The turbines of the Tupolev-154 reach their maximum revolutions, the pilot releases the brakes and the plane takes off down the runway. We have just departed on the regularly scheduled flight from Vladivostok, Russiato Beijing, China. On board is our team of travelers - Nyus and Balu on their latest expedition into the “wild blue yonder” - on the trail of the mysterious White Pyramid, which, if what they say on the internet is accurate, is many times larger than the Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt.
A Short Excursion into the History of China
Among the agricultural fields in Shaanxi Province in central China stand dozens of colossal pyramids, all carefully aligned with the points of the compass. Intentionally, each of the four sides of the pyramid is aligned with the corresponding compass points. The north side aligns with the North Pole and Polaris; the east side lines up towards sunrise, and so forth. If one were to take a compass to the top of any given pyramid, it would point to the corresponding direction, just like the sides of the pyramids.
The discovery of one of the pyramids belongs to USAF pilot, James Gaussman. On a spring morning in 1945 while making his usual daily supply run from India to Chunking, over the mountains of Tsinlin, he completely by chance discovered a gigantic man-made four-sided object. He was astonished at the sight of this fantastic structure, but not astonished enough to pass up the opportunity to take a picture of what he saw. Sadly, the photograph ended up in some secret military archives. Therefore, only tales remain alluding to this mysterious Chinese pyramid.
Fifteen years after that remarkable experience, a new expedition set out to uncover the history of these elusive pyramids. The tales about these Chinese structures intrigued New Zealander, Bruce Kafi. A couple of decades before the legendary flight of James Gaussman, two Australian businessmen, having found themselves in Shaanxi Province, a few kilometers from the city of Xi’an, noted in their diaries how they unexpectedly came across these gigantic pyramids. Using the information from the Australians’ diaries, Kafi was able to sketch out and make models of 16 ancient artifacts (pyramid sites).
In March of 1994, the first European, German amateur archeologist Hartwig Hausdorf, received permission from the Chinese government to visit the “pyramid territory” which was closed to all foreigners at that time. He searched for the valley of the pyramids near the city of Xianyang, some 16 kilometers west of Xi’an.
Climbing to the level summit of one of these pyramids, Hausdorf noted 17 huge mounds in the vicinity, some which stood in pairs, another in a line and yet a third seemingly without any kind of ties to the others. The architecture of most of the Chinese pyramids reminded him of the well-known pyramids in Mexico. The slopes of some of the structures were dotted with many, small, fast growing conifers. Hausdorf surmised that the slopes were planted [by the Chinese] to intentionally hide the ancient structures from view, thereby confirming their statement “that there are NO pyramids in China, just large, natural hills.”
However, there are other curious details. These ancient monumental structures are not constructed from stone blocks, as it would appear, but in fact out of compressed clay. In addition, some of the pyramids were revealed to be in a deplorable state, partly because the local peasants have been scavenging pieces of these pyramids for their own agricultural needs. It is also possible, that the planted conifers somehow serve the purpose of strengthening as well as preventing further destruction of the many-sided giants.
These mysterious Chinese pyramids have given rise to an unending flow of questions from Europeans. “Who built them? When? For what reason? Are the pyramids part of a gigantic system of sacred lines, known in Chinaas “Feng Shui”? Was there some kind of intercommunication between the pyramids in China and pyramids located in other parts of the world?”
Having seen these Chinese wonders at the beginning of the 20th century, the Australian businessmen further noted in their travel diaries the words of an old Buddhist monk, whom they spoke to. The monk stated that knowledge of these pyramids had been included in the ancient manuscript chronicles of his monastery, dated to the third millennium B.C. All this takes us back to the era of the legendary ancient emperor of The Middle Kingdom, Shi huangdi, who maintained, that [the Chinese people] originated not from Mother Earth, but from the so-called “Sons of Heaven (the sky)”, who came to earth on “metal fire-breathing dragons”. The Chinese archaeologists’ official version regarding the origins of the pyramids generally dates back to the internment of emperors and their relatives.
Mythological threads, woven throughout this enlightening Chinese construction technique, show how they are identical to other pyramid sites around the world. The megalithic structures curiously are linked to “divinities” that brought knowledge and culture to the first people; “divinities”, who not just once, but many times, came down to earth.
On January 5, 2007, the first Russian expedition to the valley of the Chinese pyramids departed from Vladivostok. We more than met our expectations.
