Hánchéng (韩城)

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

After a wonderful three day break in Xi’an it was time to continue the journey north. We got up and away early to try and beat the morning traffic, we were partly successful.

The first stop was the Tomb of Emperor Jingdi (Hanyangling) about 30kms north east of Xi’an. A very worthwhile stop. The tomb is protected by an amazing museum which has been built over the relics and allowed us to wander around seeing everything without doing any damage to this important site. Unfortunately due to the low lighting levels it did make taking photos a little difficult. The Emperor and others buried here decided that they needed people and animals with them in the afterlife, so the tombs also contained miniature figurines representing these people and animals. It was a little weird, as the human figurines had no arms which originally made of wood had decayed over the centuries leaving only the fired clay bodies and legs.

The afternoon was spent in a combination of expressways and major roads heading generally in the direction of Pingyao (destination for next day). We weren’t too sure how far we would make it, but in the end made it to Hancheng. Not much to this town but a good place to stop for the night.

Little human like figurines offered in the tombs.
To aid and provide company in the after-life.