Xi'an Terra Cotta Warriors

Terra Cotta Pit No.1 was discovered accidentally by local villagers in March 1974 when drilling for wells on a piece of barren land. They found some fragments of terracotta warriors and many bronze weapons, which received great attention from the relevant departments. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage sent a team of archaeologists and conservation experts to make field investigation and organized Shaanxi archaeologists to start a full-scale excavation of the site.

In order to protect the find, a large arched hall with a steel frame was built above the pit in 1976. Covering an area of 19,136 square yards, the hall has provided the pit with good ventilation and daylight conditions. In addition, it is burglarproof and fireproof and has temperature and humidity monitoring systems.

Inside the hall, Terra Cotta Pit No.1 is an east-west rectangular pit, measuring 252 yards long, 68 yards wide and 16 feet deep. There are five sloping entrances on both the eastern and western sides. Two side doors are installed on the northern and southern sides. Every three yards, there is a puddle wall, which separates the underground army into different columns. The walls were fortified with wooden columns, earth and reeds while the floor was covered with black bricks. Now visitors see the puddle walls were lower than the terracotta warriors, and it is because once the Pit 1 was taken in water which caused partial collapse of the walls.

There are over 6,000 terra cotta warriors and horses in Pit 1, of which 1,000 have been unearthed. They are marshaled into a well-organized battle array composed of the infantry and cavalry. The vanguard includes 210 foot soldiers divided equally into three lines. The cavalry and war chariot follow close in line, forming the main body of the battle formation. The foot soldiers are alternated with the chariots drawn by horses, lined into 38 columns. On both the northern and southern sides of the war formation stand 180 warriors which serve as flank guards. The rear guards are on the western end, with two lines facing east and another facing west. Some soldiers are armed with battle robe, and some are equipped with armor.The war formation in Pit No.1 is elaborately set in a line and is posed so to seem prepared for battle at any moment. Every soldier and horse warrior is life-like, recapturing the formidable array of Emperor Qin Shihuang.One can only marvel at the grand artistic ability of the remote Qin Dynasty.

Besides the terracotta warriors and horses, the cultural relic unearthed in the Pit 1 also include the bronze swords, spears, crossbows, arrows and Wugou. Wugou refers to a kind of swords which were produced in Wu State under the order of the King Helu. The edge of Wugou is curved and sharp.

According to the history records, the construction of the terracotta warrior pits were started in 221BC and forced to stop during the peasant uprisings in 209BC. At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Xiangyu set fire to the pit, making the pit collapsed and many terracotta warriors and horses crushed, which is indeed a loss and pity of the great Qin terracotta warriors. The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. Work is ongoing at this site, which is around 1.5 kilometers east of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum, Lintong County, Shaanxi Province. It is a sight not to be missed by any visitor to China.Upon ascending the throne at the age of 13 (in 246 BC), Qin Shi Huang, later the first Emperor of all China, had begun to work for his mausoleum. It took 11 years to finish. It is speculated that many buried treasures and sacrificial objects had accompanied the emperor in his afterlife. A group of peasants uncovered some pottery while digging for a well nearby the royal tomb in 1974. It caught the attention of archeologists immediately. They came to Xian in droves to study and to extend the digs. They had established beyond doubt that these artifacts were associated with the Qin Dynasty (211-206 BC).

The State Council authorized to build a museum on site in 1975. When completed, people from far and near came to visit. Xian and the Museum of Qin Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses have become landmarks on all travelers' itinerary.Life size terracotta figures of warriors and horses arranged in battle formations are the star features at the museum. They are replicas of what the imperial guard should look like in those days of pomp and vigor.The museum covers an area of 16,300 square meters, divided into three sections: No. 1 Pit, No. 2 Pit, and No. 3 Pit respectively. They were tagged in the order of their discoveries. No. 1 Pit is the largest, first opened to the public on China's National Day, 1979. There are columns of soldiers at the front, followed by war chariots at the back.No. 2 Pit, found in 1976, is 20 meters northeast of No. 1 Pit. It contained over a thousand warriors and 90 chariots of wood. It was unveiled to the public in 1994.Archeologists came upon No. 3 Pit also in 1976, 25 meters northwest of No. 1 Pit. It looked like to be the command center of the armed forces. It went on display in 1989, with 68 warriors, a war chariot and four horses. Altogether over 7,000 pottery soldiers, horses, chariots, and even weapons have been unearthed from these pits. Most of them have been restored to their former grandeur.The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses is a sensational archeological find of all times. It has put Xian on the map for tourists. It was listed by UNESCO in 1987 as one of the world cultural heritages.

