By Chelle and Izzy
We arrived in Xian in the late afternoon, and had time to relax for a couple of hours, before heading out again. Our tour included a cultural performance and dinner. Both were fabulous. The food was the best we've eaten since arriving in China, and the performance was stunning. 
The dancers and singers perform traditional songs, some from 2000 years ago, and the costumes are the most elaborate we have seen. They are colorful and covered in beads, feathers, and bells. The performance told the story of the Tang Dynasty, and an emperor who was the first to unite the people of China. I did buy the DVD so that I could watch the performance again.
And now it is definitely time to go to bed, so that I am actually awake when we visit the warriors tomorrow¡it is 1:18 in the morning after all! Unfortunately, Iz is still watching Urban Legend, a bit too scary for me.
I guess one of the things that really drew us to China was the thought of seeing the terracotta warriors, and today that dream would be realized. We were up by 7:00 am and on the bus by 8am with our group. They have been a fabulous bunch of people - all American bar one couple from Canada.
It kinda feels like we are ending where we started out¡in the States, where we had such a great time. So with everyone ready to go, it was off to an area that was once farmland. The warriors were only discovered in the 1970's by a farmer who is now a very rich man! There are over 3000 warriors in the pits, and I¡¯m sure there are many more that haven¡¯t yet been discovered.
The first pit held most of the 3000 warriors, and was the size of at least 20 soccer fields! You are able to walk around the raised platforms around the pit, staring down at the lines of soldiers. Every soldier is different to the next, and they were equipped with weapons. There are also horses in the pit, and you can tell the different ranking officers by the clothes the soldiers wear.
We were able to visit 3 pits in total, and watch a short film that explained the origins of the warriors. The warriors were made to protect China¡¯s first emperor in his afterlife¡to carry on his prosperous reign. They started to build his tomb when he was 30, and it took another 30 years for the project to be finished. 
The soldiers were placed in the tombs, and then covered with a roof. Years later, the tomb was raided and burnt, and the roofs collapsed, destroying most of the warriors. The local excavators have spent thousands of hours putting the soldiers and horses back together, and placing them in their rows. It is a very intimidating sight to see¡thousands of soldiers lined up, ready to fight.
We also ate lunch at the sight, another banquet, and then visited a Chinese lacquer factory, but once again, the wares were too pricey for us. The pieces of furniture were beautiful and they also had some interesting globes! After the factory, we were bussed to the Wild Goose Pagoda, but I was still sore from the steps of the Great Wall, and decided not to venture up the Pagoda. Instead, we wondered around the grounds, looking at the buildings and having a good rest.
Our last stop for the day was on top of the city wall, which is still fully intact, and in terms of walls, is BY FAR the most impressive we have seen, Everything the Chinese do, and is on a HUGE scale. The only disappointment was the smog - it breaks your heart to see what these people are breathing in each day. Nearly everyone on our tour feels congested, and it is definitely because of the toxic air.
Imagine a really foggy day - you can't see the tall buildings in front of you, everything looks hazy. That has been China every day since we arrived - there is no let up in the smog, it hangs over the country morning, noon and night. We walked around the wall, also taking in the poverty. Some people are living in squalor, smog and squalor; it's a sad combination.
We got back to our hotel room ready to rest - I am fighting the flu or something of that nature, so I haven't been feeling that energetic. We realized that none of our washing had dried from the night before, and we attempted to do our best using the iron¡which didn¡¯t do much. Suitcases had to be outside our room by 10:30 pm, as we had an 8:30am flight out¡early! Hopefully the air down South is a little cleaner.
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