected with eggs to order and good Arabian coffee.
Our Guide arrived and we were off, first to the Terra Cotta Factory where we learned all about how the Terra cotta army and current copies for retail were and are made. First the clay is
brought from the Xia Xi province, near the Li San Mountain. For the small retail replicas, plaster molds are used and after the statue has set, the seam overflow is trimmed and it is air dried for one week, then polished and put in the Kiln for one week at 900 degrees centigrade. The larger, full sized pieces
are made in 3 pieces, the legs are hollow and formed by using coils of clay rope, the body and head are also hollow to vent the heat during curing to prevent warping and formed in molds. After they come out of the kiln, they are joined by interlocking neck and base. The style of the Top Knot [hair design] and ribbons on uniform denotes the rank or function of the 
statues. There are 5 different figures that have been identified, General, Officer, Kneeling Archer, Infantry, and Cavalry, in addition to the horses.After the customary hustle in the retail shop…. Which is the only way out and winds through several rooms of various tchotchkies and furniture, we were off to the actual Site of the Terra Cotta army.
Qin Xi Huang the first Emperor of China who unified China in 221 BC commissioned the Terra cotta army for his tomb so that when his warriors died in battle their soul went to the terra cotta statue to protect the emperor in the after life as well. He chose a site using perfect Feng Shui between an mountain and a river in an area shaped like a lotus for ”Fu” [Ggood Fortune] .
It is estimated that it took approx 20 years to construct the army in the tomb area [remember that each emperor would begin his own tomb upon ascension to the throne].. Grave robbers destroyed this tomb, stealing all the real weapons in the hands of the statues and burnet the roofs that covered the army to collapse the tomb.
The tomb was discovered by 6 farmers who wer digging a well, one of whom was smart
enough to advise the Government who paid them the equivalent of 72 cents. They were later coaxed by a reporter for the museum which is what the site in now called to press for a rewarded from the Govt. who gave them a certificate proving they were not grave robbers but contributed to the world appreciation of Chinese history [big spenders these Chinese].
First, rather than have a simple entrance, they put it a serious hike away [our guide estimates 2 kilometers away] along a long and winding path that nearly doubles back on itself, slopping uphill to put the viewing portion above the dig.
The site is broken up in to 3 pits that have portions of the army exposed and much more to unearth and is a truly awesome site. We do the usual pics and visit the several museum buildings including the fully restored Bronze chariots that took 2 years to restore.Time to head back to the van and to lunch, and of course the Government has a prescribed route out through a tchotchke village, but we spot another group dodging it for a short cut back to the parking lot [well not so short] and we avoid the obligatory tchotchke hustle.
We head to lunch at the Xingshen International Hotel which had a bountiful buffet of the usual fare, chicken 3 ways, beet 2, rolls, rice, veggies etc. all just a bit spicier than Beijing, but that was expected. There was a nice noodle making demonstration and of course… good beer, but in all…. Only ***.Our next stop was the Huaqing Hot Springs which was built by the 7th
Tang Emperor in 725AD for his favorite concubine who was a bit on the heavy side, [they seemed to like them with a bit of meat on the bones back then… hence my new nickname for the spot, “Fat Lady’s Baths”] but as the statue indicates... not that fat. As legend has it, a young officer fell in love with her and led a rebellion against the emperor. The lady’s reputation was spoiled and the army refused 
to protect the emperor unless he did away with her. She saved him the trouble and hung her self from a pear tree [and considering how big she was supposed to be, it had to be one big mutha tree!]The baths were truly impressive including one especially for the Emperors chef and cooks, who’s hands were said to be well protected as he alone cooked for the emperor. and the mineral spring actually had steam coming off of it in several pools that surround the actual baths that had elaborate fill and drain systems. Lots of pics again, [this crazy little Italian man has gone berserk with the digital and 35mm [over 16 rolls of film have been shot to date and nearing 1000 digital pics that will take serious editing to get the various planned slide shows to manageable size]
We head back to the hotel for a little rest before the Dumpling Banquet and to find a pharmacy for some diuretic pills for the Dragon Lady who is swelling like a balloon from all the salt and MSG. After several false starts at the hands of the bellman who have no idea what a pharmacy is, let alone where one is and Zhu Li and I head out to find one that may or may not be down the street. After a 5 block trek we find the right spot and head upstairs to find a Doctor to write a script etc. We are ushered into a dimly lit room [why am I getting a bit anxious about this venture] and we meet an elderly lady doctor who listens to Zhu Li’s description of the issue and Zhu Li is met with a blank stare. Soooooo Chucky just had to chime in with:
“Tell them her leg looks like this,” I said pressing a dimple into my shin.
“Bu Hao,” [not good] the doctor lady said.
“Ta you bu hao tsaou.” [he has a bad swelling] she says.
“No..No…. tell her it’s not me… this is what her leg looks like…my left one always does this when I get too much salt.” And boy have we been eating salty food lately, along with MSG galore.
The doctor finally gets it and after a heated exchange with Zhu Li… well maybe not heated… just when they get animated in their dialogue it sure sounds like it, we get a script which the doctor thinks I should start taking also. We head to the Pharmacist counter, conveniently right in the lobby, get the pills and head back.
Zhu Li needs to run another errand, and sends me on my way to the hotel with instruction that they will pick us up at 6PM for the Dumpling Banquet and we’re off on our separate ways.
On the way back I pass the Old Tree café who’s motto is etched on the 
front window: “If Not at Home, I'm at Old Tree Café, If No at Old Tree café… I Am on My Way to Old Tree Cafe”… along with the now ever present Budweiser signage. [or Bai Wei as its called here.]I'll leave you here and cover the dumpling banquet in the next missive.
再见朋友
Zài Jiàn Péng-You
Chuck and the anxious to reduce the swelling but looking forward to some great dumplings
Dragon Lady.
