Xian

We flew from Beijing to Xian. Xian was capital of China for many centuries, but long long ago. In fact, this was the beginning/end of the "Silk Road" that was followed by Marco Polo. On this part of the journey we saw sights in the city and also took a mini tour for a day so we could see the Terra Cotta Warriors.


Our Xian hotel is on right	View from xian hotel	Each morning, students would do calisthenics in this yard

The old part of Xian is enclosed by a wall 8.5 miles long. This is the longest such enclosure in the world.


Square near entrance to wall	We watched interesting bike loads	Outside much of the wall is a moat


View along Xian wall


War machines on Xian wall


As seen from the wall, the land on both sides of the wall is being beautified


View from Xian wall

The main reason we came to Xian was to see its world famous Terra Cotta Warriors. To get to their location, we went in a van as part of a tour. All other tourists spoke Chinese, so the amount of information we got from the guide was minimal.

The first stop at the Museum of 1st Qin Emperor. In addition to the museum were some Terra Cotta Warriors. Also, the farmer who discovered the warriors was there.

At the Ling Tong Museum, we climbed the steep hill where Chang Kai Chek hid and then was captured. He was then forced to join forces with the Communists in the fight against Japan during World War II.


Map of the hillside's sites	Mural	World War II artillery piece

In XingChenTang there are hot springs. During the Tang dynasty, Li Shimin built a resort here. He and following emperors visited frequently.

By the time we arrived at the Mausolem of the First Qin Emperor, our eyes were glazed over. Even the Chinese tourists skipped this tour and watched an interesting performance that coincidentally was just starting. It displayed court life in the time of the emperor.

When we arrived at the site of the Terra Cotta Warriors we were excited and ready to go. Emperor Qin's Terra Cotta pits are 1.5 miles east of Emporer QinShihuang's Mausoleum. Warriors were discovered by a farmer digging a well in 1974. There are three vast pits, each covered by a larged domed builting for protection.Pit 1, the largest, is 230 meters long and 62 meters wide. More than 6000 pottery warriors and horses have been uncovered.


Terra Cotta Warrior Building providing access to Pit 1	Terra Cotta Warriors

On the way back to our hotel, the tour van had a flat tire. The jack was faulty, but the tour guide flagged down a bus and borrowed a good jack. A half hour latter, we were on our way again.

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From Xian we flew to Chengdu.