| Wonders of China | |
| 西安 | |
| Xi'an | |
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| Capital of modern Shaanxi Province , Xi’an has served as capital to 11 dynasties over a period of some four thousand years and was the eastern end of the Silk Road - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| It is a large city of several million housed mainly in towering apartment blocks which are symbolic of modern China. While taxis are plentiful language barriers will make it difficult for foreigners to communicate with the driver - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Approaching Kai Yuan Square by night - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Tang Emperor, Xuan Zong (712 to 756) and his accompanying musicians - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| The ever changing illuminated colours and patterns of the dragon columns surrounding the Xuan Zong statue - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| More spectacular colour beyond the statue - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| One of the world’s largest Musical Fountain shows to which the floodlit Great Wild Goose Pagoda forms the backdrop but the large crowd can make effective filming difficult - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Unlike many of China’s city walls, those of Xi’an are still intact and are perhaps best viewed at night when they are illuminated - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Built originally in the 14th Century the City Wall has been refurbished many times, most recently in 1983. The Bell Tower in the city centre effectively forms the centrepiece of a huge traffic roundabout - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| The Golden Flower Hotel and its guardian Chinese lions is ideally located for visitors who want to get a flavour of everyday life in the city - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| A feature of the Golden Flower Hotel is the daily changing of the carpets in the lifts so that they show in English and Chinese the day of the week. Monday in Chinese translates literally as "Day One", Tuesday as "Day Two" etc - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Morning in downtown Xi'an where the electric scooters ride the pavement and initiate their own contraflow system as they head against the traffic on the wrong side of the road - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| The scooters ignore traffic lights and any other form of traffic control - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Streets and pavements are kept clean although the electricity power cables are arranged somewhat haphazardly - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Small shops and sidewalk-stalls are coming to life as dumpling containers are pile high and hard boiled eggs are kept warm - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Street names in Xi'an are displayed in Chinese and English on the Dongyaofang Footbridge - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Orderly and patient queues for the many buses at Dongyaofang - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| As traffic flows in both directions along the elevated highway distant buildings are barely visible in the haze enveloping the city - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Back at the hotel fleets of tourist buses are made ready for the day’s various excursions – in our case for the nineteen mile drive to Lintong and the famous Terracotta Army - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| The visit starts at the Terracotta Reproduction Factory in Lintong where after visitors pose for photoshots, they are shown the kiln where the replica warriors are fired - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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The same method is used for the replicas as was used for the originals made over two thousand years ago - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow |
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| The finished products varying in size from the minute to the larger than life are for sale in the factory shop - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Traditional Chinese Lacquered furniture is also produced and displayed for sale - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| The entrance (left) to the Terracotta Army which is housed in three Pits. Pit No.1 (right) was discovered by local villagers who were drilling for wells on a piece of barren land in March 1974. In order to protect the find, a large arched hall with a steel frame was built above the pit in 1976 - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| There are over 6,000 terracotta warriors and horses in Pit 1, of which 1,000 have been unearthed - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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The soldiers and horses are marshalled into a well-organized battle array composed of the infantry and cavalry - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow |
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| In 209BC construction halted during the peasant uprisings at the end of the Qin Dynasty when Xiang Yu set fire to the pit causing it to collapse and destroying many of the terracotta warriors and horses - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| The figure of officers is distinguished from the figure of warriors by the headgear they wear. An example of several types of warrior, including the famous kneeling archer, is displayed by Pit 2 - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| In the Exhibition Hall are two half scale bronze chariots, one of which alone is made up of over 3,600 metal pieces - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Buddism still plays a part in many Chinese lives and the Da Ci’en Temple is another of Xi’an’s landmarks - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow | |
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Inside the Mahavira Hall is a golden Budda in front of which gifts of fruit and flowers are placed on the altar - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow |
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An early start was made for the drive to the Airport to take a China Eastern flight to Nanjing - VIDEO CAPTURES Malcolm McCrow |
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| China | |