XI'AN -- Terra Cotta Warriors/ Photo's

[catmanbruce]

I will be visiting the Terra Cotta Warriors in a few weeks and have read conflicting reports on taking photo's whether it is allowed or not. Has anyone had any experiences there ? Thanking you in advance for any information you can give me.

 

Bruce

[rkacruiser]

I visited Xian in the Fall of 2002 and saw the Terra Cotta soldiers. At that time, I was able to take photos without any problems whatsoever.

 

As part of your visit, there is a theater in the round(full 360 degrees) that shows a brief documentary about the site. Be sure to see that film before you see the exhibits. I think it will make much more meaningful what you are seeing.

[glgolfer]

We were there in Oct of 2002 and there was no problem taking pictures anywhere. Here's the link to ours if you're interested:

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/rcicruisers

[shmabbies]

No problem in March 2004. There was also a small room with some replicas of the warriors where for a small fee (like $1 or so) you could pose with them and use your own camera to take photos. A lot of people didn't see it and were disappointed. :D

[zoomom]

We just returned yesterday from the Beijing/Xian cruisetour and it is not a problem to photo any of the exhibits at the Terracotta Warrior complex.

[EmJakeBubbie]

we just signed up for a choral tour to Beijing / Xi'an May 2006. 9 nts/ 10 days - land touring. $3k pp inclusive of everything. hoping we've made a wise decision?

[zoomom]

We did a quick land tour with Princess of 4 days including Beijing and Xian. We fell in love with China and I think I can safely say that our entire tour had a blast. We had a great compatible group on the land tour portion, so that always makes a difference. You will find that the Chinese are very hospitable hosts and are very interested in westerners, especially Americans. They love to practice their english with you and for the most part, they speak a lot of english -- far more than we ever expected. They may want to take pictures with you as well, since westerners are still a bit of a novelty and it is exciting for them to have us as visitors. Many thanked us for coming to China and wanted to know if we would visit again. I am trying to work out a quick trip to Beijing over the holidays if I have enough FF miles.

 

Going in 2006 is a good choice, because they are gearing up for the Olympics. Many sites will be under renovation, as they are now, but you won't have the crush of the Olympics to deal with.

 

You will have a lot of people trying to sell you things, but in our case it never got ugly. Our tour group was very jovial about it. Pretty much whatever you want to buy will go for about half of the first asking price -- sometimes less. It became a bit of a game with our group and you should approach it that way. I found that if I said no in mandarin, they walked away. Or, if I said no with a sincere thank you, that did the trick as well.

 

The last thing to keep in mind is that culturally the Chinese want very hard to please but can seem a bit distant if you are asking for something they cannot do. Our guides emphasized that in asia things don't always go as planned, so count to 10 and keep a calm, smiling exterior when working to settle a question or misunderstanding. It is very important to them that a conflict doesn't escalate to shouting, etc.

 

The sights are incredible. There is nothing like the Forbidden Palace or the Terracotta Warriors.

 

Let me know if you need more specific information.

[EmJakeBubbie]

zoomom: much appreciate your response - we are hopeful our decision to devote this big trip to only two cities, as well, only a land tour is a wise decision? I'm wondering about the flight / time involved. We'll be flying from Kansas City to Minneapolis to Tokyo to Beijing then to Xi'an / and the trip in reverse for home. I'm tired already:eek: Can anyone address the flight challenges? We haven't been yet been informed in which hotels we'll stay. I've read that the Beijing Hotel is very nice.

[zoomom]

IMHO you have made a great choice for seeing China. Now, I can't say that I have been everywhere in China. I have only spent one day in Shanghai, four days in Beijing, and one day in Xian. However, we so much enjoyed Beijing and Xian, we are trying to work out another trip in December to finish up the sites we didn't get to. In Beijing, our itinerary was Tieneman Square (spelling?), Mao's tomb, Forbidden City, Summer Palace and Great Wall (Badaling). If we can get back there, we want to go to the Ming Tombs, National Museum, perhaps another section of the Great Wall, Zoo, and I am not sure what else at this point. Our day in Xian covered the Terracotta Warriors, City Wall, Big Wild Goose Pagoda and dinner at the Tang Dynasty Palace. I know there are other sights to see as well, but haven't figured that part out yet if we plan to go back.

