Tuesday, June 24th marked our final full day in Xi'an, beginning at 8:30 under overcast skies that brought temperatures down to the high 70s, accompanied by a pleasant breeze, which was a refreshing change. Our first destination was a half-day visit to the Terra Cotta Warriors. I have dedicated a separate blog to just the photos from that visit, so for now, I'll simply note that it was an incredible experience and highly recommend checking out that blog! I didn't mention earlier that the warriors were uncovered by a farmer who was working his fields. Initially, his friends thought he was crazy and advised him not to speak of the find, fearing it might be cursed and bring misfortune. Regardless, the farmer reported it to the authorities, and the rest is history. This farmer went on to become quite wealthy from government payments for his discovery and spent many years in a shop in the nearby village signing books. The discovery was in 1979, and he is still alive at 85. Now, one of his younger relatives takes over the signings! We strolled through the village and saw the man signing books before making our way to our town car, departing the tourist area for what our guide claimed would be a much better lunch! We were so hungry that I didn't even take pictures of our meal, but it was indeed delicious! On our way back to Xi'an, we stopped about 40 minutes away at a large theater and park that features Chinese dance performances depicting Chinese history every 30 minutes, and we paused to enjoy the show. Their special effects were remarkable! Once back in Xi'an, we had a couple of hours to start packing for our departure on Thursday before heading out for our final dinner together. After dinner, we took a last group photo with Summer, Tina, Michael, and me before heading home. We returned to our hotel around 7:30 PM to finish packing and to get a good night's rest before our trip to Yinchuan! At around 9 PM, Tina, our graduate nursing student from Ningxia Medical University, stopped by to share some snacks she had brought for us—one being kao mianjin (roasted tofu skewer) that a friend from Chengdu suggested we try, and the other was roasted squid that Michael had commented on seeing on the streets! Here’s a photo of the tofu skewer seasoned with cumin, hot peppers, and who knows what else! It was quite tasty, but I saved most of it for breakfast!
One or two photographs of the Terra Cotta Warriors simply can't capture the essence of this incredible location, so I'm planning to create a blog showcasing all the images of the warriors—whether they are preserved, undergoing preservation, or the throngs of visitors. Our guide, Summer, mentioned that as many as 100,000 people visit the Warriors each day! It was incredibly crowded, but thankfully, the entire site has been air-conditioned since two years ago! Those who visited before that, particularly in the summer, can only recall the crowds, heat, and humidity! Nevertheless, it’s absolutely worth it, as the warriors are truly an astonishing "eighth wonder of the world."
Cones, cups, sticks, and tubs, oh my!
Kavin Jay is set to perform in the capital on June 27 and 28.
Today was my birthday, and our plans changed, likely due to the weather, so we decided to postpone our visit to the Terra Cotta Warriors until tomorrow. The weather was sunny and fairly warm, with temperatures in the 90s, but it was relatively dry. We began our day around 9 am and visited the Xi'an City Walls, which are known to be among the best-preserved city walls in China. They were enormous and quite impressive, with options to rent bikes for a seemingly endless ride! We managed to walk about 2 km of the total 15 or 16 km, leaving much more to explore.
Tuesday, June 24th marked our final full day in Xi'an. We began our day at 8:30 under cloudy skies that brought the temperatures down to the high 70s, accompanied by a lovely breeze that was truly refreshing. Our first destination was a half-day visit to the Terra Cotta Warriors. I have shared a separate blog featuring only photos from that visit, so here I'll just mention that it was an incredible experience and encourage you to check out that blog!