Today we started off traveling to see the 8th wonder of the world, the Terra-Cotta Warriors. The magnitude of the display was beyond belief.
These warriors are in the process of being repaired, then they will be placed back where they were originally found, with the others.
The Terra-Cotta Warriors are estimated to be 2,200 years old and were around during the Qin Dynasty. We started first watching a quick video and browsing through the gift shop. One of the farmers who discovered the warriors was in the shop to sign his book.
Pit 1
There are three pits in the area that have different types of warriors. Pit 1 has an estimated 6,000 infantry soldiers. They are arranged in straight lines facing one direction. All of the soldiers are different in appearance.
Danielle, Laura, Kristen and Bridget pose in front of Pit 1.
You can see the magnitude by looking at the size of the people around the outside.
The entrance to Pit 3
Pit 3 is the smallest of the 3 with 68 warriors and they are all head of the forces who face each other. These statues are led by a 4 horse chariot. There was a fourth pit found but no statues were discovered.
Inside Pit 3.
The chariot of the generals.
You can see the position of the hands, they were holding reins at one time.
Laura, Nikola and Kristen.
These are the soldiers still being repaired.
Our tour guide Jeff, Ryan, Brett and Nikola
Mark and Adam trying to stay out of the rain.
The museum building.
Pit 2
Pit 2 has over 2,000 statues and holds a mix of military forces such as quick response, archers and horses etc.
Pit 2 has over 2,000 statues and holds a mix of military forces such as quick response, archers and horses etc.
The group waiting for our directions.
The front of Pit 1
Brett, Ryan and Megan take a break after Pit 3.
Inside Pit 2
Some of the warriors were placed in glass cases for a closer look
We left the Terra-Cotter Warriors and returned to the hostel for lunch.
Justin, Rob, Nikola, Kristen, Adam and Jake in front of the Wild Goose Pagoda.
Brandy and Codie outside the pagoda gate.
The Wild Goose Pagoda.
Adam, Justin and Ryan.
Stephanie and Kristen
Caitlin collected our plastic bottles off the bus to give to this old woman.
She posed for a picture with Caitlin and Danielle then asked for money after we had given her over a dozen plastic bottles.
An hour later we were off to the Wild Goose Pagoda. There are 12 Buddhist temples in Xi'an. When walking in, there were two towers, one is the bell tower on the west and is rung in the morning. On the east is the drum tower which is played in the evening. We spent about an hour walking through the grounds of the temple.
Rob, Caitlin, Jeff and Lindsay back at the hostel.
The shopping market near our hostel.
First blue skys of the trip!
The dumpling restaraunt where we ate the day before.
Upon our arrival back to the hostel we were given 70 yuan and set free for the night off. Many of the students headed back to the market to do some shopping. McDonald's was on the top of the list for many of us as we have all started to miss American food. Burgers and milk shakes helped to bridge the distance between China and the United States. Tomorrow we will meet up with the Chinese students from Jiaotong, so tonight was an early night for us all.