 

I sympathize with your flight requirements. It is a bit easier on me, since I am located near San Francisco and United does a direct flight to Beijing from there. However, in getting to the cruise we had to fly through Narita to get to Bangkok. So, I can completely understand your worries. Most of the people we traveled with on our land tour were from the east coast and they had long hauls to get home.

 

We did fly from Beijing to Xian and back on their local carriers and the service was pretty much what we get in the US. One flight was delayed an hour, but the tour guide arranged it so that we didn't miss any time with the TC Warriors. The food and service were good on the flights and both airports are modern with jetways on and off the planes, clean restrooms, gift shops, etc. I think the flight to Xian was 1 1/2 hours, or maybe 2 -- I just can't remember from the jet lag. Only real problem is that they really pack 'em in on those flights and tall members of your group will enjoy getting aisle seats.

 

With respect to hotels, we stayed in the Beijing Hotel and it is very nice. Beautiful granite floors in the lobby, shops, restaurants and very helpful service. I booked an extra nite there and was surprised it was only $160 US. Living on the west coast, it is hard to book a holiday inn for that kind of price. Often on tours they include breakfast in their cafe (Sunshine Cafe) and it was a very nice buffet with fruit, yogurt, pastries, omellettes, pancakes, cereal and all sorts of asian breakfast goodies. Plus, when you get tired of chinese food, there's an Outback Steakhouse in the hotel. Pretty much everyone on our tour had a couple meals there. In Xian, we stayed at the Sheraton. It was very nice, but not as grand as the Beijing Hotel. I am very fussy about hotels and thought both were more than adequate.

 

As far as your concern about only seeing 2 cities, I think you will have plenty to do and see. Shanghai was interesting, but we haven't really given a thought to going back there. I think, personally, we could have spent 3-4 days in Xian and 6-7 in Beijing. On tours they really hustle and we actually went back to T Square and Forbidden City to spend a half day soaking it in. Perhaps your pace will be a little more sane. Also, they kept us moving because July is sooooo hot that we really needed the air conditioned bus break after a couple hours. Plus, you will want some shopping time. There are amazing bargains there.

 

I am not sure of the group you are going with, but a friend recommended a book to me that helped immensely in understanding Chinese culture. It is Wild Swans by Jung Chang. It is the story of the women in her family and how they lived, starting with her grandmother who was a concubine, continuing with her mother who was a Communist Party member, and herself growing up and eventually moving to the West. Can't recommend it highly enough. She also just finished a book on Mao which I want to read.

 

Let me know if you have more questions.

[EmJakeBubbie]

Thank you so much for telling me exactly what I wanted to know. From your note, it does sound as if we will visit two most important cities. Hong Kong is a "big name" but sounds chaotic - Shanghai is another 'big name', but my research doesn't indicate enough 'must see' to warrant a specific visit. DH and I are travelers interested in history and culture. - we've heard Yes and No that the warrior site is photographs-OK -- do you know?

I will look for Wild Swans this weekend - tnx f/recommendation. We are traveling with a university choral group (DH is alumni); the group is scheduled 4 performances to include singing at the Great Wall -- we will be visiting a couple of schools for a musical exchange program, as well seeing the most important points of interests in both cities. 4 nts Beijing; 4 nts Xi'an. I was interested in your note about the flts between those cities. I'll try to request aisle seating - tvlg w/a group can be a challenge to get plane seating as desired:( - because this group is departing from KS, we have the xtra burden of flying Philly to Kansas the day prior and in reverse to stay a nt in KS after the trip returns. xtra flts/xpenses; the cat is not gonna be happy! I can't imagine the jet lag we'll suffer! When we flew to Hawaii some yrs ago, it took us a month to recover (flying from Philly). China trip is Philly to Kansas City to Minneapolis to Tokyo to Beijing to Xi'an and return....can you imagine:eek: I wish we were flying UA (good miles accumulation); alas, we are going Northwest - wonder what the long haul in flight services will be like? How many hours did you travel? I imagine from SFO wasn't so bad for you? We fly PHL to SFO/SAN/SEA/LAX several times each year....those trips are loonnnngggg for us!

