Biking the Wall and the Muslim Market

The second of the big three highlights in Xi’an, was riding bikes on top of the old city wall. Xia’an –which at one time was the capital of imperial China- was a walled city like so many ancient Chinese cities. Today, Xi’an has the distinction of having the largest intact city wall (thanks –in part- to some modern re-construction efforts). The top of the wall is about three stories above the rest of the city and is about thirty feet wide –or wide enough for several horse-drawn chariots running side by side. It is possible to start at one spot and bicycle the entire fourteen kilometers. We stopped to take a lot pictures and finished the circuit in just under two hours.

The third must-see attraction in Xi’an is the Muslim Market. Before moving to China, I never realized how prevalent Islam is, particularly among some of the ethnic minorities and especially in the more westerly provinces. The Muslim Market is in downtown Xi’an just west of the city center and it is the place to go for cheap souvenirs. Given that this is Xi’an, there is an abundance of reproduction Terra Cotta figurines of all sizes and price ranges. They were everywhere. I am convinced that for every full-sized warrior that was crafted 2,200 years ago, a thousand miniature replicas have been made since their discovery in 1974.

As much as I wanted to buy a full-sized replica to put next to my lamp post just outside by breezeway door in Chicago, I settled for a modest-sized one of about eighteen inches. Annika used her Mandarin to help me negotiate a very good price. I like to think the man gave us a particularly good price because my daughter’s Mandarin was so impressive.

Later that week, as we attempted to fly out from Beijing, I was stopped by security. The guard took me around a corner where he had me put my packs on the counter while he called over his supervisor. They expressed particular interest in my miniature terra cotta figurine. They had me take the lid off of the box and peal back the tissue paper. The two of them talked and poked and lifted it out of the box to get a better look.

Oh my goodness, I thought, they actually suspect that I might be trying to smuggle antiquities out of the country. I felt like saying, “Hey I can clear this all up in jiffy. This is not one of China’s ancient Terra Cotta warriors dug up from the ground. This is one of five million miniature replicas that are mass produced every year. The old ones from the emperor’s tomb, yeah, they are famously full-size. That’s full-size as in the size of a real person. You should know this. Those dusty, full-size warriors are China’s biggest tourist attraction second only to the Great Wall. Pretty sure my eighteen inch guy is fake.”

Finally, they indicated that I could box up my warrior and be on my way. Honestly, I think it was a slow day and they were just messing with me. “Did you see the look on that guy’s face? He actually thought that we thought he had a real Terra Cotta soldier in his possession. What a yokel.”