Shaanxi, where Islam and Chinese cultures mix

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After a fantastic week in Beijing we reluctantly got on our flight to Xian. We were quite sad to leave the capital as it had become one of our favorite cities this year, but onward we must travel.

Xian only has one major attraction, which is the 'Terracotta Warriors' and otherwise it is not a particularly attractive place.

The people here were very friendly as we found out when we were stuck in the middle of the road with our backpacks in the middle of rush hour with no taxi's wanting to take us to our hostel. A Chinese girl approached us from a car and asked where we were trying to go, she spoke very good English and offered us a lift in her boyfriend’s swanky car, not bad we thought and jumped in. It turned out that her and her boyfriend had lived in York for a year, her boyfriend worked for an insurance company and he and Andrew talked all about Standard Life, and the girl studied Linguistics at York University (not far off my job), it was a strange experience, one of those times when you wonder who is looking out for you and if your life is all planned out already (or something philosophical like that!)

The 'Terracotta Warriors' were the only thing worth coming here for.

This army of more than 6,000 life size terracotta warriors, horses and chariots is one of the world most remarkable archaeological finds in the world and I don’t think you could visit China and not see this.

Over 2,000 years ago these statues were built from local clay. Each warrior’s face was carved individually and no two faces are the same.

The Terracotta Army was uncovered by chance in 1974 by local farmers trying to sink a new well. Since then three pits containing soldiers and artifacts have been gradually and delicately excavated.

The terracotta warriors were made for Qin Shihuang ,also known as The First Emperor (259-210BC). His mausoleum lies only 1.5km away, therefore it has been assumed that the army was constructed to accompany him on his journeys after death.

I don't think our pictures really do it justice, it's one of those amazing things that you just have to see for yourself.

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Photos

The Bell Tower
in the centre of Xi'an

Along the watchtower
the city walls of Central Xi'an

The centre of Xi'an
Bell tower and shops along the main street

The Army of Terracotta Warriors
In Xi'an.

Andrew the Warrior
Leader of the Army of Terracotta Warriors, in Xi'an.

Warriors close up
Horses and headless soldiers at the Army of Terracotta Warriors, in Xi'an.

Warrior Keeper
Protector of the Army of Terracotta Warriors, in X\'an.

Warrior and horses
Someone has knicked his ski's. At the Army of Terracotta Warriors, in Xi'an.

Fiona and the Warriors
At the Army of Terracotta Warriors, in Xi'an.

Warrior Detail
At the Army of Terracotta Warriors, in Xi'an.