Silk Road Expedition, Sept. 6, Day 6 - Xian (Part 1)

NOTE: This day was divided up into two blog entries, both have which been published on the blog....whose order is a bit mixed up. Part 2 somehow was placed before part 1, making it the previous entry before this particular one. Why exactly, I don't know. Anyway, to see how Day 6 of the trip went, start here, then go on to the previous entry.) 

 I woke up quite early that day, as I'm usually prone to do. And so, after considering how much time I had before breakfast, I decided to capture a few glimpses of Xian early in the morning.

 

Mainly, I focused on two buildings in particular, both of which are famous historical sites; the Bell Tower….

…And the Drum Tower, sitting right in the middle of the Old City, and literally just a block away from our hotel.  

Then, after a bite to eat, we hopped aboard the bus for a one-hour trip to what is undoubtedly Xian’s greatest attraction, and possibly the Eight Wonder of the Ancient World. At long last, after years of only seeing them in pictures and on TV and only being able to wistfully fantasize about visiting them in real life, I have finally done what I would have scornfully called unthinkable about two years ago; that day, I gazed upon the magnificent Terra-Cotta Warriors. Upon arrival, simply walked into a building resembling a gigantic building resembling an enormous airplane hanger, and there they all were, still loyally standing watch over the tomb of the first emperor of China, just as they’ve been doing for the last two thousand years. 

As I looked at the rows upon rows of soldiers, with every single one hand-crafted and no two looking exactly alike, I felt … well, I could try to describe the blend of awe, wonder, and the dozen or so other emotions that I experienced, but then again I could also go outside and try to catch the moon in a jar. Either way, my efforts would probably be pretty futile. Words fail me almost completely, but at least I can say that it was certainly an unforgettable experience, I can say that much at least.

It seems these three amigos believe that something much more interesting is going on to their left.

This wasn’t the only excavated pit, however. There were two others; the next one we visited was much, much smaller, and contained the officers commanding the massive clay military force.

Of course, I don't think I've gotten you halfway through the day yet. However.... the second half of this day is already posted here on the blog. Why in the world it got mixed up with this entry over their order, I honestly don't have a single clue. But read on to the previous entry to learn how the rest of the day went!