Terracotta Warriors - Xi'an

Well, Will is definitely getting into the swing of things at work and off he was on another business trip to an EXCITING "paper conference" in Xi'an - home of the Terracota Warriors! How convenient - we hadn't been there yet, so all it cost me was a plane ticket - short but sweet tag-a-long trip.

Mythbuster - for the rumor out there that China made up this historical site to make more money from tourism, I do have to say - I don't think so. This "tourist trap" was HUGE and I don't think they (the Chinese Government) could have come up with something this amazing. However, of course Will and I had to participate and buy the kitchy-est souvenir there - having Will's face digitally placed on a warrior body. I really wanted to have them print it to a cheap plate, but that wasn't an option - so we settled for an 8x10 photo for $12 instead.

So a little history.
The Terracotta Warriors represent only a small portion of the eight thousand strong underground army buried in front of the Emperor Qinshihuang's tomb (r. 221-207 BC) to defend him in the afterlife. 700,000 forced laborers were sacrificed to construct his tomb which was begun as soon as he ascended the throne. All workers and childless concubines were interred with him to safeguard its secrets.

I do feel that the 24 hours that I spent in Xi'an was enough - but something that you all should consider as a stop over when COMING TO VISIT US IN CHINA.