[zoomom]

This is fun. It is always a kick to be able to tell others about your trip. After a while all your office mates and family glaze over with having heard the hundredth story from your trip!

 

As for photos, through my own jet lag I do recall that the on the way from the airport to the TC Warriors, our guide had said there were some potential restrictions to photography. He then qualified it with a statement that if you were not really aggressive with picture-taking that it wouldn't be a problem. I have no idea why he said that. My husband was roundly teased by our group for the amount of pictures he took everywhere. As an illustration, in 24 days including 5 sea days, he took upwards of 4,000 pictures. He did not restrain himself at the Warriors by any stretch of the imagination. No one in our group did and no one said a word to us about taking too many pictures. I don't remember seeing that many guards around the various pits that make up the Warriors site. In fact, at one point the lens cap let loose from the leash and popped over the railing thankfully landing on ledge and staying there. My DH unloaded his supplies on our travelmates and leaned 4 feet over the edge to retrieve the cap. Can you imagine if it had gone plinking down into the pit amongst the statues?:eek: No guard ever saw it happen and we moved along as if nothing had happened. I bet if our guide had seen him it would have given him heart failure.

 

There was only one sign prohibiting photos and that was in a room where they had a selection of warriors in glass cases. Everyone, American and Chinese, were snapping pictures with wild abandon in there and no one seemed to care. They do have a few stations within the complex where you can pose for one of their "professional" pictures -- their equivalent of a Kodak picture spot where they will sell you a photo. However, no one even solicited us for this. We did arrive late in the day, due to flight delays, but I have no idea if that made any difference.

 

Perhaps they just see a big group of Americans coming and know that it will mean a good day in the gift shop -- hoping that if they keep the hassle over the photos to a minimum they will stimulate goodwill in the gift shop. By the way, if you want to purchase mini terracotta warrior replicas, the gift shop there is more expensive than at the airport or elsewhere in Xian. However, the gift shop claims that they are the only "authorized" replica sales outlet made with clay from the area. I don't think I could tell the difference between those made there or elsewhere, except there they give you a little certificate with the authenticity claim printed on it.:)

 

Also, our group viewed the pits at the site before seeing their film about the site. I think seeing the film would have been better before viewing the pits, but still not a big deal since I am sure your guide will fill you in on the story or you can read about them on the Web.

 

IMHO I do not think you are missing anything by skipping Hong Kong. I went there 30 years ago when I was 18 and I remembered it to be much more interesting than it was this time. It is a city of skyscrapers with the main emphasis on shopping. When I went there oh-so-long-ago, there were junks in the harbor. The harbor now has giant luxury yachts, fishing boats and sampans which are little more than a covered boat with an outboard motor. Not a very romantic place anymore. I am sure there are some interesting and historical spots, but on the whole I don't think I would go back. Shanghai was interesting, but we didn't see the level of history there that we did in Beijing and Xian, with the one exception that they have a beautiful new museum there filled with calligraphy, carvings, etc. But, it is a long way to go to see a museum. The highlights we saw in Shanghai were the children's palace (an afterschool cultural instructional program for kids); Yu Yuan Garden (historical, but the Summer Palace and the garden in the Forbidden City were much prettier); the museum; temple; and Friendship Store (with a Starbucks located in the middle of the first floor).

