Intro

I am writing this blog after having returned to Reno two days ago.  Events were so intense that there was no time to write during our final days in China.  Susan and I are leaving for Africa and a safari in a few days!  So I want to complete my China narratives before I depart for a new adventure.  This will be my final blog with a photo gallery.  Look for my final blog…text only…My Assessment of China—In My Humble Opinion.

Xian

Xian is the historic capital of central China.  It was the Chinese origin point of the Silk Road, the caravan trail taken by Marco Polo and others to bring China’s wondrous goods to Europe and the Middle East.  Xian is the oldest city in the world to be planned and laid out in a street-grid style.  A huge wall has been preserved and restored that originally surrounded the inner city.  Like every Chinese city we visited, there are innumerable high-rise office and apartment buildings.  Xian is surrounded by an agricultural area.  Pomegranates were available in abundance.  I enjoyed fresh squeezed pomegranate juice.

Terracotta Warriors

Amazingly, the terra cotta warriors were only discovered in 1974.  It is now a world-famous tourist destination, unique in every way.  They were constructed for the first emperor of China to protect him in his afterlife.  Wikipedia says it best:

“The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting him in his afterlife.

The figures, dating from approximately the late 200s BCE,^[1] were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong County, outside Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. The figures vary in height according to their rank, the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots, and horses. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army hold more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remain in situ in the pits near Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum.^[2] Other, non-military terracotta figures have since been found in other pits, including those of officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians.”

After touring the warrior tombs, our group was taken to lunch at a tourist center that posted a quote from Barack Obama, that their sandwiches were the tastiest ones in Xian.  After lunch, we were invited to their workshop, where model terracotta warriors of all sizes were made and sold.  In the photo gallery with this blog, you will see an artist creating a terracotta warrior head based on four photos of a visiting tourist.