China (Xian, Shaanxi) May 2006 D-15

Today, I signed up a full day tour (Rmb50) taking the West Route of Xian which took us to visit 1) Tomb of Prince Yide 2) Qiangling Mausoleum 3) Famen Si Temple Pagoda 4) Famen Temple Museum. This longer route lies the sites of a number of imperial tombs.

Xian Train Station, Shaanxi - the starting point of our East & West Route of Xian day tour bus packages from Xian ! An ideal meet up point for any of Xian day tour packages ! 

1) The Tomb of Prince Yide, Xian - our group had breakfast in a canteen style outlet in this place. After which, we visited the relics excavated from the tomb of Yide.

2) Qiangling Mausoleum, Shaanxi (Rmb46) - This tomb is located about 85km from Xian. Emperor Tang Gaozong and his wife, Empress Wu Zetian were buried here. As we entered the main ground, we were greeted by large stone sculptures of animals and army guard officials - very well crafted and some figures were no longer in good shape. The most interesting sight was a number of rows of 61 headless statues of the leaders of the minority race who attended the emperor's funeral. There was this wordless imperial monument (tablet), carved with eight dragon on top - a mystery in Chinese history !

3) Great Buddha Temple, Shaanxi (Rmb10) - located about 115km from Xian. The four tall Buddha statues facing the four directions have a slightly different face expression. I took a picture of each facing. Are you able to spot the difference.

4) Famen Si, Shaanxi (Rmb38) - This temple which was built in AD200, during the Han dynasty. This famous temple has attracted a lot of visitors who are keen to see the relics , Buddhism scriptures, gold and silver items, royal offerings and the four sacred finger bones of Buddha. These 1,000 precious items were discovered during restoration works after a part of the temple collapsed due to heavy rain. I took a picture of the ruined temple exhibited in the museum.

The Famen Temple, Shaanxi is located about 115km from Xian, not far from the Great Buddha Temple.

The framed up picture of a partially damaged temple and a picture of the real temple after the restoration.

5) Famen Si Museum, Shaanxi - an excellent exhibit of some 1,000 year priceless relics & Buddha finger bones

The framed up pictures of Buddha's four finger bones - unbelievable !

" Imperial tombs, Buddha statutes, winged horse, Buddha finger bones, Famen Buddhist temple pagoda, gold and silver royal offerings , Tang dynasty art & paintings - I am glad to be here in China - the world's oldest surviving civilization "