 

My sympathies on the long flights. Our flight home direct to San Fran from Beijing was only 11 hours. I fear you are going to be a bit stir crazy from all the flying. Going to the cruise was a 9 hour flight to Tokyo and then 4 hours to Bangkok and I still was climbing the walls. Plus, there are only so many dinners in a row you can eat!

 

I can fill you in on more details and answer more questions if you like. My direct email is: leslie.godbe@gmail.com

[EmJakeBubbie]

my DH writes this:rolleyes:

1) Do most merchants accept US Dollars? What about the peddlers & small shops? Credit cards? Which ones?

2) Is it legal to bring along a GPS receiver? We have found only one place in our travels where it was forbidden, and that was Russia. We really would like to have it on this trip.

3) What type of adapter plugs are necessary for their electricity? We have the standard "universal" plugs & adapters we bring everywhere.

4) Were there any dress code restrictions on any of your tours? What do you recommend. We usually like to fit in, rather than stand out, even within a tour group.

zoomom: your replies have been so helpful! do much understand about coworkers OD'ing on our trip stories. DH & I are frequent tvlrs who just luv to "share" upon return home. we know our stories are like bringing a t-shirt to someone who wasn't there, so big deal...we welcome you to share anything you care to share w/us - we understand this and look forward to your comments. if you weren't 3k miles away, we'd invite ya over for a cold one for you to share your pix. DH is an avid photographer, as well. if you've been to the cystine chapel, y'know photos are a grave no-no. well, he turned off the digital camera 'noise' / turned the camera upwards to the ceiling and w/o flash snapped away - nothing was harmed - he got some beautiful pix altho, a couple do include his nose;) I am off to Boarders today for a copy of Wild Swans. how far from SFO do you live? we normally stay at the Sheraton FW when in SFO (last there 4/30) - we luv the Napa Valley/Sonoma area, as well.

[rkacruiser]

To answer a couple of the questions:

 

Take dollar bills! The peddlers and street merchants desire them greatly. To buy merchandise in a store, I recall we needed to convert money to their currency. I used Visa for my credit card and had no problem. (It is wise to let the credit card company know where and when the card may be used. But, you probably know that already.)

 

As to adapters, I don't recall any issue. The standard set of universal adapters and plugs seemed to work, I think. Magellan's, the travel supply merchandiser, has a section of its website that has details about what type of plugs and adapters are needed in what countries.

 

As to clothes, I would not wear shorts, but would dress modestly and conservatively. Leave the expensive jewelry and watches somewhere where it will be safe.

 

Cannot answer the other questions. I hope this helps.

[EmJakeBubbie]

rkacruiser: Thanks! all these tips are very much appreciated, as I'm sure y'all know:) DH still wants to know: is a GPS permitted? went for Chinese Buffet tonight (all this talk made us hungry;)) We were told to say Thank You is to say "shay shay" hmmmm....does that sound right? The dollars for street dealers sounds like what we experienced in Russia a few yrs back; however, oh boy, they sure scrutinized the bill and even if it was wrinkled or had an odd (ink)mark on it, they refused it! 'course that was in the time our dollar was strong. Thinking to get some new clothes, tvlg shoes, etc. but y'know what? Everything, and I mean everything, says "Made in China", so we're like Why buy here if we can get it cheaper there? oi vey! how was the shopping for things like shoes, nightclothes, etc.????

[rkacruiser]

Sorry, I can't say that "shay shay" sounds familiar, but it may well be correct. I don't recall exactly where in Asia, but a "defective" dollar bill was refused! Only currency in good condition was accepted. As I remember, a very small piece was missing from one corner of the dollar bill I tried to use.

