travel photography > Xian, China - stop 3
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yellow lanterns
We flew out of Shanghai early and got to Xian around noon so we decided to take advantage of the half day and venture out to the Large Goose Pagoda. There were many traditional Chinese buildings on the route to the pagoda.
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police
Chinese police men were patrolling the streets on bikes.
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yellow and red
A covered walkway on the edge of the large park in front of the pagoda.
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anti-smoking ad
The first anti-smoking AD where the cigarette is in the shape of a noose. Obviously not many people pay attention to the ADs because they all smoke and they smoke anywhere they feel like.
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small side temple
A small building in the front of the Large Goose Pagoda which held paintings and small Buddhas.
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small side temple 2
Another side building in entrance to the Pagoda.
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chinese details
A large red lantern brightly shines against the ornate detail on the side of the building.
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painting
A violent detail of a scroll painting hanging in one of the buildings on the side of the Pagoda. This was one of 6 interesting paintings depicting violent scenes.
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mosaic pattern
Ornate design on the side of the buildings created by using small pieces of colored glass tile.
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walkway
Red columns and hanging lanterns decorate the covered walkway by the Large Goose Pagoda.
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Large Goose Pagoda
Finally we made it to the Large Goose Pagoda after walking down the long entry way. It is an active temple and is seven stories high.
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worker
A worker on top of the front entrance to the pagoda. They were renovating the roof.
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iron gate
The large entrance gate into the Large Goose Pagoda.
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view 1
Once inside of the Large Goose Pagoda you had to climb up seven stories to reach the top. From there you had a wonderful view of city from all angles.
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view 2
The view of the city from a different side. Notice all the smog. Xi'an, although not as populated as Shanghai is very polluted because of all the industry.
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Chinese characters
This wall behind the Large Goose Pagoda had a couple of Chinese characters carved into it. I have no idea what it says.
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dusk
The sun was beginning to set, casting a beautiful glow on the structures. The moon began to show itself and the lights inside the Pagoda turned on. The Pagoda looked beautiful and thus began my manic shooting spree which lasted close to 30 minutes. The place would be closing soon so my father stood to the side thinking each time we stood up we were done. It then turned dark and he convinced us it was time to go.
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moon rising
As it got darker and the moon rose higher. The contrast between the orange lights shining through the Pagoda windows and the dark blue of the sky grew more prevalent. I was mesmerized by the beauty of the scenery around me.
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lit characters
The lights by the wall with the characters turned on making for an excellent photograph.
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bright lights
We took a cab from the Large Goose Pagoda to the ancient walled city of Xi'an. As we drove through the gate of the wall we were quite surprised to see such modernity in the "ancient" city. There were large designer shops, Starbucks and Mcdonalds and many many bright neon lights surrounding the few remaining old structures. Not exactly what we were expecting.
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bell tower
The Bell Tower is located in the center of the ancient walled city of Xi'an.
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neon words
The Bell Tower was surrounded by streets with large neon lights either for pure decoration or plain old advertisement. There were many vendors selling little light up spinning toys, traditional tourists souvenirs, and interesting finger food items.
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lines of warriors
The wonderful magnificent and many Terracotta Warriors. When we entered the large room and saw all the warriors I was breathless. There were so many of them and so intricately made. It was quite a wonder to see in person.
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individuals
Every warrior was modeled after a different real person.
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warriors
These warriors are from pit 1, the most popular and largest of the three pits. There are over 6,000 warriors in this area resembling generals and infantry men of the first Emperor of China's army.
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pit 1
Pit 1 is massive. The grandiose scale of the First Emperor of China's tomb shows you how powerful he was during his rule.
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warriors
The warriors were placed in orderly rows and in between them they kept the earth. They placed wooden beams over the rows of warriors to protect them when they recovered the area.
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entrance
One of the entrances into the burial pit.
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broken pieces
The mausoleum was raided, burned and destroyed after the First Emperor died. When the archeologist began digging up the site they found (and are still finding) broken statues. The warriors that are standing were put back together and have been placed the way they were when buried.
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chariots
In pit 2 they discovered many rows of horse-drawn chariots which were elaborately painted and arranged as if to prepare for battle.
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The Emperor's Tomb
About a mile from the mausoleum is where the Emperor's body was actually buried. This is the hill he is buried in and these are the stairs to the top.
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pomegranate
Around the tomb were many pomegranate trees. We bought one from a vendor and it was so sweet and juicy. A nice treat after a long day.
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view
The view from the top of the hill.
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pomegranate tree
Pomegranates hanging from the tree. They put bags around them to keep the bugs out.
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ceremony
We stopped at the bottom to watch a brief performance.
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small hut
The pomegranate orchard guards home.
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silk thread
We went to a silk factory and saw how you make silk thread. They take the pupae sack of the silk worm and use a machine to pull the silk of the sack into a single thread.
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silk sacks
All these will be twisted together to create one silk thread.
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thicker silk
The larger pupae sacks are moistened and then stretched over an arc. This type of silk is used for insides of pillows and blankets.
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antique market
Our last day in Xian. We went to an antique market, which was basically many aisles with little stores full of interesting antique Chinese items and souvenirs.
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game
A game sitting outside one of the shops.
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people
People playing, working and selling, and shopping.
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old man
This old man was browsing through booklets with old money.
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lunch break
We left the antique market and drove into the ancient walled city. Our cab driver went down interesting skinny alley streets full of vendors selling meat and other food. We got out in the Muslim area to go to the temple.
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lamb vendors
They sold all parts of lamb.
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turquoise
Turquoise tile decorates the top of a building in the temple.