Dazzles and Dumplings

The Tang Dynasty was a very prosperous time for China.  Many times, the Emperors would hold over the top banquets that included dances that celebrated a good life or a prosperous harvest.  1100 years later, a couple of men decided to share the Tang dances and make a few bucks by creating a Tang Dynasty Dumpling Dinner. What a way for visitors to experience the good life of the Tang times!

Our tour of Xi’An ended with an over the top, dumpling filled Tang Dynasty dinner theater.   The evening included two things that I hold so closely to my heart: sparkly costumes and meat stuffed dough balls. 

When we reached the venue, we were by a hostess in traditional Tang attire to a gilded restaurant/ theater. 

Our hostess leads us into the theater.

 About 20 minutes after we were seated, we dined on dumplings of many shapes, fillings, and colors. 

These were the first round of dumplings.  My favorite was the duck shaped dumpling that was filled with duck. 

Dumplings round 2... I was getting a little full after this round.  The dumpling with the little orange eyes was filled with crab.  Yummy!

Round Three: classic pork and scallion filled dumplings. Yummy!

As we were eating, visitors from all over the globe joined us for dumplings.  The women seated to the left of me was Chinese and spoke only Mandarin.  The woman seated to the left of me was from Costa Rica and only spoke Spanish.  Needless to say, I had an amusing time trying to translate my 5 year old like Spanish to 3 year old like Chinese.

My new Chinese friend kept insisting on a picture with everyone.  I was able to translate a little, but I kept  confusing my Chinese and Spanish.  The gentleman to her left was from Belgium.

After multiple rounds of dumplings washed down by Tsingtao, it was time for the show. Fortunately, it was very easy to understand because the emcee introduced the numbers in English.  Each act was breathtaking.

Dancers perform a Spring Dance for the crowd.  I loved the traditional costumes.

Tang soldiers show off their strength and balance.

The empress flaunts her costume.

The Tang Emperor shows his approval.

This acrobatic troupe performed tricks while playing with these yo-yo like toys.

My Spanish speaking dinner companion kept repeating, "Aye!!!  Que lindo!"  How beautiful indeed!

Dancers pose at the end of their number.

Chinese men perform a drum dance.

Dancers pay homage to Buddha at the end of the Golden Buddha dance.

My friends and I do this all the time.

The dancers made it look so easy!

The dancers perform one final number.

All in all, the Tang Dynasty Dumpling Theater was a lot of fun, and a must for folks who are looking for a cheesy, glitzy good time!  

Xi’An: Banpo Museum and Huaqing Pools

When I was in fourth grade, my class studied archaeology.  As part of our archaeology unit I was placed on a team that created a culture, created artifacts related to that culture, and buried them on a friend’s farm.  My team then had to excavate the other team’s artifacts and try to piece together their culture using the clues.  Seeing that I was (and still am) not a big fan of dirt, digging up broken bits of a fictitious civilization was a frustrating task.  However, the activity made me appreciate my trip to the Banpo Museum. 

The Banpo Museum is an archaeological site that contains 8,000-year-old artifacts.

This Banpo Girl statue sits outside the museum.

The museum doubles as an archaeological dig site.

According to carbon dating, this grave is over 6,000 years old.

These four girls were buried with pottery.  In ancient times, people were buried with pottery that would be used in the next life.

After the Banpo Museum, we headed on a tour of the Huaqing Pools. 

Many Chinese Emperors have vacationed in these hot springs located in the outskirts of Xi’An.  Legend has it the pools were built up during the Qing dynasty for Emperor Xuan Zong and his concubine Yang Guifei.  Apparently the emperor was so smitten with Yang that he ignored his country, and times got tough.  Yang realized that their relationship was causing a little bit of a problem, so she hung herself to save her country.  The springs were named after her.

(Source: www.absolutechinatours.com)

This is the entrance gate to the Huaqing Pools.

Many emperors used these facilities as a retreat.

A temple was constructed on the grounds so the emperors could worship.

People still worship at the temple today.

Visitors light incense to offer prayers to the Gods.

Chris and I pose in front of the temple.

The Huaqing Pool area was the location of the Xi'An incident.

This was Chiang Kai-shek's bathroom!

As we were leaving the pools, many visitors were rubbing the turtle heads for good luck!

Overall it was a fun morning, but nothing topped our afternoon trip to the Terra Cotta Warriors!

Digging Up an Army: Our Trip to the Terra Cotta Warriors

In 1974, four farmers surnamed Yang were in need of water.  So, they went out into their field and dug a well.  While digging, one of the farmers came upon a chard of ancient pottery.  He took the chard to a government official to see if the pottery had any value.  They discovered beneath his fields, was a 2000-year-old army of Terra Cotta soldiers created to protect China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi, in the afterlife.

Before entering the museum, we had the privilege of meeting the farmer, Mr. Yang, who found the warriors while digging a well.  His new, easier  job is to greet people and sign books at a store outside the museum.  

Chris and I decided to visit the Terra Cotta warriors over our 4 day Labor Day holiday.  I anticipated being wowed by the statues, but did not know the monument is still an active archeological dig site.

These restored warriors stand guard in pit one. 

Archeologists believe there are about 8000 warriors in the three pits.

Each warrior was made from one of eight different molds.  Then, artisans used clay to give each warrior their own distinct features.  No two warriors are the same.

The warriors used to be multi colored, however time and the elements have turned them gray.  Scientists are creating methods to preserve the warriors' natural coloring.

Workers also have found over 500 horses and 130 chariots in the three pits. 

I was most fascinated with the soldier fragments.

Preservationists match fragments to restore the warriors.  

Every soldier is a puzzle waiting to be assembled.  I would not have the patience to complete these puzzles.

Some soldiers were not able to be fully restored because their  body parts were beyond repair.

More soldiers are waiting to be unearthed.

Can you find the face?

These lines are the original support beams that protected the warriors.

This bronze chariot was discovered close to the emperor's tomb.

Another bronze chariot was also found close to the warriors.

I am looking forward to seeing the Terra Cotta Warrior site grow, as more artifacts are uncovered.  Talk about archaeology in action!