Xian: Fri, Sept 26th

---

Today was our visit to see the Terracota warriors and so, with much anticipation, we boarded the coach @ 8am. We were not disappointed - the scale of the escavations takes one's breath away. They have so far uncovered and repaired some 2000 (broken) warriors - the remaining 6000 they have left covered until a techinque is developed to counter the oxidization that causes the clay to lose its colour when exposed. Fingers crossed the attached photos give some sense of size - remember the warriors are over 5ft tall.

The afternoon was, unsurpringly, rather an anti-climax. We went for a stroll firstly along the City Wall and then through a muslem area - the historians amongst you may know that Xian was the end of the Silk Road and so muslems have had a presence here for 1000 years. What may surprise you is the fact that in c.1000 AD the population of Xian was 1m, of which 300,000 were foreigners - drawn here by trade on the Silk Road. Tour guides are full of (interesting) information.

This full-on day saw us grab a quick shower followed by a dumpling dinner (pretty tasty) and a show of dance and music from the Tang Dynasty

---