NOT EVEN THE SUMMIT BUT EVEREST RONG BUK BASE CAMP AND I FAILED!

The food offered at this Xi'an restaurant didn't give a prelude to the food we would eat for the rest of the journey. For the first meal, the food, although nice, was over-ordered. In Tibet, the food we ate later was so different.

The entrance looks welcoming. Staff was on hand to bring customers to their tables. We went to Xi'an of Shaanxi province principally to visit the Terracotta Warriors.

In Pit 1 of the museum, there are many columns of Terracotta Warriors like this one. In Mandarin, they are referred to as "Bing Ma Yong" (soldier and horse funerary statues). Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, envisioned an afterlife where these warriors will protect him. It is estimated that 8,000 such warriors were buried with him at his death, many still unearthed. Altogether there are three pits. Pit 2 is made of a more diverse array of warriors including archers, cavalry and chariots while Pit 3 may be equated to the command centre with fewer statues but with more elaborate details. 

 The Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum Site Museum. The mausoleum itself, located about one and a half km away, is out of bounds to visitors. It is believed that many booby traps are incorporated into the burial site to keep out unwanted people like grave diggers.

The sign on the wall indicates where the first warrior was stumbled upon by a group of seven farmers digging a well in March 1974. When it was ascertained to be a terracotta warrior, archeological digs followed and one of the biggest Chinese archeological finds of the 20th Century came to light.

This section of Pit One is like a hospital where broken warriors are treated. When they are whole again, they will be "re-posted" to their stations. There have been two incidents of unauthorised people joining the warriors in the pits. On 16 Sep 2006, Pablo Wendel, a German student of Performing Arts in Hangzhou, entered a pit disguised as a terracotta warrior in a costume made from straw.  He was discovered but no punitive action was taken as he did not spoil anything. His passion for the warriors was accepted as part reason for not exonerating him. Sometime in June 05, it was reported that a Chinese citizen named Sun jumped into a pit, tugged and pulled at statues causing damage. It is believed he suffered from mental illness and is undergoing psychological assessment.  

A soldier on display. The warriors were painted at the time of burial. The colours have faded due to burial, exposure to air and humidity among other reasons.

This is the statue of an officer. Notice the differences in his "uniform". 

The sculptor made braids of the soldier's hair. An effort for small details. 

This may be an archer. Notice the positions of his hands.

A horse on display.

A gate leading to the old city of Xi'an.

As may be found in other ancient Chinese cities, this area serves as the killing zone for an enemy deceived into believing the gate leads to the city proper. Arrows will first be fired followed by the wielding of the sword.

 

This place is called Yong Xin Fang. To me it's like they created this attraction to lure tourists and visitors from other Chinese provinces to savour Xi-an cuisine.

This is meat skewered to be barbecued, akin to Satay popular in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Brushes for calligraphy are available too. But, the mainstay here is cooked food and beverages.

We visited a restaurant that offered fast fusion food like these mini hamburgers.

There was life entertainment too.

And beer is served in a bowl like the way wine is shown drunk in Chinese period movies.

This is a giant incense burner of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda of Xi-an,

When night falls, many people will flock to the Grand Tang Dynasty Ever Bright City to, inter alia, catch Chinese beauties being photographed. The women rent costumes called Hanfu, the type of  costume worn by women during the Han Dynasty, to Transform themselves for photography. This woman is holding a lantern with the words Chang'an , the ancient name of Xi'an.

Her make up may make men turn and run if they encounter her alone late at night?

Even young ladies want to look like Han women from of old.

This is one of the main thoroughfares of the "city". People stroll here to look for food and other items. Statues of famous people like poets are also displayed. Along the way, there is a mall which is opened at night.  

This is one of the food stalls found in the Muslim Quarter of Xi'an City. 

It is a popular place for locals to browse in the street, have a meal or buy food or other items.

Our guide, Nian Er Long (R), poses with SK (Chong), my travelling companion at the entrance to the residence of a famous Chinese scholar from an earlier era. Er Long's name, given by his mother) is reminiscent of the Year 2K . 

This building has four storeys, being a store front and space for accommodation/storage. Owner must be quite wealthy, I reckon.

 

Er Long informed us that this is one of the favourite foods in X-an. It's called Yangrou Paomo. Essentially it's mutton soup with pieces of bread soaked in it. 

This is my favourite fruit for juicing. I have savoured it so sweetly here, in Turkey, Georgia and Armenia. What is quite costly in my country is comparatively inexpensive here. And, it's packed full of anti-oxidants and other components which could keep inflammation and hypertension away. 