[EmJakeBubbie]

your money comment sounds like our Russian experience - the dollar may be desired, but only when in Good Condition;) Sure makes it easier when we can use our money.....the exchange rate is now not quite as good, plus there's always a commission to pay when converting. heard from a friend of a friend of a friend who just came back from a 30 day cruise/tour - allegedly, $300 bought all the stuff you'd ever want to carry home. I'm most interested in buying some clothes and shoes - always prefer to buy things I can wear rather than to dust!:D

[raringtogo]

hi everyone

my daughter and I just came back from two weeks in china and we had a wonderful time. We changed our Australian money into RMB - it is very simple

- you can change your money everywhere and anywhere and it is definitely easier to use their money rather than trying to convert and figure out what you're spending on the spot - I printed out a little conversion table which we carried everywhere with us - It gave conversions for AU$, US$ and RMB from $1 up to $200 so we could instantly tell what everything was costing us. Everyone in the markets and shops was very bemused by this and they all asked to see what we were studying so hard. I would highly recommend this.

 

With regard to taking photos - there was not one place where we were not allowed to take photos - even at the Shanghai Acrobats they said "no photos" but everyone took them anyway.

 

We spent 6 days in Shanghai and loved every single second - very exciting and cosmopolitan city. We then spent two full days in Xian and this was just right. The Terracotta Warriors was awesome and we took heaps of photos.

 

Beijing - a lot to see- The wall is also awesome- although we were supposed to spend seven days in Beijing we were feeling exhausted from the heat and the traffic (it was very very hot every day) and decided to move on after four days and went on to Singapore for the next three instead - that was wonderful.

 

China is facinating and I know you'll have a great time

[raringtogo]

emjakes bubbie -

I've just re-read your last post - I must add one comment - as I wrote , I've just returned from two weeks with my 26 year old daughter - we were sure we'd be able to buy all the lovely clothes we buy in australia (which are all made in China) but at least half the price- we couldn't have been more disappointed - you can NOT get fabulous clothes in china unless you shop in the very expensive Designer stores on say Nanjing Lu (shanghai) - the department stores and shops really do not cater for westerners unless you are very tiny and even then, then styles and quality were not good at all and we are shopaholics believe me!

My daugter is very slender but even she did not find anything much. Interestingly though, we stayed in the Sheraton in Xian and they had some very nice clothing outlets within the hotel and she bought quite a lot there.

 

Of course, the whole of china has the markets which are full to the brim with all the fakes- clothes, bags and everything else. I bought a couple of very lightweight jackets which were quite nice and a twinset, but other than that again I think the clothing was very disappointing.

[jstducky]

we just signed up for a choral tour to Beijing / Xi'an May 2006. 9 nts/ 10 days - land touring. $3k pp inclusive of everything. hoping we've made a wise decision?

 

EmJake: I just returned in March from a 10 day tour of Beijing/Xi'an/Shanghai. It was amazing. Much better than I could have ever imagined! You'll have a good time

 

To the original poster, I was just at Xi'an in March and though there are random signs everywhere that say that you are not allowed to take photos, and though guide books may say the same, taking photos is not a problem at all. I even saw officers walking around and some of them were helping taking photos with the tourists in the photos, so they didn't care.

 

If you want to see pictures from my trip to China, you can check out the link in my signature!

[jstducky]

EmJake:

 

I will say that if you like to shop Shanghai would be a good city for that. There is also the Yu Yuan Garden as metioned earlier, the Bund, Nanjing Road and the Oriental Pearl TV tower in Shanghai. If you do ever find your way to Shanghai the best place to shop is Xiang Yang Outdoor market! Its fantastic! I bought myself 3 wonderful North Face jackets there which worked so well for my recent cruise to Alaska!

 

If you are just going to be in Beijing and you have some time and want to shop, go to Silk Street Market. ITs not really a street, its a 4 story building with some great shopping. I bought 2 North Face jackets here and a variety of other clothing!

 

US dollars (small bills) are widely accepted, but its preferrable for you to exchange your money. All hotels offer the same exchange rate, there is no service charge. All you need to show them is your passport. If you have money left over, you can easily exchange your RMB back into USD at the airport with your passport. No problems at all!

