Xian, China - Terra Cotta Warriors

We arrived in Xi'an and, like many other people there, had one thing on our mind - the Terra Cotta warriors. We visited the army on the first day and unfortunately, after that, nothing else in Xi'an could compare.

The story, in short, is that when Emperor Qin died in 209 BC he was buried in an extremely elaborate mausoleum (as of yet unearthed because it contains Indiana Jones like defences) and accompanied 8,099 life sized soldier and horse statues.

At present only about 1,000 of the are uncovered, the rest remain buried until they can be excavated and reconstructed.

Each terra cotta warrior is unique in height, weight and facial features. Some of the original color lacquer finish is just barely visible in the previous and next photo. They are arranged in order of height and rank.

Five years after Emperor Qin's death General Xiang Yu, worried that the Emperor would return commanding a formidable terra cotta army, ordered the statues be destroyed and their weapons removed. Xiang Yu was particularly concerned about the highest ranking terra cotta warriors and his men, set on destruction, acted accordingly. Note that after multiple attempts at restoration and reconstruction, all of the Generals in the terra cotta command post (separate pit, following picture) are still missing their heads.

These horses and accompanying carriage were found separately from the other terra cotta warriors, closer to Emperor Qin's mausoleum.

Of course, we did see a few other sites in Xi'an, notably the city wall. Constructed in the 1300s AD, this 12km long wall is one of the best preserved city walls in China. We saw parts of two sides, one corner and got about 1/4 of the way around before deciding that we had a pretty good idea what the rest of the wall looked like. The haze in the following picture is smog, not fog.

We also visited the Big Goose Pagoda - Xi'an's other iconic landmark. This seven tired structure (bottom two tiers are obscured by the temple) was built more than 1,300 years ago to hold Buddhist sutras.

The Bell Tower is located in the center of town is used as the starting point for all directions. Like many of the other buildings in town, its well lit at night. Its counterpart, the Drum Tower, is also a local landmark but the surroundings are not as interesting. Both towers are used, surprise, for drum and bell performances.

Finally: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!