Read here about my recent 2300 kilometer motorcycle journey which took me to such places as Wudang Shan, where ancient Taoism matured into a strong belief, Xian, home of the Terracotta Warriors, and the Shaolin Temple at Songshan, the birthplace of Kung Fu. Click on the map to enlarge it

The route from Wudang Shan to Xian was the most challenging leg of the trip but also provided for me the most beautiful scenery. I left Wudang Shan at 5:30 in the morning and I didn't arrive into Xian until 6 in the evening. Along the way I had to refrain from stopping every ten minutes to take pictures of the beautiful mountains and green valleys that were so prevalent on this route. I had to stop multiple times for gas; thankfully gas stations were plentiful along these country roads. Every time I passed through a city, I had to pull over and make sure I was staying on the national road that would take me to Xian. Sometimes I could use my GPS and map to verify this but usually I would stop and ask the locals for this information. I tried to target motorcycle taxi drivers who usually would steer me in the right direction. Sometimes I discovered that the national road would run in a different direction for a while which made navigating quite confusing at times.

My motorcycle did finally have a problem as I began encountering steeper mountain roads. The accelerator handle was sticking meaning that when I let my hand off it I continued to travel at the same speed. I had to manually twist it towards me and apply the break to slow down. Last year, in Shashi, this problem had led to a small accident, but thankfully I knew how to operate the bike with this problem and I was able to have it repaired twenty minutes later in a small village.

I stopped in the city of  Xiping for lunch. I had delicious tofu and noodles which filled me up and only cost me about 1 American dollar. By now, I was in Shaanxi province, most of which lies to the northwest of Hubei province. While I was eating lunch, I conversed with the locals using as much Chinese as I could remember and I tried to stretch my legs a little bit. After they told me that it was still 250 kilometers to Xian, however, I was anxious to be on my way.

The final two hour descent into Xian was one of the most incredible experiences that I have ever had. The road took me through long tunnels that pierced through the heart of huge mountains. At times I was driving between towering rock cliffs that seem to be carving the sky and that reminded me of the famous Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. It was also reminiscent of the days that my family lived in beautiful West Virignia. What made the experience so powerful of course, was that I was on a motorcyle. There were moments when I felt incredibly small in comparison to the marvelous nature that surrounded me. Spending  too much time admiring the scenery, however, was dangerous since the roads curved sharply in and out of the mountains. When I finally reached the outskirts of Xian and the road straightened out I wasn't sure whether to be sad or relieved.  

When I finally reached Xian at about 6:00 that evening I had traveled 475 kilometers in almost exactly 12 hours. This city of 4 million people, which was the ancient cultural and political capital of China, was exactly how I expected it to be; noisy and congested. The traffic here was much worse than Beijing and it took me another 40 minutes to reach the railway station area which is where I wanted to find a hotel.

The next morning, after a good night's rest, I set out on my motorcycle in search of the famous Shaanxi History Museum. This task was harder than I had thought. Everyone I asked could understand that I was looking for a museum but there was more more than one museum in the area and I didn't know how to describe the one I wanted to visit in Chinese. Finally, after two hours of pure frustration I found an internet bar and was able to pull up a map which showed me that the museum was just five minutes down the street.

The museum held an amazing collection of artifacts from almost all of the known historical periods in Chinese history. There were even items on display that were said to be from the prehistoric age of 1.5 millions years ago. Of course, I had to use my imagination to see that the piece of rock sitting in front me was actually a weapon or a tool but it was interesting nonetheless. More fascinating however was the assortment of pottery, weapons, tools, coins, human and animal figurines, and even human skulls that were showcased at the museum. Because Xian served as the capital of 12 dynasties in China, most of the relics on display had been discovered close by. I was impressed with how advanced the early Chinese civilizations had become. Some of the dynasties had truly flourished. As I walked around admiring these ancient civilizations I wondered how the situation in present day China would compare to these ancient times.

In the afternoon I spent some time exploring other parts of Xian. I rode around part of the city wall and I was able to locate the famous drum tower as well as the Wild Goose Pagoda. In addition, I found a place to give my motorcycle a well deserved oil change and also a wash. I enjoyed the feel of this big city. Like so many cities in Asia it was balanced well by a mix of the old and the new.

The next day was the highlight of my entire trip. At about 8:30 AM, I boarded bus number 306 at the railway station close by to where I was staying. After about an hour's ride, I arrived at the parking lot in front of the Terracotta Warriors Museum in the little town of Lin Tao. I had to walk about 15 minutes to actually enter the museum area but it was a beautiful day and the path took me through a pretty garden area. After paying about 12 dollars for a ticket, I entered the grounds of the world's largest museum. The museum consisted of three large buildings which housed three pits containing the Terracotta Warriors. The Terracotta Warriors were figurines made out of clay in the 3rd century BC under the direction of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Emperor Qin, as he is often called, wanted to build an army in front of his tomb that would protect him in the afterlife. He commissioned 700,000 workers to create a clay army that would represent his real army. The army was rediscovered in the 1970's and since then, there has been an ongoing excavation. Although many of the warriors have been uncovered, they have so far not failed Emperor Qin because as of yet the exact location of his tomb is still undetermined. Viewing the life sized clay figurines along with their chariots and horses was a memorable experience. It was amazing to me that they had been so well preserved for so many hundreds of years. While I enjoyed seeing this world famous sight, the thousands of people who were visiting the museum with me that day made it hard to get quality photos.

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