The Longest Ride

Friday, July 22, 2005

So I'm here now in Shanghai and still all smiles, despite recently losing a battle with stomach flu/food poisoning/tummy-not-liking-China. Ugh...

Anyways, last we left off Michael and I had arrived in Xi'an and were all stoked to see the Terracotta Warriors. We took a package tour thru our hostel that was easy and convenient, but - unsurprisingly - also involved two 'extra stops' on the way to the Warriors. One of them was at a "terracotta factory" (read: gift shop) and the other was a "museum" (read: an old pagoda with like maybe eight cultural relics = bore.) It was a hot and smoggy day and both of us were feeling rather lethargic. Xi'an is rated as one of the Top Ten Most Polluted Cities on the planet, and judging by today's thick choking haze suffocating the entire city and region, I'd have to say I'd agree with that ranking.

The Terracotta Warriors are quite the wonder to behold, and when we finally arrived there we were really eager to check them out. A little background and history for ya first! The Terracotta Warriors were built about 2000 years ago (I think) by this crazy Ming Dynasty Emperor who spent 38 years (and over 700,000 slaves) building his own mausoleum. Part of this massive project involved constructing his own private army that he would rule over after death. He had *several thousand* life-size soldiers constructed out of clay, complete with horses, weapons, and even individual facial features for each of the soldiers. Unfortunately, only four years after his death, the locals were pretty pissed off about how much money/resources/human lives had been invested in the mausoleum, and hordes of angry rioters destroyed the entire complex. Many of the Terracotta Warriors were destroyed and their broken remains were left buried and forgotten for two millennia. Fast-forward to the 1970's, and a peasant farmer digging a well in his field one day discovers a piece of pottery under the ground. Who knew that the greatest archaeological discovery of the 20th Century lay right beneath his feet? Since then they've excavated over 2000 of these Terracotta Warriors in three pits, and they suspect there's another 4000 or more waiting to be discovered. Pretty cool stuff!

We spent the afternoon wandering around these three pits (you're not allowed to get too close to them) gazing at the soldiers. In Pit 1 most of them stand in perfect military line, on-guard, ready and waiting for battle, completely untouched. However, a good chunk of Pit 1, and in pretty much all of Pit 2 and 3, only fragments remain. I enjoyed my afternoon with the Warriors, but the experience actually left me feeling a little saddened. Staring at all these broken Warriors, the shattered bodies, the severed limbs, the slaughtered horses, you kinda have to feel bad for them. Yes, they're only made of clay, but they're just so *life-like*, and you stare at them knowing that for the rest of eternity they'll lie there, alone and confused in the rubble amongst their fallen comrades.

The next day we caught our train to Shanghai. You know the expression "the slow boat to China?" Well Michael and I were on "the slow train THROUGH China!" The train itself was not actually slow, it was just that every so often we'd stop at a station or siding to let one of the faster express trains pass us. Sometimes we'd even just sit there for like half an hour! It was a long, long 31-hour ride, but we tried to make the most of it. We got A LOT of reading done, caught up on some sleep, and made some new friends (a Chinese guy from the Northeast of China, and two very friendly girls from the States.) And hey, I kept reminding myself that this trip is not just about the destinations, but also the journey along the way.

The scenery consisted mostly of rolling green farmland, and we were both surprised at how modern rural China looked from the windows of our train. Finally, after a day and a half of being confined to one train, we rolled into Shanghai at 11pm at night. Excited to be in the big city - and off the train - we took a cab to our hostel, which ended up being a sight for sore eyes for us two tired boys.

Our hostel in Xi'an was rather drab and damp, but the Captain Hostel in Shanghai was anything but. We were right off The Bund in downtown Shanghai, and the hostel was a new, modern facility with clean rooms and a fantastic bonus for guests... The hostel has a rooftop terrace, which we immediately ran up to as soon as we had checked in, and were rewarded with a stunning view of the Shanghai skyline across the river. The gigantic skyscrapers of Pudong were lit up like a Christmas tree, and it was such an unbelievable sight that all we could do was just stand and stare in awe. Staring back at us, rising high above the surrounding forest of high-rises, soared the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Jinmao Tower.

The Oriental Pearl Tower is Shanghai's signature landmark - a HUGE communications/observation tower consisting of one smaller and two giant purple baubles speared on a massive rod, held up by a concrete tripod. Intriguingly garish, it's undoubtedly the strangest building that I have ever seen in my life. And the Jinmao Tower, checking in as the fourth tallest building in the world, glimmers like a mountain of sparkling glass and steel, the unabashedly immodest Granddaddy of all of Shanghai's vertical monuments.

We sat and had a drink to enjoy the magnificent view, and then were really eager to hit the hay - and enjoy a non-moving bed. I can't wait to explore this futuristic city! :-)