On the way to the valley of the classical square pyramids, which the team of travelers searched for near the cities of Xi’an and Xian yang ahead of time from space with the help of Google Earth. However, near the city of Loyan members of the group discovered a valley of round stepped pyramids, a type of building technology completely unknown to the West.
This news was quite a sensation for some time constantly mentioned in print, on television and in all aspects of the Russian Mass Media.
On The Trail of the White Pyramid of China
Flight number XF-769 makes a soft landing at Beijing’s international airport. Our itinerary will take us west towards the city of Datong, located in northern Shanxi Province. According to one version on the internet regarding the location of the White Pyramid is that it is located somewhere within this city’s environs. Seven hours in a soft, 3rd-class train car and we arrive at our destination. The name Shanximeans “to the west of the mountains”. The “mountains” referred to are the spine (backbone) of the Taihang Shan that forms the eastern border of Shanxi Province. The Yellow Riveris the western border, and the Great Wall of Chinathe northern border.
We situate our “base camp” near the train station at Datong’s “Tai Jia Hotel”. Conveniently, the building next door is the bus terminal, our mode of transport for getting around outside the city. Datongitself is just another large city with over a million inhabitants with little of any particular interest. However, outside the city it becomes clear that we have arrived in the “Forbidden City” for lovers of Chinese antiquities.
We begin our search for the White Pyramid 16 kilometers to the west of Datong, near the Yungang temple-cave complex, which means “Cloudy Spine” in English. The tallest peaks of the Wuzhou Shan Mountain Range are here. To our great disappointment we found nothing pyramid like at all. Nevertheless, the temple-cave complex, carved into the southern face of the mountain, more than compensated for any earlier hard luck. Yungang is a spectacle unlike anything else. The caves stretch for a kilometer in a chain from west to east and contain more than 50,000 ancient sculptures of Buddha, dated to between 460 and 494 AD during the Northern Wei Dynasty. They range in size from gigantic to miniscule. In the detailing on the statues, we see the “fingerprints” of many different and varied artistic and mythological influences; here converge the Persian, Byzantine, Greek and Indian cultures.
The next possible site for the White Pyramid is in a region located more than 70 kilometers to the southeast of Datongin the sacred Heng Shan Mountains, one of five sacred mountain ranges in China.
Once again, our team meets with an unexpected snag. However, as they say, “every dark cloud has a silver lining.” Close to the city of Hunyuan in Jinlong Canyon, we find a suspended monastery more than 1400 years old. This wonder of human genius and engineering is cut from the sheer cliffs, starting from the slightest natural cavities or indentations. Wooden beams and staircases reaching to the height of a ten, or fifteen-story building support the structure. The interior areas of the monastery interconnect to each other by a system of bridges and corridors. A visit to this “aerie” is not for the faint of heart. Standing on the rickety wooden bridge over a precipice, you involuntarily press your entire body against the icy walls of the canyon, and say to yourself, “Why? Why did they build this? Wasn’t there enough space on the ground?”
Our next and last area in which to search for the While Pyramid is located in Shanxi Province, an hour’s drive north from Datong. Here stands the Great Wall of China. However, the wall here has not been restored in any way, and therefore in parts simply appears to be a long, high pile of old clay ramparts, barrows and huge trees standing like chess men surrounded by piles of ancient bricks and fragments of tiles.
We are soon on our way. Climbing around yet another bend in the Wall to the summit of a spine of mountains, we are reminded of the last emperor of Qin Dynasty, Shi huangdi, the first emperor to unite all of China. Near the village of Hongcibuwe see an enormous round step-pyramid, planted with conifers; analogous to the pyramid in the Loyan Valley, which we discovered last year. Unbelievably, all these details of the pyramids are apparent only through the telephoto lenses of still and video cameras. The pyramid is a long distance away and situated behind an inaccessible mountain pass. Most likely, it is only possible to reach the site from the south, but we are not going to put ourselves through that. This time we are seeking a gigantic four-sided white pyramid.
The pyramid talked about on the internet has proven elusive, and unfortunately, our time on the trail of the White Pyramid in Shanxi Province is coming to an end. This evening, we depart for Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi Province. We shall have a look around there.
We make a stop in the city of Pingyao along the way. No pyramids here, but the city is so unique, that we are not able to pass it up.
In ancient China, almost all cities, like Pingyao, were enclosed with a squared defensive wall. However, practically none of them has survived to the present retaining their original appearance. Only the city walls of Pingyao have remained relatively as they were more than 600 years ago and therefore are highly valued historically. The ten-meter high pressed clay wall has a gray brick facing. The width of the upper ramparts ranges from three to 6 meters. As well, every 40-100 meters along the outside of the wall, half-covered watchtowers were constructed. Their squared edges with vertical notching functioned as gun ports at one time. Pingyao’s wall has a total of 3000 gun ports built into its walls.