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Harbin International Ice Festival

The annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival have been held since 1963. It had been interrupted for a number of years during the Cultural Revolution until it was resumed in 1985.
Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province of People's Republic of China, is one of the sources of ice and snow culture in the world. Geographically, it is located in Northeast China under the direct influence of the cold winter wind from Siberia. The average temperature in summer is 21.2 degrees Celsius, -16.8 degrees Celsius in winter. It can be as cold as - 38.1 degrees Celsius in winter. Officially, the festival starts from January 5th and it lasts one month. However often the exhibitions open earlier and last longer, weather permitting. Ice sculpture decoration ranges from the modern technology of lasers to traditional ice lanterns. There are ice lantern park touring activities held in many parks in the city. Winter activities in the festival include Yabuli alpine skiing, winter-swimming in Songhua River, and the ice-lantern exhibition in Zhaolin Garden. Snow carving and ice and snow recreations are world famous.
The Harbin festival is one of the world's four largest ice and snow festivals, along with Japan's Sapporo Snow Festival, Canada's Quebec City Winter Carnival, and Norway's Ski Festival.The 2007 festival featured the Canadian theme, memoria in m of Canadian doctor Norman Bethune. It also a Guinness Record of the largest snow sculpture: 250 meters long, 28 feet (8.5 m) high, using over 13,000 cubic meters of snow. The composition consisted of two parts: "Niagara Falls" and "Crossing the Bering Strait" (the latter depicting the migration of the First Nations).
Zhaolin Park is a 'must see' during the Harbin Ice Festival because it has a traditional program that shows the most excellent ice lanterns. With water, lights and the natural ice from the Songhua River running through Harbin as the material, the ice lanterns are made by freezing water, piling up ice or snow, then carving, enchasing, decorating, etc. The ice lantern park touring activities have been held here annually since 1963 and is said to be one of the most wonderful 35 tourist attractions in China. There are numerous pieces of ice artworks in the park arranged in groups according to different themes depicting Chinese classic masterworks, European folktales and customs and so on. A great variety of objects such as buildings, gardens, flowers, waterfalls, European-styled churches, lions, tigers, dragons are carved from ice. In the daytime, the ice sculptures are magnificent and verisimilitude. Moreover, with the interspersion of the sparkling colored lights embedded in the sculptures at night, the park becomes a glorious and amazing ice world.
Today, Harbin Ice Festival is not only an exposition of ice and snow art, but also an annual cultural event for international exchange. Every year, there are many ice sculpture experts, artists and fans from America, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Russia, China, etc. gathering in Harbin to participate ice sculpting competitions and to communicate with each other in the ice and snow world. Also, Harbin ice lanterns have been exhibited in most of China's main cities as well as in many countries in Asia, Europe, North America, Africa and Oceania. For more than 40 years, Harbin's natural resource of ice and snow has been fully explored to provide joy and fun for visitors to the city. Now during the festival, many sporting competitions are also popular including ice-skating, sledding and so on. Weddings, parties and other entertainments are now very much a feature of this ice world, adding their own contribution to the celebrations of this great festival of art, culture, sports and tourism.