Xi'an Bell Tower in the Bell Tower Square. Originally built in 1384 (Ming Dynasty), it has undergone rebuilding and movement over its history. Despite this, the original structure remains largely unchanged. Its original bell (named Jingyun Bell) has been moved to another Xi'an museum.  

Believe it? This is a part of Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (opened 20 Feb 2025)!  Located on Level Four of Terminal Five of the airport, it is the only airport museum in the World. The central idea behind this museum is to store and display relics and treasures unearthed during the construction of the airport. There are several halls like the Hall of Treasures and the Hall of Convergence (which displays artifacts unearthed during the airport's construction on a somewhat permanent basis).  

Qin Gong Bo is a bell from the Spring and Autumn periods (771BC to 476 BC) - corresponding approximately to the first half of the Eastern Zhou era. It is on display for a period of a few months in the Hall of Treasures after which another item will be exhibited. 

That's how Yaks are delivered to and displayed by retailers. They will then be cut up and sold.

Yak meat ready for sale.

Yak meat ready for the stomach. We had it for lunch at a restaurant at Qinghai Lake.

 It tastes better than beef and is sweeter. It's considered better because of its lower fat and cholesterol contents and also being higher in proteins and Omega-3 fatty acids. It is also considered to be more sustainable to raise than cattle.   

I suppose this is one of the principal attractions in Qinghai Lake. 

There is also a significant fishery industry on the lake for which it is well known for its naked carp.

The lake viewed from afar.

Qinghai Lake as seen from the train. Cloud cover is so low it almost obliterates the view of the mountains in the background.

Another image captured from the train. One of the selling points of the train ride of 22 hours is that we can see herds of unique and endemic Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau wildlife like Tibetan Antelope, wild yak, Tibetan wild ass and snow leopards. But apart from some wild yaks, I saw nothing else. Either I was sleeping or they were!

Caught this image when the train stopped. I wonder if there were life missiles in them.

Namptso Lake (also Heavenly Lake and God's Lake) didn't look good to me as I was suffering from Cerebral Hypoxia. At one point, my Oxygen level went down to 24. I needed Oxygen in the car before going to the lake. Namptso Lake is known as the highest salt lake in the World at an elevation of 4,718m ASL and second biggest in volume. The largest salt lake is the Caspian Sea in terms of volume, surface area and depth. There is no fishing industry on the lake for it's considered a holy lake plus Tibetans, like Mongolians, don't eat fish.

The Grand Potala Palace, initial construction of which was started in 640 as a palace, later became a monastery and also the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas, political and spiritual leaders of Tibet. The palace complex includes the White Palace Dalai Lamas' accommodation and government centre. The Red Palace has 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and two hundred statues. 

 

The Palace which is now a museum is 13 storeys high. Its elevation is 3,700m ASL. It was recognised as a World Heritage Site in 1994. Entrance fees are 200 RMB during the high season and half that during the low season. Fancy climbing to see all the contents? Maybe if I were younger? 

There is a big square in front of the palace. Called Potala Square, it's meant for a grand approach to the palace and a place for gatherings and celebrations. Another purpose is to portray the cultural heritage of Lhasa (Tibet's capital city) as well as the fusion of history and modernity. This square was built after the Chinese take-over of Tibet.

 

The most famous temple - Jokhang Temple (cum monastery) in Lhasa - is a Tibetan Buddhist temple. It is made up of the temple complex itself and a Gelug school monastery.  Built in 640, it is a part of the historic ensemble of Potala Palace and was made a UNESCO World heritage site in 2000.. Photo credit: S K Seah

 

The temple located in Barkhor Square is a treasured site for Tibetan Buddhists. Considered the spiritual heart of Tibet it is the most holy pilgrimage site where the "kora" (circumambulation) is commonly seen done by pilgrims. Photo credit: S K Seah

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The hall of the Grand Dong Guan Mosque in Xining.  

The mosque itself could be easily mistaken for a Chinese temple.

The Kumbum (Ta'er) Monastery of Xining is a big complex.

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This could serve as accommodation for the monastery.

The eaves of one of the temples. So intricately carved.

Yak and Tibetan prayer flags of Ri Yue (Sun Moon) Mountain. It is supposed to be an attraction in Xining but one could just as well drive by to see it all.   In case you are wondering why Mt Everest was in the title, the main draw for this trip was to go the Tibetan side of Mt Everest and experience being in its base camp named Rong Buk Base Camp after the highest monastery in the World - Rong Buk  Monastery (5,000m ASL). Cerebral Hypoxia (Oxygen deprivation) caused me to curtail the trip.