1/10/2002
FaMenSi
We got a fairly early start (8:30am). As we drove out of the city, we passed a park that was already full of people doing their morning exercises. There were several groups doing a variety of Tai Chi, jungle-gym style outdoor exercise machines, and various dance routines. Most of the folks participating looked like senior citizens or retirees. This sort of thing is a fairly common sight in Chinese cities, and it seems to lend an almost nostalgic sense of tranquility and community to what is usually an otherwise less-than-beautiful urban environment.
One of Xian’s claims to fame is that it was the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, the overland trade route of Marco-Polo fame that linked China and Europe. So as we exited the city we passed a large statue marking the official start of the Silk Road. Luckily for us, the Silk Road now has a fair number of gas stations. That morning we had noticed that our front-right tire was a little low – probably a slow leak. So we needed air. We stopped at what must now be the first gas station of the Silk Road. Turned out their air pump was busted. A mile down the road, there was another station. But they didn’t even have an air pump. However, after some confusion, we were directed to a small roadside repair shop. Basically, a guy in a shed with an air pump and some tools. When we pulled up he was in the middle of his breakfast of rice porridge, but he helped us just the same and we were quickly on our way.
First stop was FaMenSi (“Doorway Temple”). FaMenSi is a Buddhist temple, originally constructed in about 200 AD. However, it has been destroyed and rebuilt so many times that it is now a fairly modern structure. The last rebuild was in 1981 when the collapse of the 12-story pagoda led to the discovery of another amazing archaeological find. Beneath the pagoda was a sealed crypt containing a variety of relics that had been forgotten for over 1000 years. Chief among these were four sacred finger bones of the original Buddha. (Apparently, somewhere along the line, as a gesture of goodwill and/or penance, an Indian king traveled around the world giving bits of the original Buddha to various temples, and FaMenSi got a finger.)
Based on the previous day’s experience navigating the countryside, we had decided that we really needed a better map. So, the night before, we had swung through the local equivalent of Barnes & Noble (5 stories of books, but no couches or coffee bar) and bought a few road atlases. It was a bit confusing as to which one we should buy, but the great thing about China is that most things are very inexpensive (by US standards). So, you don’t choose – you just buy them all. Ten dollars later, we had a small stack of road atlases and maps.
FaMenSi is about 70 miles west of Xian. But, in China, we never know what kind of a road we’ll be on (or how lost we will get) so it is hard to predict travel times. Various guidebooks had estimates as high as four hours, so we were prepared for the worst. However, it turned out that the road was a fairly modern divided expressway – 2 lanes each way with very little traffic. Our little car was happy at about 60 miles an hour, so soon we were trying to figure out which exit to take. There are a fair number of signs but they are all, of course, in Chinese characters. Many of the towns included characters that we didn’t recognize, so that meant we couldn’t even pronounce them. (They have not yet adopted the practice of numbering their exits.) We were, however, armed with our library of road atlases and a Chinese-English dictionary. So, as we approached each sign announcing upcoming exits, we would slow down a bit and do our best. The conversation would go something like this:
“It looks like the next exit is for the town with a character in its name that looks a lot like 'gong' but with a few extra dots – is that the one we want?”
“No, keep going, I think we want an exit for 'shi'-somethingorother if there is one. Did the sign say anything about that exit?”
“I didn’t notice. What does 'shi' look like?”
Even with the maps, things were not too clear. So we got off one exit early just to be safe. Luckily, at the exit there was a tollbooth. By this time we had come to fully embrace the concept of the tollbooth. There was never so much traffic that we had to wait, and the opportunity to ask directions yet again was well worth the $1 or so toll.
Asking directions, we found out that we were one exit early. Turns out they recently added a spur to the expressway that takes you north a bit and right to FaMenSi. So, within two hours of departing Xian, we were there.
In front of the main entrance, there was a square with several people, including a group of school children. While I was off taking pictures, they approached Susan and Kamala and asked if they could take a picture with them. So I served as photographer and took one for us too.
While scenic, the temple complex is fairly modern. Someone from southern China (Shenzhen?) had donated a bunch of money to build a new tower with a 3-story Buddha inside next door to the original pagoda. They are also in the process of adding on several buildings, including a school of some sort. We did get to see the four finger bones of the Buddha. It was a bit confusing because they look a little too large to be actual human finger bones. So who really knows. However, there also have a museum which displays the many artifacts that were found with them. Around 1000 years ago, the tradition was that each emperor tried to outdo his predecessor by leaving even fancier gifts as offerings to the Buddha’s finger, including four ornamental boxes in which to enclose each of the finger bones (and all of the previous emperor’s boxes). These offerings included several items that clearly came from the Middle East via the Silk Road (some of which were labeled, in English, as “typical Islamic stuff.”)
On the way out of town, we also stopped at another attraction of sorts that was billed as the FaMenSi Park. It is a park/garden of sorts with a 3-4 story high cement(?) Buddha statue atop a small, low building that houses some sort of exhibit. We were the only visitors to the exhibits (they had to turn the lights on for us), which were simply a series of rooms with life-size statues, each depicting some sort of historical/religious looking event. A few looked like someone’s conception of Hell. Very odd. We didn’t stop to ask. As far as we can tell, this Park was thrown together in an attempt to get a few more bucks off each tourist who came to see the actual temple.
We left and followed some smaller roads to the Northeast to arrive at our next stop: Qian Ling. Along the way, we passed a few countryside villages and many crop fields. One of the villages was having market day – various street side vendors selling produce, snacks, and some sort of a stage performance as entertainment. It was interesting to see the goings on, but the road was entirely jammed with people. We patiently inched our way through, out the other side, and arrived at Qian Ling in about an hour.
Qian Ling is the tomb of Emperor Gao Zhong, who died in 683, and his wife who outlived him and ruled until 705. It consists of 3 hills, 1 natural and 2 man-made. At one time, these had walls and building around them, but all that remains are a few statues and walkways. Plus, of course, the hills themselves which stand out on an otherwise wide, flat plain. By this point, it had become a beautiful sunny day. So we spent the next few hours hiking up the main hill. It was a great spot from which to take in the surrounding countryside. On the way back down, we encountered a group of school girls playing some version of jump rope, and one of us joined in.
All that remained was to drive back in to Xian. Unfortunately, the road leading back from Qian Ling was smaller and more crowded than the shiny new expressway of the morning. And the last part of it was apparently still under construction. This led to some massive traffic jams, including at least one where a driver and several bystanders got involved with competing ideas as to how best get the traffic flowing again. There was also a stretch of road with no streetlights. Given the number of bikes and small vehicles that didn’t even have reflectors, not to mention the occasional foolish person in dark colored clothing who would try to cross, this made for somewhat stressful driving. But we made it back to the hotel, called our car rental guy to come get his car, and enjoyed whiskey sours in the Hyatt’s atrium bar.
The next morning it was off to the airport, and we were back in Beijing by the afternoon. We certainly hope to make it back to Xian someday. There is still a lot more countryside there that we would like to explore.
Click to enlarge
Getting air
You want our picture?
Smile!
Drying grain
Main Temple Building
Temple Complex
Pagoda
View from FaMenSi
Drying corn
Tourist trap?