Terracotta Warriors

This day we visited the famed 8th Wonder of the World, the Terracotta Warriors.  While one wonders who owns the List of Wonders this was still an impressive sight.  In the mid 1970s a farmer hit upon the first of what would turn out to be over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses all crafted out of clay.  These were created by the tyrannical first emperor of China.  2200 years ago he waged war upon the other disparate provinces of Pre-China and 'unified' the country.  As some account it, we had our own unification war a bit over one hundred and a quarter years ago.

These warriors were to join the emperor in the afterlife, I suppose he was surprised to be alone on the other side.

Tara and Riley continue to be the 9th wonder.

The pit of despair.

You start to get an idea of the scale in the image below.  There are three other buildings that house artifacts.  One is substantially smaller and the last is large and grandly built, however you can only see a few of the warriors in the last.  The statues on display originally had coloration but that soon faded when exposed to the environment.  The last building is waiting for the technological advancements that will allow for the best balance between observation and preservation.

Tara and I needed to make some time up the other day so we hired a motorized rickshaw.  The first order of business was to gun it down the sidewalk wailing on the horn.  We were certain that he was going to squish a poor woman as he squeezed through two planter boxes.  It is amazing how useful the sidewalk is when you are motorized.

The wall and the structures on it were lit up at night and looked really spectacular.  These city walls are really a sight to see, it is really easy to imagine the advantages of living within its protection.

China has been an amazing place.  Such a different culture and still many simliaities.  Traveling with the kids is a huge icebreaker and seems to bridge the cultural divide.  To all of us Disneyland seems like such a long long time ago.  

Images in the 2013 Xi'an folder.