China - Xi'an - Han Yang Ling Museum

Monday, 22 April 2019

We've traveled on to Xi'an. For almost two millennia, Xi'an was the capital of China (notably the Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties). As such, there are a number of royal tombs in the area. The most well-known one is the Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (the subject of tomorrow's post). Today we saw the lesser-known tomb of Emperor Han Jing (157-141 BCE). Like all of these tombs, they cover thousands of acres, with only a small portion excavated. This museum was entirely underground, and the pits are preserved in situ. The terracotta figures here are about 1/3 scale.

Pit 22. The tombs included terracotta and wood objects, animals, servants, and soldiers needed by the emperor in his afterlife in heaven.

Pit 21. Remains of horses, men, and chariots.

Pit 20. Animals and food storage.

Pit 13. A ghostly herd of horses.

A restoration of what the figures would have looked like when they were originally buried. The figures were painted and dressed with clothing. The chariots had fabric parasols.

Even though it's near the Xi'an airport, very few people know about this museum, so you are not fighting crowds to view the exhibits. It's a worthwhile introduction to the tombs and mausoleums around Xi'an.