Xian photo guide, advice

[jim_h2]

Anyone have any recent experiences with photography around Xian? Specifically,

is it verboten to take pictures of the Terra Cotta warriors?

 

I will be there in october. I will not be part of a tour group. Are there local

guides that specialize in showing off the photogenic sights, or would I do just

as well with a guide book and some RMB to spend on transport as required?

 

Thanks

[pico_digoliardi]

You can most certainly take pictures there. And in the Forbidden City, too. Generally, wherever you can go you can take pictures.

 

There are lots of tourists. It's a rather cosmopolitan area. Go with the flow and enjoy.

 

Be ready for some daunting haze in the big cities. The air can be pretty bad at times.

[richard_f1]

I was there in May 2006.

 

Chinese tourists fire their flashes at the Terracotta Warriors as though they were trying to repel the army. You should be ok unless you lug in studio lights!

 

Don't get stiffed on transport there. You can take a perfectly comfortable public bus from the train station (across the car park from the main entrance) and it costs only 7 yuan. People will try to steer you off it onto their expensive mini-buses, even as you are about to board, but don't fall for it. I can't remember which bus number, but it is in the Lonely Planet guide book and no doubt all the others.

 

That bus stops at all the main sights along the way, if you want to see them, and the total journey from Xi'An to the warriors, which is the last stop, is about an hour. Just note where it parks at the warrior musuem, because that's where it leaves from. They go all day.

 

I'd skip the guides at the entrance too. I overheard them in the museum talking to visitors who'd hired them, and they are clueless. You learn more from reading the signs and a guidebook.

 

 

I don't know of any more specialised tour agencies.

 

have fun!

[gungajim]

I've spent roughly 15 weeks in China over the past 7 years traveling both with small tours and independently. I've never had anyone stop me from photographing anything and most people are amendable to your photographing them. As previous posters point out, the haze and throngs of people can sometime be impediments to getting the shot you want. I haven't had occasion to photograph military installations or protest demonstrations and I have a feeling you would get whacked pretty quick if you tried.

[aaron l]

Do it on your own wandering around the city. I used Lonely Planet and had a great time. I was lazy and hired a driver to the Warriors, Qin's tomb and the hot water baths. Wander down the shopping alleyway early in the morning from the bell/drum (can't remember which) that heads toward the Great Mosque. Go there way early in the morning before things open up. In fact, if you get up really early, you'll get to see school kids, people preparing for the day and regular Chinese doing their daily things before the tourists get going.

 

You can blast away at the Warriors and anywhere else. Didn't see any military stuff there or things that would cause me trouble. When walking around Xi'an, more people notice you with a camera than other cities once you are off the beaten path.

 

The central square is interesting in the morning, as people work out there. Stay in the center of the city, as you'll waste less time commuting. I stayed in the Bell Tower hotel and it was perfect for hitting the sights.

 

Here are some of my shots from Xi'an:

 

http://www.aaronlinsdau.com/asia/china/xian/xian.html

 

The regional museum isn't as good as the one in Shanghai, especially with people inside trying to sell you junk...very sad for a museum. Don't miss the Tang Dynasty dinner show.

[MTC Photography]

Photogrpahy terracota inside the museum is no problem. However it is quite dim inside, you need a powerfull flash unit, the ones on most compact camera or digital are not powerful enough.

 

The museum is usually crowded, not easy to get thru to the front row to take pictures, when you manage to squeeze thru, you must snap your

picture fast.

 

You need a long lens in 135mm to 180mm range to take picture of individual warrior, otherwise you get terracota formation.

 

I was in Xian and surrounding area last fall.