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Beijing Opera

Beijing opera, more commonly known as Peking Opera to westerners, is deemed the national opera of China.The accompanying music, singing and costumes are all fascinating and artistic. Full of Chinese cultural elements, the opera presents to the audience an encyclopedia of Chinese culture as well as unfolding stories, beautiful paintings, exquisite costumes, graceful gestures and acrobatic fighting.Since Beijing Opera enjoys a higher reputation than other local operas, almost every province of China has more than one Beijing Opera troupe.There're also many troupes formed by non-professional performers, who are called "piaoyou" in Chinese.Beijing Opera is so popular among Chinese people, especially seniors, that even a "Beijing Opera Month" has been declared.
History
Beijing Opera has an over 200-year history. The main melodies originated from Xipi and Erhuang, originally from Anhui and Hubei province respectively and over time techniques from many other local operas were incorporated.It is said that Beijing Opera gradually came into being after 1790 when the famous four Anhui opera troupes came to Beijing. Beijing Opera underwent fast development during the reign of Emperor Qianlong and the notorious Empress Dowager Cixi under the imperial patron, and eventually became more accessible to the common people.In the ancient times, Beijing Opera was performed mostly on open-air stages in markets, streets, teahouses or temple courtyards. The band had to play loudly and the performers had to develop a piercing style of singing, in order to be heard over the crowds.The costumes were a garish collection of sharply contrasting colors because the stages were dim and lit only by oil lamps.It is a harmonious combination of Grand Opera, Ballet and acrobatic display, consisting of dancing, dialogue, monologue, acrobatic combat and mime.
The Band
The Beijing Opera band mainly consists of orchestra band and percussion band. The former frequently accompanies peaceful scenes while the latter often follows scenes of war and fighting. The commonly used percussion instruments include castanets, drums, bells and cymbals. One person usually plays the castanets and the drum simultaneously, who serves as conductor of the whole band as well.
The orchestral instruments mainly compose of the Erhu, the Huqin, the Yueqin, the Sheng (reed pipe), the Pipa (lute) and other instruments. The band usually sits on the left side of the stage.
The Roles
There are four main roles in Beijing Opera: Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou.
"Sheng" are the leading male actors and are divided into:
"Laosheng," - who wear beards and represent old men
"Xiaosheng," - who represent young men
"Wusheng," - who play military men and fighters
"Wawasheng" - who play kids
The above roles usually wear no facial paintings. "Hongsheng", another category of "Sheng" whose face is painted red, mainly plays "Guanyu" (Chinese Ares) and "Zhao Kuangyin" (the founder of the Song Dynasty).

"Dan" is the female roles. Formerly, the term meant female impersonator. It is divided into many categories
"Laodan" - are the old ladies
"Caidan" - the female comedians
"Wudan" - usually play military or non-military women capable of martial arts
"Qingyi" - the most important category, usually play respectable and decent ladies in elegant costumes
"Huadan" - represent lively and clever young girls, usually in short costumes
"Jing", mostly male, are the face-painted roles who represent warriors, heroes, statesmen, adventurers and demons. "Jing" is generally categorized into "Zhengjing," "Fujing" and "Wujing".
"Chou" refers to clowns who are characterized by a white patch on the nose. Usually white patches of different shape and size mean different characters. They are not definitely rascals, while most of the time they play roles of wit, alert and humor. It is these characters who keep the audience laughing and improvise quips at the right moments to ease tension in some serious plays.

Facial Painting
It is said that this special art derived from the Chinese opera has different origins. But no matter what its origin is, the facial painting is worth appreciating for its artistic value. The paintings are presentations of the roles of the characters.For example, a red face usually depicts the role's bravery, uprightness and loyalty; a white face symbolizes a sinister role's treachery and guile; a green face describes surly stubbornness, impetuosity and lack of self-restraint.In addition, the pattern of the facial painting reveals the role's information too. In a word, the unique makeup in the opera allows the characters on the stage to reveal them voicelessly.

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China Travel

With over one-fifth of the world's population, the majority of China exists today as a state known as the People's Republic of China, but it also refers to a long-standing civilization comprising successive states and cultures dating back nearly 5,000 years. With one of the world's longest periods of mostly uninterrupted civilization and the world's longest continuously used written language system, China's history has been largely characterized by repeated divisions and reunifications amid alternating periods of peace and war, and violent imperial dynastic change. The country's territorial extent expanded outwards from a core area in the North China Plain, and varied according to its changing fortunes to include multiple regions of East, Northeast, and Central Asia. For centuries, Imperial China was also one of the world's most technologically advanced civilizations, and East Asia's dominant cultural influence, with an impact lasting to the present day throughout the region.
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