During our time in Xi'an we were able to see and experience lots of fun different things!! After getting Ellie and having a few appointments, we were able to have a couple of days of free time to explore as well as a day where we got to tour the Terra cotta soldiers.
In our free time, we had fun taking in all the sights and sounds of the city. We even ventured out to the "underground world" of the subway!!! We had so much fun!!
On Wednesday we got to go to the "8th Wonder of the World!" The Terra Cotta Soldiers are life size soldiers that were made over 2000 years ago during one of the Dynasties. They were buried underground, and in 1974 a local farmer unearthed them while digging for a well.
It was so cool to see an actual "archaeological" find!!! The museum is open during the day, and then the archaeologists dig during the night and in the morning. They are still uncovering more!!
Due to the fact that the government of China owns all the land, the farmer never got any compensation for finding the soldiers, nor any recognition. It wasn't until the 1990's when President Clinton came to visit that he inquired about the farmer. After that, the farmer became famous and now works in the museum signing autographs (we got one) :-)!!!
We had so much fun in Xi'an and will never forget our time there!!! Enjoy some pictures:
This is us on the Subway...we made it, and all packed in :-)!!!
We did as the locals did and crossed the crazy traffic!!!
This picture is for you, Kari, and for the Listers :-)...gotta love the Canadian gear in the China mall!!!
Only in China can you find a whole section in the department store for Ping Pong paddles :-)!!!
In the "Underground World" where you can walk to get to different places under the street, we found a vendor who sells and makes these cool flutes!!! They are beautiful and he played "Jingle Bells" for Ellie :-).
Here we are in front of the vendors underground :-)!! We definitely found some cool finds!!!
We of course had to stop at McDonalds to get some soft serve ice cream...Ellie LOVED it :-)!!!
Here we are outside the Terra Cotta soldier factory where we saw how the soldiers were made over 2000 years ago, and how they make replicas today for souveniers.
This is inside the place where the soldiers were found. There are 3 different sites where the soldiers were found. This first site had the most soldiers that have been unearthed.
This is Tim in front of the "Kneeling Archer" (all the soldiers have different ranks). This kneeling archer was the only soldier left in tact with only a small piece broken off his foot.
Tim did some bartering outside the site and was able to get all of us some souvenir soldiers :-)...way to go Tim!!!
Reading stories with daddy :-)...
For our last dinner in Xi'an, we were so tired after lots of days of touring, so we decided to order a hamburger from the hotel cafe...this was the "American Burger..." lol!!! It was a large patty of some mysterious meat, some cheese, and a sunny side up egg. We've never had one of those in America, and most certainly will never have one again in China...lol!!!
What a blessing it was to spend so many days in Xi'an! We loved experiencing the culture and had fun trying to be a part of it in a small way!!!
Next stop, Guangzhou!!!...
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