The Famous Terracotta Warriors of Xian # 1

As we left the city and started towards the Terracotta Warrior site, we started chatting up and everyone was in a very excited mode.There was still a lot of time until lunch ,yet the long walk, cycle ride made everyone hungry.

Luckily we had packed a lot of breads, buns and flavored drinks to keep us refreshed and to banish those hunger pangs...

Before we reach the site, let me tell you a little something about this place we are going to visit now..

This is the underworld army of Emperor Qin Shihuang.This army was built at the center of a complex which was the replica of the urban plan of the Capital of the Qin Dynasty- Xianyang.It was actually built for conquering the after life.This site was unearthed in 1974.

There are terracotta armed forces, horses,chariots,cavalry horses,weapons. It is said that some of these relics are still buried!

This site has been listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO and is a real high light of a  tour in and around Xian.

There are 4 pits that hold these relics and one can watch all these from a large platform...

Come let us walk around....

The Entrance....

And the there was this cinema hall which was showing a 365 degree movie. 

You stand in the center of the hall and all around you is the movie. So a chariot goes on the walls in a circle.Get the idea!

Before we went in there was someone signing some books and there was a really long queue.Out of curiosity we stood near the line and Kelly, our guide told us that the elderly person signing the book on Terracotta warriors was one of the farmers who were digging up wells to irrigate their land and in that process discovered the pits!

As you enter the building you can see this site layout encased in a huge glass case....

 Once you go the main pit, there are signs like these that guide and educate you about the site....

A section of the terracotta warriors ...

It is said that no two figures look alike!

Remains of some pillars....

Each part of the exhibit has a number and there is a board which explains what it is..Here is a sample.The above pit was exhibit no.9 and this is what the board says....

Here is a section that is roped off.It houses the damaged figures and the sculptors and artisans try to restore the lost glory by fixing them back piece by piece!What a back breaking job that it!!!

The horses...

Can you see how vast it is!!!

We have just visited pit 1. I will take you around the other pits in my next post.......

Xian's Ancient City Wall

After the Royal Dinner, we were too excited and tired to sleep! Yet, we had to sleep for a while as we had a packed day coming up and we were also leaving this wonderful city to go back home.

After a simple breakfast of toast and porridge, we were taken to see the Ancient City wall. This was something we saw as soon as we alighted the train on Day 1 and our tour guide,Kelly, said that we would be walking over the perimeter of the walls and it had some breath taking views....

This wall was built for defense purpose and is one of the most stunning and impressive walls to be built. It somehow reminded e of the Great Wall of China, only this looked a little smaller in length.

This wall is over 600 years old and is really well preserved.There are four gates in the North, South ,East and West ends and each gate has an Archery tower, Drawbridge tower and a main tower for the entrance to the City.

As you can see in the pics, it was a very cloudy day.But that did not dampen our spirit...

Now let's take a tour ...

At the entrance....

Now to get on top,one has to climb a long fleet of stairs that you can see next to that car!!!

The 11 meter roadway on top of the wall was built for the soldiers to move rapidly from one tower to another in case they were attached !

And it is in this roadway that we can walk, cycle , take a battery operated car ride.We took a car ride for a short period since MIL would not be able to walk and Lil Angel was still in a sleepy mood.

The counter to get tickets for the tour of the wall in a battery car near one of the gates....

Once Lil Angel fell asleep, we took a bicycle for hire and hubby and myself took a long ride on the wall.

One of the bells near the tower...

The towers now house exhibits and also has paintings and souvenirs for sale...

Refreshment stands are present all through the route and it was a welcome sight!We parked our cycles and enjoyed a coffee and an ice cream..

The ancient architecture meet the new ones...

View from the wall...

Lil Angel had woken up by the time we returned from our cycling trip and happily posed for the pics...A view of the old city within the walls...

The canon used in those days....

We wanted to take in the beauty of the place for a little longer, but Kelly, our tour guide, did not think so! She actually had a point when she said we would be late for the next important stop - The Terracotta Warrior site! 

The moment we heard that name, we sped to our bus and waited with excitement till we reached the destination that I had dreams of visiting at least once in my lifetime!...

Terracotta Factory-Xian

This is one of the places we visited after the Banpo Matriarchal Village . In all the excitement, I missed posting this one...Lets take a small tour of this factory that makes and sells terracotta artifacts and souvenirs...

Right at the entrance huge Terracotta warriors greet us and we can also click pics as warrior!

 That is hubby posing as a warrior and behind him, Lil Angel is running off to check out the place by herself!

They have a live demo of the work in progress....

Once you are inside the factory, you can see a huge number of men and women making models of various sizes ranging from warriors, dragons an other souvenirs.



All through the corridor, the models are seen in various stages of completion....

The finished products are kept for shelves ready to hit the stores....

As you walk inside, there is a room full of paintings and you can actually watch an artist at work,without disturbing them,of course!

One of the painting that was on sale...

This leads to a shop, a huge one actually with plenty of artifacts and souvenirs....We got this box of miniature warriors....

Some hand painted tiles..Very pricey!

Hand crafted boxes.....

Handcrafted chopstick....

Glass figurines....

And there is my hero standing midst the warriors....Yes, there are life sized statues to adorn your room / garden....

After this we went to the  Huaqing hot springs....

Let go there now....

Our 'Royal Dinner' - Xian

As soon as we reached the hotel, we freshened up as quickly as possible so that we could get to know what was in store for us that night.I am sure you remember me telling you that we were told that we were to have a 'Royal Dinner'.

Again we piled into the bus and it took us to the Tang Dynasty show that our guide Kelly had organised for us!!We were so excited to see a theater filled with people...

Just as we took our seats, the lights dimmed and the show began....

Displays take you through the program....

The orchestra....

While the program was going on , we were served some delicious food, and there was vegetarian food as well,thanks to our guide who knew our food preferences...

Yummy dumplings served in bamboo steamers....

The dancers moved gracefully to the tunes. 

It was an absolute delight to watch the show....

Monk Zuanzang under taking his journey...

The monks..In the backdrop is the Wild goose Pagoda....

A dance depicting the 'Spring Outing'...

A scene from the 'Beautiful Dream'....

Yet another dance sequence....

It was indeed a Royal dinner.We enjoyed it immensely.


Just as we climbed into the bus to get back to the hotel, I clicked this pic of the place where the Royal dinner was hosted...

Time to rest now.. We have a big day tomorrow. Going to visit the famous Terracotta warriors and some other places before we head back home........


Until we meet again....