Today was my day to tour Xi’an, and what a long day it was. My tour guide and I started at 8:30 and didn’t finish up until about 8 this evening. It’s hopefully off to bed soon to be up early for my flight to Shanghai.
Of course the big event of the day was seeing the terra-cotta army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. This is the Qin king that over 2,200 years ago united the warring states to unify China. In preparation for the afterlife he commissioned hundreds of thousands of artisans to sculpt a large army entirely out of terra-cotta. To see the pits that were uncovered in the mid-1970s was really one of those must-see things. I couldn’t come to China without seeing this 8th wonder.
I also climbed the Xi’an city wall, which in and of itself is a very impressive structure. An early Ming emperor built the wall over 600 years ago in order to defend the then-capital from raiding hordes. My tour guide and I also visited the Bell Tower that is the geographic center of Xi’an.
You can click here to see pictures from my day in Xi’an.
You’ll have to forgive my fatigue at the moment. I am beat from a long day of touring. It’s of to bed now to get up early for tomorrow’s flight to Shanghai.
