Day 9: Xi'an

Today we got to see the Terra Cotta warriors.  First we went into the factory where they make replicas.  I bought a small set to bring back for my classroom.

Then we entered the tombs.  Keeping with their policy of preservation, 1/3 of the tombs will be left untouched. 1/3 they plan on restoring and 1/3 they will uncover but leave how they found them.  There were 3 pits and each one was huge! It was hard to believe they were not found until the 70's.

One of THREE tombs this size!

Each face is different.  You can get one made to take home that has your own face on it.

What they look like without restoration.

The well that a local farmer was digging when he stumbled across the warriors. Notice it is right at the edge of the pit.

Each warrior was pieced back together.

Just like everywhere else, this place was PACKED with tourists.

In the afternoon we went to a Muslim Mosque built around 742AD.  Islam spread to China with the opening of the Silk Road.  Afterwards we visited the Muslim Market.

Muslim Mosque

Muslims pray 5 times a day.

Market

LOTS of t-shirts everywhere. I tried to get lost here. Luckily our guides made that impossible.

Shadow puppets

Shadow puppet show

Police car

In case we started to miss our grande cappuccino.

That night we had a 15 course dinner of dumplings. DELICIOUS!

After dinner we sang some Karaoke.  They had mainstream American music available but the videos were pretty funny.

They had this Karaoke place in multiple cities.