Unearthing Ancient China in Xi'an

With only two weeks remaining of our stay in China, Jerel and I visited Xi'an, China's (first) ancient capital, and the nearby Terracotta Warriors (8th Wonder of the World?). On Saturday, we toured Xi'an itself, ambling around the well-preserved city wall. While the excursion provided ample exercise and fresh air, the sights were...underwhelming. The best word to describe the landscape is "grey" - block after block of dusty, grey concrete streets and buildings.

In contrast, the city's Muslim quarter, with its lively alleys was a welcome pocket of colour. Sporting traditional headgear and in some cases, long beards, the Muslim Chinese sell everything from live sheep, to animal pelts, to animal carcasses. More appealing (to me) were the many stalls offering interesting nuts, spices and pastries.

The highlight of the weekend was Sunday's visit to the Terracotta Warriors. Approximately 2200 years ago, China's 13-year-old emperor Qin envisioned a large army protecting his tomb. He is reported to have employed 700,000 men over more than 30 years to build this army of clay, complete with life-size soliders and accompanying horses, chariots, and weapons. The exhibit consisted of three excavated pits, containing hundreds to thousands of terracotta warrior figures, some well restored and many others still buried and broken, resembling poor humpty-dumpty.

The vast collection of unique, life-like warriors provided a vivid illustration of of the dozens of ethnic minorities united under the Chinese empire. The early advances of the Chinese civilization evident in the sculptures and weapons were clearly a source of pride for our enthusiastic local guide and our many fellow (Chinese) tourists.

For more photos of our weekend in Xi'an click here.