Cloudy in Beijing Blogging about my time in China

Sucks to be second

It was a bit like walking up to a Chinese haunted house.

Barren and bony trees raveled around the ancient home, while dry branches tangled in thick cobwebs on the ground. At the front entrance were a pair of expired dragon dogs; their bodies faceless, not a chiseled feature but the four legs on their stone frames. Time and neglect, it seemed, had drained the life here.

Today, I visited the tomb of the Second Emperor of China ???. This place is old,

Much has been written about the First Emperor of China, ???. But as for his son and successor, there's little. He ruled for only three years and then was forced to commit suicide.

His tomb perhaps reflects the poor stature of his legacy. The nearby fauna grows at its own leisure, forming an untamed thicket around the tourist attraction. An old Chinese traditional home surrounds the actual grave. I walked through it, finding the ceiling panels through one hall falling apart. At his tomb, three cigarette buds were tossed in front of his gravestone.

It seems few people make visits here; two young men the only other visitors while I was touring the place. An older couple take care of the tomb.

I have the feeling that many historical sites in China end up like this. But maybe that isn't all a bad thing. For a moment I felt like I had gone back in time, or to a different place.

But what's so striking about this tomb is it's location, where it sits right near the heart of Xi'an's newest development area. Rows of modern apartments are being built right nearby, while a grand lake fit for a resort sits just to north. I remember walking along the street and seeing this clean and cutting-edge neighborhood, only then to come across this brown mass of ugly forest. It is perhaps the most out of place tourist attraction I have ever encountered.

This just all goes to reflect how in China, the divide between old and new, and how it can literally just be separated by a street corner.

It brings to mind that day when I saw a woman herding several white goats across the road. Here, I was sitting in a bus, watching cars stroll by, suddenly to see a group of goats pass by.

The divide is often most evident when you leave the city. There you can see rural life, fielded with low stodgy homes built brick by brick, hand by hand. Technology seems to be almost absent except for the electrical power lines, cars, and occasional ads publicizing a cellphone provider.
When I left the Second Emperor's tomb, I saw a large green poster nearby. On it shows a plan to modernize the attraction in the coming years. I suppose it will do good in helping to preserve the tomb, but I actually hope things there will stay the way they are.