Xi'an & Terracotta warriors

We took the night train from Beijing to Xi’an mainly to take a peek at the Terracotta warriors museum. Once again, the chinese trains surprised us with clean and comfortable 4 bed cabins that we shared with two quiet and kind locals.
Xi’an is an important landmark of the Chinese culture as it was the capital of the Qin dynasty, the first to unify most of China. The Terracotta army was secretly ordered by the Qin emperor around 200 years BC and only found in 1975. Our curiosity on the lengthy Chinese history and culture is growing as we move around. We read more and more about it everyday.
In Xi’an we wandered and got lost inside the busy area within the old Ming city walls despite the rainy weather. What we loved the most was the crowded Muslim quarter, where we took some risk to try some local specialities of street food. The Big Wild Goose square Pagoda from the Tang era failed to impress us, and tickets were a rip-off just to access the garden.
Around one hour away from the city was the place that delighted our eyes and left us speechless and totally amazed: the Terracotta Warriors Museum. This 8th wonder of the world is worth by itself the visit to China. Around 7000 terracotta warriors, human size, all slightly different, made using advanced techniques and science more that 2000 thousand years ago. Most of it is still unearthed as well as the emperor’s mausoleum. The history and facts behind were totally worth a read that made us appreciate this wonder from a different perspective.
Next: Tibet!En savoir plus