Terracotta Warriors

There can only be one place to start when visiting Xian.

The Terracotta warriors are one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the 20th century, this unearthed terracotta army is comprised of over 7,000 soldiers, horses and chariots. The army was built in life-sized form by thousands of workers and designed by Emperor Qin Shi Huang to defend himself in the afterlife.

We went on a Sunday because it is much quieter, they were only expecting 250,000 visitors that day.

Pictures cannot capture how awesome a spectacle this is.

There are three pits which have been dug to expose the terracotta army. The majority of the Army is still buried underground.

A view of a pit which has been partially excavated.

This shows the size of the horses and warriors.

Some of the warriors are being repaired, or this is the ghost of the headless warrior?

The next set of tourist trinkets being created.

Ancient city walls

Dating back to the Ming Dynasty in the 14th century, the Xian ancient city wall is one of the best preserved urban fortifications in China. The wall’s ideal spot and layout gives visitors a bird’s eye view over this fantastic city.

You can follow the locals’ example and take a bike to get an ever more spectacular experience.

It’s hard to believe that this is the top of a wall

Here is a pair of dodgy looking tourists.

This the building behind us.

Little Wild Goose Pagoda

Dating back to the Tang Dynasty, the Little Wild Goose Pagoda is one of two prominent pagodas in Xian. A former centre for translating Buddhist scriptures from India, the Little Wild Goose Pagoda was said to have survived one of the strongest earthquakes in world history.

The painting below is now in our house. We also have a painting each done by the chap above which has our names on them.

Inside the park is a yet another temple.

In the summer Xian is very hot, about 34 degrees when we were there, so these trees provide wonderful shade and a great spot for people watching.

The current statutory retirement age in China is 60 for Males and 50 for Female workers. To not only keep physically fit older people also keep mentally fit by doing Tai Chi.

Here are the instructors.

Here is the rest of the class.

Tang Dynasty Dancing Show

Xian, previously known as Chang’an, was an important cultural and historical centre in not only China but in the known-world.

Prior to the show starting we had dumplings, in the end it was 20 different types of vegetarian dumpling.

The Tang Dynasty dancing show is an exciting exponent of this prosperous society and keeps alive the splendour of this period.

It was amazing the speed at which the artists and scenery was changed.

Amazing the different colours of each sets.