Pingyao rose to importance at the center of Shanxi Province more than 2700 years ago. Few ancient cities in China have remained untouched by modern civilization. Pingyao, however, has retained its mediaeval appearance and serves as an excellent example of a key town from the period of the Chin and Ming Dynasties.
The city plan reminds one of a turtle, the Chinese symbol of long life. Of the six city gates, two are laid out along the central (north/south) axis and four of them along an east/west axis. The design of the south gates brings to mind the head of a turtle, the north gates, its tail and the symmetrically laid out east and west gates the feet.
Today some parts of the inner face of Pingyao’s ancient wall are free of facing and undergoing restoration. The sight is not very attractive, but at the same time during restoration, it is possible to study the Chinese building methods of such mediaeval structures, including the Great Wall and pyramids. Our days spent in Pingyao touch one’s soul with the feeling of contiguity with something eternal and truly beautiful. This city is the real pearl of central China.
From Pingyao to Xi’anwe decided on an intercity bus (5 ½ hours) instead of the train (11 hours). Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi Province greets us with a snow and drizzle mix. This is completely atypical weather for this season; it should be warm and dry.
This year we again stayed at the international youth hostel “Bell Tower” on Xi’an’s central square. It has a beautiful view from the window of the ancient Bell Tower, as well as a European style restaurant, English-speaking personnel, connection to the internet and many other amenities. In the morning, we were planning to go to the pyramid complex found on Google Earth near Yasen Garden, but the rain and snow mix only got worse. It was impossible to see more than 100 meters ahead, so we decided to alter our plans and decided to stay in the city and write about our travels.
The next day it snowed even harder. The weather forecasters promise sun by Monday, it’s still only Saturday. Perchance tomorrow, the weather will improve, but for now, our valuable time is running out, and without much to show. We went back to our original plan and set off for the city of Lintong, some 30 kilometers to the east of Xi’an, to see the Terra-Cotta Army archeological dig and to take some pictures and video as well. It is good that we ended up with time to allow for this.
Meeting face to face with the silent, clay army, we immediately become absorbed in the atmosphere of ancient secrets left to the world by the Qin Emperor Shi huangdi. His burial complex is truly a work of art. The thousands strong army of terra-cotta warriors and horses was done to life-size scale. They are lined up in military order within an underground vault/trench a couple of meters deep. Each warrior has its own individual pose, facial expression and ammunition. The troops “guard” the serenity of the emperor, whose tomb is built in form of a huge piled pyramid 500 meters from side to side and is located 1.5 kilometers to the west of the dig. The remains of Emperor Shi huangdi have yet to be discovered since it is forbidden to disturb his mausoleum.
In July of last year, the Chinese “Xinhua” press agency announced the completion of a five-year investigation of the emperor’s tomb using a method of exploration using long-distance sound waves (side scanning radar?). A group of Chinese archeologists established, that under the piled clay burial mound lays a building in the form of a nine-stepped pyramid, clearly oriented towards the rising sun. Chinese botanists also came across an interesting discovery of their own. After studying the pollen from the flowers preserved within the clay of the terra-cotta army, they discovered that the warriors and horses that ended up here came from various parts of the province, disproving and earlier theory that the entire army was produced somewhere close to the imperial burial vault. An analysis showed that only the more massive horses were created near the mausoleum. Moreover, although this region has more than its share of clay for construction materials for Shi huangdi’s tomb, for some reason, the clay used in the construction was transported here from the Xian yang Valley, which contains one of the largest complexes of Chinese pyramids. However, the valley lies more than 100 kilometers from Lintong.
In spite of the absence of good weather, the next morning our team sets out for Yasen Garden. Searching on Google Earth, we discovered yet another complex of classical square pyramids. The trip there consisted of two different busses plus a one-hour taxi ride.
It is an amazing place. We counted more than 20 colossi. The length of each side of the largest pyramid in the complex is 190 meters with a 50 square meter level surface at its apex. From the southeast corner of the Great Pyramid to the northwest corner of the Step Pyramid is 360 meters. The length of one side of the Step Pyramid is 150 meters and has a 45 square meter level surface on top. The length of the sides of satellite pyramids range from 30 to 65 meters. The complex is a remarkable sight. One gets the impression that you are located at the center of some constellation. Either the snow gives it this illusion or is it really this way? Still the entire panorama seems to magnify the site to incredible proportions, somewhat resembling an enormous computer motherboard with huge pyramidal chips.
