Our second stop on the tour was to Xi'an. The town became a major tourist destination when a common farmer started to dig a new well and came up with pieces of Terracotta Warriors. The next thirty years would discover what is being called a new "Wonder of the World". Like the Great Wall, you expect to see something wonderful but still cannot believe how special it really is. The Terracotta Warriors are amazing. One thing that we didn't expect was that they are being dug up in pieces. They were destroyed in the peasant uprising after the first emperor died 2200 years ago. It takes 18 months to recreate one figure. They have done a wonderful job and will continue until they have all been restored. When we went to the gift shop after viewing the warriors the tour guide asked if we would like to meet the farmer. He was sitting at a table signing books. This was a real treat since he does not come into the store every day. The only request was that we do not take his picture so we just have our memories to remember him. 
On the way to see the warriors, we stopped at the Chongde Handmade Pottery Factory where they are making reproductions of the warriors in various sizes. They are using the same materials and process that was used to create the originals so it was fun to see the process and of course we had to bring some home. Too bad this wasn't the last stop on the tour. The warriors are heavy so we had to take them with us on the rest of our journey. They made it to all of the homes in one piece so we can enjoy them for years to come.
We also went to the Shaanxi History Museum which houses Xi'an's cultural relics. Next was the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The pagoda was originally built in 652 during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and it functioned to collect Buddhist materials that were taken from India via the Silk Road. 
The next morning we visited the City Wall around Xi'an. This wall is the only complete one left in China. Most of the city walls have been partially or completely destroyed. Unlike the Great Wall, this one is built on flat terrain so you can walk, run, bike or take a rickshaw around the 13 miles. Around the wall we could see the city life going on. It was early morning so the older people were all out exercising and playing games. In all cities here you will see this every morning. No sitting in front of the TV here. China's people are always outside with each other. The sense of community is everywhere. They even bring out their pet birds in cages to get some fresh air. We also saw people singing and markets were in full swing.
We went for lunch at a dumpling restaurant where they brought out at least 20 different kinds of dumplings for us to eat. It was kind of cold the day we were there so we were happy to see the mini dumplings in chicken broth soup to warm us up. Then it was time to go. Our guide dropped us off at the airport and we were off to Chongqing to catch the boat for our Yangtze River cruise.
4
