Xian and The Terracotta Warriors

We began our second day in Xian by going to the factory where they make all the reproductions of the terracotta warriors. This was our first trip to Xian and we knew it was the home of the warriors but had no idea the history this city holds. Xian was the capital city for three of China's dynasties. The warriors were made and buried by Emperor Qin. A farmer digging a well in 1974 found pieces of  
some warriors which led to the finding of over 8000 life size warriors and horses and chariots...an entire underground terracotta city buried to protect the Emperor in the afterlife. The warriors continue to be dug out and restored still today.

                                           We had a little fun playing with the replicas...

                             Pictures can't really describe what an amazing feat this was...

The original warriors were painted, likely looking something like this but once exposed to the elements the paint has mostly disappeared...

After visiting the pits with the warriors we walked through a market area and found the traditional Chinese hats. They came in handy through the rest of the trip.

In the afternoon we enjoyed climbing up to the city wall and riding bikes and golf carts on the city wall. It is about 9 miles around the city. It was built during the Ming Dynasty and so the architecture is similar to the Forbidden City.

Mimi was the attraction with a group of local students touring the wall.

We enjoyed a yummy dumpling dinner typical for the area. We tried out 15 different dumplings!! Yum!!!

To end the evening, the boys enjoyed stopping at a Li Ning store which is a sporting goods store owned by a famous Chinese gymnast

Next stop...Chengdu!!