Bicycles & Pomegranates (aka) Xi'an Part 1

I have fallen in love with Xi'an. Which, for those of you who may be wondering, is pronounced something like "she-an." Home of an 8th world wonder: The terracotta army.

Which, coincidentally, very few in China know by that name. Go figure.

But we aren't going to talk about the warriors first. First I am going to tell you about a bike ride. You may be thinking that this will be boring to hear about. You may be wondering why on earth I would talk about a bike ride when that is something you can do in America. 'Who cares about bike rides in China?' you may be saying. And now I answer with a mischievous grin, "I do, especially when they're along the top of one of the oldest walls in China."

This was one of our first activities upon arriving in Xi'an. A very long time ago Xi'an was the capitol of China. And it was also a major stopover on the silk road. Therefore, it was a big deal. It was a military outpost, and somewhat miraculously, the outer wall of inner city Xi'an is in pretty darn good condition. Considering it's age mind you. Megan and Elizabeth and I rented bikes and rode the 13.7 kilometers around the top of the wall. If you ever head to Xi'an yourself I HIGHLY recommend this activity. It was so much fun. So so so much fun.

See?

 These were in order... but obviously are not anymore. You'll just have to deal with it.

And now on to the terracotta warriors!

First off, I think you should know that if you ever really want to give a whole bunch of money to some beggars with little effort, you can give it to me. They WILL find me. I don't know what it is, but sometimes I feel like a magnet. Megan and Elizabeth both thought it was a bit funny as we waited in line, and beggar after beggar would come up and start prodding me. Physically prodding mind you. Elizabeth told me it must be because I have a kind face and angelic hair. I gave her a look that hopefully told her I thought she was full of crap. As we waited in a very long line to board the bus to the warriors this is what I did. Try not to make eye contact with beggars. Highly uncomfortable....

But. We finally made it onto the bus. The correct bus mind you, which is sometimes hard to do. And we found the warriors, and thanks to student ID cards, got a significant discount on our entrance fees. Yay!

We started in pit 3. Now... I didn't know that the terracotta army was like a whole city. I didn't even know that there were multiple pits, and that pit 3 is still being excavated, so I must confess I was a little disappointed when I walked in...

But then we realized there were more pits to be explored. And when we went into pit number 2 I was sufficiently impressed:

Pit 1 however. Oh man... that blows ones mind. And this figures are in fact, life size. If life size means take the largest man you know and make him average.

 

Did you know that these amazing things weren't discovered that long ago? As in, the men who discovered them are still alive. And they stick around the museum to take pictures with tourists. I didn't go get one... but the point is, that this is a new thing. And did you also know that there are a lot of pomegranate trees around? And that all along the sides of the road on the way to the museum there are little Chinese people selling pomegranates and tomatoes. Why those two together don't ask me. But by the time Megan, Elizabeth and I left the warriors we were quite famished. So we bought some fruit... and forever more, the terracotta warriors will be associated with pomegranates in my mind. Which are a delicious fruit. I even learned how to eat them properly from some lovely Chinese friends on a train ride :)