Terracotta Warriors in Xian: June 20th-22nd

On Saturday, the 21st, we did a full-day excursion of the Terracotta Warriors Museum. As part of every Chinese tour, we made the usual stop at a factory. At this factory we went to yesterday morning, clay models of Terracotta Warriors and its horses of all sizes were being made and sold. Following the factory stop was the Terracotta Warriors Museum.

Story behind the Terracotta Warriors: The first emperor of China was man of immense power and was a bit crazy in the head. He was ruthless against his enemies and his own people. He united the different provinces by building the Great Wall of China, to protect China from enemies in the North. He ordered a mausoleum to built for him in a mountain and an underground army to protect him in the afterlife. Every single Terracotta soldier has a unique face which is extraordinary since there are thousands and thousands of them! The Emperor ordered the craftsmen to write their name as well as the soldier they were making a model after. If he found any two to be the same, he would have the craftsman executed. The Warriors and the mausoleum were built at the bottom of the Li Shan Mountains and next to the Yellow and Yangtze River due to the great Fung Shue. In 1974, a few farmers who were trying to dig up a well at the bottom of Li Shan Mountain discovered stone fragments of a Terracotta Warrior. Only a small portion of the King’s underground haven has been excavated. The Chinese have put a hold on further excavating for at least another several years due to inefficient equipment and technologies.

At the museum, there are 3 pits. Pit #1 is the largest with over 8,000 warriors excavated. Pit #2 is much smaller and is of a waiting room for the generals and officials. Workers are starting to excavate in Pit #3, only a few sections for exposed for the public to see.

The Terracotta Warriors definitely belong in the TOP 7 Man-made Wonders of the World.

We got back to Xian late afternoon and spent the rest of the day perusing through the Muslim Quarter. The Quarter is made of up several blocks that are lined with hole-in-the-wall-type restaurants, street vendors selling various snacks and trinkets, and a number of souvenir shops. Ben’s favorite food in Xian was the “Chinese stuffing.” It was cooked with lamb meat and had tremendous flavor. Liya’s favorite were the Xian soup noodles for only 5 RMB ($1 ~ 7RMB). After a few hours of walking through the Muslim Quarter, we headed for East Street. On the way, we stopped to enjoy the Drum and Bell Towers.

Overall, we really enjoyed Xian. It was better than we expected it to be. The city has a great personality to it. A bit of charm as well. It’s amazing that the city wall (30km all around) is still intact. We appreciated the architecture which was a mix of old and new. Oh, and we got to see a bit of blue sky :) which is rare in these big Chinese cities. We would love to return to Xian in the future.

Next stop, Beijing!