China - Sights and Sounds - Part Three

Xi'An.

We left Beijing airport for Xi'an late. The flight was delayed then the gates were changed at the last minute. When we arrived, we were already tired and had another hour coach jounrey to our hotel. Frank introduced himself and he was very funny.

Frank the Tour Guide. Comedy classic. Wish my brother recorded Frank's many ramblings! Ancient Chinese Capital City!!!!!

Frank had this ability to cram as much fact into one sentence and repeat it as much as possible.

The hotel was very nice, with rooms and areas split according to animals. It was also built right next door to the 'Big Wild Goose Pagoda'. LOL - you had to be there to understand the joke. Really looking forward to Xi'an and the terracota army and the next day, I was not disappointed. The coach through Xi'an took ages since Xi'an like most Chinese cities has a chronic traffic problem. There is a nice touch however, the traffic lights all have a little digital countdown that informs drivers how long before the light changes. Nice that.

We arrived at the Banpu neolithic village first and had a good few hours around this ancient discovery and then it was off to a terracotta factory. This place used the same materials as the ancient builders and they created terracotta figurines of various sizes. The factory also did a roaring trade in lacquer furniture and Joanne managed to get a £2500 table for £500; I don't think she told her husband though! Another couple of hours here and then we were off to the day's highlight. The weather was horrible and it was raining but luckily we were inside once we arrived at the dig site.

The terracotta army dig site is still a work in progress with a huge stadium like enclosure erected over the site. The site itself is split across three 'pits'. Pit 1 being the biggest and most well known while pits 2 and 3 smaller but more varied. On entering Pit 1 - there was the prize. Row and rows of soldiers. Wonderful. Breath-taking.

I took a lot of photos and had a great time. We visited the other pits and finally visited the gift shop where the original discoverer of the warriors was there signing books! We all got an autographed copy. Sweet.

The evening had us watch the Tang Dynasty Performance. I was skeptical to be honest but once the curtain was raised and the show began, it was captivating. The food we had wasn't bad either.

Xi'an is a lovely city, well planned with a lot of the old architecture preserved. This included the old city walls and gates and watch towers. The city walls are all lit up at night and is spectacular. There is also a very commercial downtown area with the latest shops in place.