China Day 13 - Xi'an 8/28/12
Had to get up extra early this morning o get out of the hotel by 7 am with bags in on hand and on the bus. Grrrrr. However, it was worth it as we were the first group into the terra cotta warriors museum...before it opened even. Nice to walk around and enjoy the main pit. Truly an amazing discovery. The whole complex covers over 20 square miles! So far they have only excavated a very small, small fraction of what they believe is there. The Qin emperors tomb, which is about a mile away from the warrior complex has yet to be opened, but from the historical documents, they believe it contains spectacular riches. In total we got about 3 hours to view everything including the gift shop of course. My major souvenir purchase was made here. I'll try to upload a picture later. Best of all, it will be shipped so I don't have to pack it with me for the next week. So far this has been the highlight of the trip.
Last night I took a walk around the city. Of course I went in the wrong direction and missed the best sites (bell tower, drum tower, south gate of city wall) but I experienced some of the city noises...and there are a lot of them! The pollution is awful here and is making my eyes, nose, and throat hurt. It's a shame what they are doing to their, and eventually our, environment.
From the museum we headed back to the airport (less than 24 hrs) and got on our flight to Beijing. Again, a brown haze covers the city. Staying at the Westin Chaoyong, which isn't half bad. Just across the street there is a mall with Pravda, Gucci, feragamo...the real ones, not the usual Chinese knockoffs! Commulism (communist capitalism) is alive and well here, at least for the wealthy.
Tomorrow, the Great Wall.
Sent from my iPad
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