Great Wall, Terra Cotta Soldiers Museum and Three Gorges Hiking Tour

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2003 Hiking Group Diary click here

"This trip may only last for fifteen days, but the experience of Chinese Culture/History and the memory of beautiful mountain scenery will last for a lifetime."

4. Emperor Qin's Mausoleum and Tombs

Emperor QinShihuang's mausoleum looks huge and magnificent and can be seen from afar. The construction of the emperor's tomb is recorded in the ShiJi (Records of the historian) as follows: they dug through three subterranean streams and poured molten copper for modals of palaces, pavilions and officials, as well as fine vessels, precious stones and rarities. Artisans were ordered to fix up crossbows so that any thief breaking in world be shot. All the country's streams, the Yellow River and Yangtze were reproduced in quicksilver and by some mechanical means made to flow. The heavenly constellations were shown above and the regions of the earth below. The candles were made of whale oil to ensure their burning for eternity." The description can provide us that Emperor QinShihuang's tomb was actually an underground treasure-house. The tomb was a subterranean palace with a protective outer wall 6,210 meters in perimeter on the ground level. Within this area was an inner wall that surrounded the burial mound, located in the southern half of overall compound. Both of the walls had gates leading out in all four directions and watch towers. The burial mound was 115 meters high 2,200 years ago, its reduced to a height of 76 meters today due to the passage of time. With the emperor's tomb as the center, some 600 satellite pits and tombs have been found around within the area of 56.25 square kilometers. Since the discovery of the pits of the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horse in 1974, more and more satellite pits and tombs began to be known and unearthed.

The resting hall of the emperor is situated 5 meters north of the burial mound. It was once a large building above the ground covering an area of 3,575 square meters, where there were all the necessities for daily life, as if the emperor were still alive. The side hall, a subsidiary building of the resting hall, is located north of the resting hall, in which the tomb owner could rest and relax.

Three sets of ruins, probably small palaces of some sort have been discovered in the northwest corner between the inner wall and the outer wall. They were most likely ritual sits and living quarters for relics unearthed from here such as a bronze music bell with gold-silver-inlaid inscription, a bronze Quan, the standard weighing apparatus, fragments of a bronze lamp with goose-shaped leg, some broken pieces of a porcelain bottle and tiles etc. can reveal.

1. Pits of Rare Birds and Animals:

Thirty-one pits of rare animals and birds with a few attendants to the west of the mausoleum have been unearthed within the confines of the wall. These finds indicated Emperor's love for hunting, Everything known to him was buried with him after his death.

2. Stable Pits:

The half-round eaves tile

Ninety-eight sets of the stable pits at ShangJiaoCun, a village 350 meters east of the mausoleum, were found. In front of the horses were placed some pottery jars, basins and lamps in these pits. The remains of mallets and hay were still left in the basins. These pits were modeled after Qin's imperial stable system and of certain significance in the history of the horse-raising method.

3. Tombs of Emperor Qin's Children

Archaeologists have found seventeen Qin tombs for Emperor QinShihuang's princes and princesses killed by the Second Emperor. They were placed eight meters on both sides of the stable pits. While eight of these tombs have been unearthed, they are in ?-shape with sloping roadways leading to the tombs. Approximately two hundred historical relics made of different materials, such as gold , silver, bronze, iron, pottery, jade, shellfish, etc. Have been discovered , and lacquer wares, fragmented silk fabrics, too.

4. Mass Graves:

In present day ZhaoBeiHuCun, a village to the southwest of the mausoleum, these have been discovered "mass graves", covering an area of 8,100 square meters. 42 of them have been unearthed already and over a hundred human

skeletons were found. The excavations show that the skeletons were roughly put together in the simple graves, and one such grave with the skeletons overlapped, some of them are in struggling position, it means that they were buried alive. On the evidence of inscription with the names and birth places of the death on tile fragments, the earliest epitaphs which have been unearthed so far, it is presumably that these were the laborers who died during the construction work.

The pottery figures of the kneeling

attendants excavated in stable pit

Terra Cotta Soldiers Galary

About Tour Operator Tony

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To Learn About China

Year 2005 Tour schedule

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This website is divided into five sections.

Overview gives a general description of the aims and scope of this tour.

Itinerary provides a detailed look at the daily activities.

References allows others who have taken this tour to talk about their experiences.

Details talks about what's included in the tour, as well as the costs.

Registration will bring you to the China Hiking Adventures Inc. Online Registration System Page for secure registration.

Is China Economy a Bubble ?

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For you to have a second opinion Link to: Travel With A Challenge click here

Pour encourager le développement des relations entre le Québec et la Chine

Audience: Day Hiking, as opposed to back packing, means that each day after breakfast, a bus takes us to the beginning of a hike, transfers our luggage, and pick us up at the end of the hike. A hot shower always awaits us at the next hotel. Although the hiking is not difficult, daily hikes of 10 to 15 km (1 km = 0.621 mile) require good endurance. You should be an enthusiastic, experienced day hiker to enjoy this trip.

Photos from hikers in the past
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Buddhism in China

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