The Ancient City of Xian

This is the China I have come to see! Secret tombs, pleasure palaces, ancient relics, ahhh... History! I only wish we would have had more time here. After a very long delay at Shanghai airport...we made it in late to Xian, missing our chance to see anything on the first day. In reality we only had one full day in this amazing city. We hired a driver (Mr D) who took us to see the Terracotta Warriors, The Mound Tomb, Silk Factory, and Hot Springs Pleasure Palace.

The terra cotta warriors were jaw dropping. With our trusty guide, Helen, we went into the three "pits" they have begun to unearth. In total there are 600 pits they have found! In the three pits they have for viewing, there are a total of some 8,000 warriors all ready dug out, each one taking nearly 6 months to put together. They are life size ranging from 5'5" to 6'5" with each face and hairstyle different. There are flank soilders, archers, kneeling archers.....it goes on and on. They have stopped digging them up because soon after being exposed them to the air, the color fades completely away. In some of the new pits they are finding bronze animals, acrobats, lawyers, civil officials, and human remains (so far more than 10,000 people). This in one reason why the tomb had gone undiscovered for so long....He killed everyone who knew about it. His family, the artists who bulit the warriors, army, everyone! The tomb was discovered in 1974 by farmers digging a well. We actually met one of them while visiting the tomb mound.....

Unlike the warrior pits, the mound was in much need of some care. Things here were falling

apart and gardens have been left untended. Jeff and I did some wandering around, sneakily. We climbed to the top of the mound and read that the king's tomb (which has not been opened) is full of mercury. And they suspect booby trapped! Sounds like a job for Indiana Jones....This is the tomb (including the terracotta warriors) of the first Emperor to unite China. He was also the one who comissioned the Great Wall. But, he was a brutal and ruthless ruler. In his time, he ordered all books be destroyed. And many of the people buried at the tomb were bound, suspecting they were actually buried alive.

The hot springs palace was massive, and beautiful. It was also the the sight of the Xian incident if any of you have seen "The Last Emperor of China." You could take a bath or a shower in the springs (uhhh-no, and you wouldn't want to either if you saw the bath tub), but mostly it was best enjoyed by simply wandering about.

I'm sad to have to leave Xian, there is so much more to explore. I try to wrap my head around all we have seen here and am still blown away. Even driving into this city was impressive, the massive wall that surrounds the now thriving downtown is 3 car lengths deep and carries secrets of the past. So a note to all: Give yourself 3 days here! I hope that when we spend our next weekend in Beijing it will just as breathtaking.