Tomb of Han Jing

Hello
We are in Xian now and going to the terracotta warriiors tomorrow. We are wondering if we should go to the tomb of Han Jing as well (the one that was discovered in the early 1990's). Will it be enough to do the terracottas, or should we do the other tomb as well?

Liselotte

I live in Xi'an, but I haven't seen the Han tombs yet. Visitors I've had here have gone and enjoyed them, though. I think it depends on how long you are staying and how much you like old sites like this. Someone on here once posted how to get out there by public bus, but I don't know myself. My visitors hired a van to take them.

Very interesting. I didn't know about this excavation. The Chinese name will be Han Jingdi Yangling, Yang Mausoleum of Emperor Jing of (Western) Han. It's on the way out to the airport.

I believe that it's written up in the latest LP. I can't prove that, though, since I have an older copy. I saw it in a guest's LP one time. Supposedly you can watch the archeological work being done, through thick glass (or plastic) panes. I think they said you walked over the site and looked down through the clear plastic or whatever.

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>In the early 1990s, road workers discovered unusual dirt formations while excavating for a new highway 40 km west of the Tomb of Qin Shi Huang. What lay underneath stunned archaeologist: the Tomb of Han Jing. Only recently opened and barely excavated, the tomb is a great contrast to the grandiosity and ferocity of Qin Shi Huang's reign.
Han Jing could net have been more opposite to Qin Shi Huang. He was a pragmatic ruler who preferred to use the Taoist idea of wuwei (non-action) to rule; his subjects no doubt adored him for a much less tight-fisted rule -- and much lower taxes. His tomb, only partially explored to await more sophisticated excavation methods, also displays a rather strong sense of humility -- the terracotta figurines are much smaller and less imposing (butt no less grand) than those in the Army of Terracotta Warriors and reveal more about daily life than martial preoccupations.
To get there, take Tour Line 4 buses (6 RMB) from near the buses to the Terracotta Warriors (in the parking lot just east of the train station); they leave for the tomb at 0900 and 1400, and return at 1200 and 1630. Take food with you -- there's nothing but history there.<hr></blockquote>
Cheers!

It is very nice. I've been a few times. The figures are not as big as the other site (fairly small, actually) but you can get very close to them, and even walk over them at look down, as some of the area is built with glass walkways. If you time then go.

Alexander is right. It's known as Han Yangling.

If you only have one day, go to the Terracotta Warriors, but the Han Yangling Mausoleum (as it is called locally not in the Lonely Planet though) is quite interesting as well. There's many more animals included in the pits, and plenty of little 'pigmy' men with no arms. It's very interesting, but there's not much as they haven't excavated about 90 per cent. You do get to get up close though, and the underground museum, where you can walk over them is pretty cool.

To get there, don't follow the instructions above, the buses have changed. Go to the North Gate of the city's old wall, but stay on the south side of it, and walk down the road leading from the gate. On the side of the road heading out of the old town. Look for the bus stand with the number 4 bus on it (it will actually have two number 4's, one at the bottom, one near the top. It's the one near the top you want to get). The buses (a 20-seater) are not frequent. I got one at about 1:30pm, but no one seems to know when they should arrive. It costs 5 yuan each way, the tomb is the final stop. It's best to have the name of the place written in chinese to show the ticket person on the bus, otherwise you might spend most of the trip trying to explain why you are thrusting 5 yuan at them.

On the return, you should be able to get a bus between 4-4:30pm, but make sure you wait outside the entrance to the museum, not the underground museum. The bus may leave without you, so be sure to be there by 4pm, or you'll have to get a taxi, if there is one.

Take tourist bus 6 from the sports stadium (take another bus to there).