Warriors, Monks, and Stone Buddhas

My college roommate Alex and I had been talking about seeing the Terracotta Warriors ever since we took a history class together. We finally made it happen this year.

Our first full day was all about the warriors. We drove out to the mausoleum site and walked into the main pit. The rows upon rows of life sized soldiers stood in formation, each one with a different face, expression, and even hairstyle. Some looked serious, some looked tired, and a few almost seemed to be smiling. We walked along the edge of the pit, and the sheer number of them was overwhelming. Alex kept pointing out the ones he liked best, a general with a round belly, an archer kneeling down, a horse with its ears perked up. We spent a long time just looking at the details on their armor and shoes. The restoration area at the back was also fascinating, with broken pieces of warriors being slowly put back together like a giant puzzle.

That evening we went to the Grand Tang Mall. The street was lined with old style buildings, and the red lanterns hanging overhead cast a warm glow on everything. People were walking around in traditional Tang costumes, and Alex thought it looked fun, so we ended up renting two robes, flowing silk with wide sleeves, and walked around taking silly photos. A group of Chinese tourists asked to take a picture with us, which was funny because we were the ones dressed up. Alex loved the attention.

The next morning we rented bicycles and rode along the Ancient City Wall. The wall is wide and flat on top, and from up there you can see the old city on one side and the modern skyline on the other. We rode for maybe an hour, then went to the Muslim Quarter. The streets were packed with food stalls, and the smell of spices and grilled meat filled the air. We grabbed some lamb skewers and ate them standing on a corner. Alex also bought a box of dried persimmons that he snacked on for the rest of the day.

We took the bullet train to Luoyang and the next morning went to Shaolin Temple. The temple sat at the foot of Songshan Mountain, with its red walls and grey roofs standing out against the green hills behind. We walked through the courtyards and saw the famous tree with holes in its trunk, where monks had practiced finger punching for generations. The holes were deep and smooth, worn down by years of training. We also watched a martial arts performance in the temple courtyard. The young monks did backflips and staff routines, and one of them broke a metal rod over his head. Alex winced at that part and said it looked painful. We also visited the Songyang Temple Pagoda nearby, an old brick tower with a simple, elegant shape, sitting quietly in a small clearing surrounded by trees. We sat there for a while just enjoying the quiet.

The last day was Longmen Grottoes. We walked along the riverbank and the sight was incredible. Thousands of Buddha statues were carved into the limestone cliffs, some as tall as a house and some no bigger than a hand. Many were damaged or missing heads, but the ones that remained were still beautiful. The largest Buddha looked down at us with calm eyes, and Alex stood there staring up at it for a long time. I took a photo of him in front of it, and he looked so small compared to the statue. We climbed the stairs to see the smaller caves higher up, and from there we could see the river flowing below and the mountains in the distance. We walked all the way to the end, then turned back slowly, trying to take it all in.

We flew home the next day. Alex keeps talking about the warriors and how he wants to go back when they dig up more. I keep thinking about that giant Buddha at Longmen, sitting there for over a thousand years, watching the river flow by.