The next day we wake to snow instead of the promised sunshine! We attempt to depart for a pyramid complex, about 40 kilometers to the northwest of Xian yang, where, most likely, the White Pyramid is located. However, the bus drivers refuse to go! They say that the roads are impassable. Only one taxi driver attempts the trip, but for such fare…….
We put off the trip to Qian Ling, and set out for the Xian yang Valley of pyramids instead. Perchance a surprise awaits us in these western parts. Google Earth only showed a blurry image of the area, but hints at some kind of large object similar to a very large pyramid. An hour and a half later, we are at our destination. The object, thought to be a gigantic pyramid, turns out to be the square courtyard of a brick factory!
Eventually we make our way into the western part of Xian yang Valley. We decide to go to the Conifer and Classical Pyramids, to take pictures of them under such unusual meteorological conditions for the region – covered with snow.
On the back of a stone stela, which stands at the foot of the Conifer Pyramid, is an engraved map of this region from 1962. No other megaliths are indicated at the site except the Classical and Conifer Pyramids. The pyramids we are trying to find are not here. Incidentally, the Classical Pyramid is covered in its entirety by fresh holes from the planting of trees. Last year these were not here. The Chinese intentionally are continuing to plant conifers on these ancient pyramids.
Evening is approaching and the snow is finally letting up. We flag down a taxi near the entrance to the central part of the Xian yang Valleyto return to Xi’an. The valley holds two interesting examples of Chinese pyramidal architecture – the Multiple-Stepped and Smooth Pyramids. Due to the encroaching sunset, we are barely able to capture their splendor on film, because of lack of light.
The next morning, we try to reach Qian Ling again – it is today or never! Tomorrow evening, we depart for Beijing. Armed with only a smile we try to catch a bus at Xi’an’s western bus terminal, but here too we find the same situation that we found at the central terminal – due to the blizzard conditions, busses in this region are not running!
At the information booth, we happened upon Jerry, a resident of Xian, who also spoke English. He has been at the bus terminal for days waiting for his buses departure once the weather clears. Jerry takes us under his wing, helps us bargain with the local taxi drivers, and is finally able to talk one of them into taking us to Qian Ling for a moderate sum. And the snow keeps falling.
Two hours later, we reach the desired Chinese village. Moreover, right there in front of us is the White Pyramid in all its glory! Everything happened so quickly and in a matter of fact way that we did not have time to realize the importance of the event. Only a couple of hours later on our way back to the city did it truly set in: “WE DID IT! WE FOUND THE WHITE PYRAMID! IT’S FANTASTIC!”
To say that the pyramid is gigantic is an understatement. It is extremely gigantic and extremely old, much older than other pyramids we had seen in China up to this point. We notice details of finishing stones that preserved on its south face. These blocks and tiles were fashioned from naturally colored, white stones on top of a compressed clay base.
Then, about 40 minutes later the entire pyramid complex became obscured by smoke so we were not able to investigate it thoroughly. However, we were able to understand a few things. First, it is clear why the sides of the White Pyramid are different colors as stated on the internet. On the south side, the white facing stones are preserved. But the eastern side is thickly covered with conifer trees, and is consequently, green. The western and northern sides of the monument are “painted” yellow: they are completely free of facing stones and forest growth. Here the original clay is dominant. The local peasants have turned the western section of the pyramid turned into huge, terraced fields. Most likely, the color depends on the season and what the local agrarian community has planted. Therefore, the color of that side changes regularly.
To the south and southwest of the majestic White Pyramid, a few strange pyramids with unusual configurations that “flow” into each other can be seen. One of these is crowned by a classical square polyhedron. Twenty statues of guards with staffs, as well as two huge lions guard the path to the pyramid complex. All of them were constructed from the same stone that covers the White Pyramid, possibly from the very facing. However, what is most interesting is that the deposits of natural “stone” in Qian Ling and its surroundings are not stone at all; they’re clay, and only clay.
We are returning home. We reached the goal of our expedition. Yet before us, is a new enigma – in what way, by whom and from where were the huge stone tiles and blocks delivered for the facing of the White Pyramid in Qian Ling? That means that in the near future another amazing adventure to the country of ancient secrets awaits us.
By Vladimir Sidenko,
Photography by Tatiana Sidenko