 

I will also say that I also did not run into any problems with adapters. I bought a universal adapter set from Wal-Mart for $20. and it turns out I never used it and returned it for my money back. I was afraid that I wouldn't ahve enough batteries for my camera and that I wouldn't be able to charge my batteries, so I bought the adapter. Turns out that most of the hotels I went to had a 110V outlet in the bathroom which they said was for razors, but I used it for my battery charger and it worked fine!

 

I will say that the tour group arranged such fabulous 5 star accomodations it was fantastic! It was better than I could have expected. We were at the New Otani in Beijing, the Grand Hyatt in Xi'an and the Raddisson in Shanghai! We were amazed that we were able to get ourselves a 10 day tour, including roundtrip air from LAX to Beijing, air from Beijing to Xi'an, and then Xi'an to Shanghai, plus hotel, tour guide in each city, a national guide that followed us the whole tour, as well as 90% of our meals for only $1300 per person! It was such a great value!

[raringtogo]

jstducky-

It was so great to see your photos of Tianemen Square- the morning we visited I took the same photos but by the time I arrived back at our hotel, my camera was gone (still don't know if it was dropped in the taxi or not) with all my lovely photos - we went to the same places as you, shanghai-xian-beijing - luckily I had run out of memory the night before and went to a place around the corner from our hotel and downloaded all my photos (taken in the two weeks before Beijing)to disc - how lucky was I?

 

I agree with everything you said about Shanghai- we loved it.

 

-btw- your tour deal sounds truly amazing- what a bargain!

[jstducky]

Raringtogo!

 

That's horrible about your camera! I hope that it wasn't too expensive of a camera!

 

One thing that I thought I wanted to do in Beijing prior to our trip was to see Mao's tomb at Tianenmen. But boy, after arriving the first day with our tour group and walking through Tianenmen and seeing that the line to walk past Mao's tomb was winding back and forth and back and forth with literally thousands of people in line, I quickly dispelled myself of the idea of seeing that!

 

We had a great trip to China, much better than I could have ever expected! I'm glad to hear you had a great time as well!

[raringtogo]

thanks Jstducky- it was fairly expensive ($750)

and very new- but insured -so I replaced it in Singapore three days later but of course, those photos of Mao were lost forever until I saw yours - pretty awesome isn't it? (China) - I hope to go back and visit places we didn't have time for like Guilin and maybe a Yangtze Cruise

[jstducky]

Raringtogo - you sound like me. I've thinking that in a couple of years, I'd love to go back as well. We were thinking of a Yantze cruise possibly as well, but on our tour we met a woman who did it 2 years ago and she said she didn't like it at all. The conditions weren't that great, not nearly anything close to a cruise. She said she felt that the accomodations were like 1 star, so I dont know. That had me a bit worried!

 

But yeah, Guilin is supposed to be very pretty. I was in Thailand a few years ago and I was down south in this area that they call the Guilin of Thailand. We took a longtail boat out and it was beautiful!

 

I was also thing of Kunming where they have the granite rock formations or whatever, apparently thats supposed to be very nice as well.

 

You know China is not a place I thought I'd really visit. I mean I always said that I wanted to walk the Great Wall, but I didnt think I'd really do it. My parents went for the first time 5 years ago and they raved about it, but I was still skeptical. Finally last year a co-worker went and she really enjoyed it. My parents went on business trips for my dad's company 2 times last year and they couldn't stop talking about it! So then this year, I decided it couldn't be that bad if everyone was raving about it...

 

And now that I've gone and come back, its amazing to talk to other people who've been and who all rave about how it was better than they ever expected!

 

I heard that last year China surpased Italy as the 4th most visited country in the world following France, England and the United States. That was a pretty amazing statistic. Perhaps others are figuring out what we already know, that China is just a wealth of history, culture and scenery...

[rkacruiser]

Did anyone visit the Summer Palace near Beijing? If so, was it worth the effort to get there?

 

I am glad others had a wonderful trip to China. I think it is one of the most interesting places that I have been and am eagerly looking forward to a return visit this Winter on one of the Statendam's cruises.