Backpax Hostel Xi'an

... to unify China in 200 or so BC. He also built the terracoota warriors located nearby . This emperor who ruled for 38years had a massive mausoleum built for himself that he protected from intruders with rivers of poisonous mercury. He had buried alive his concubines that were childless and also academics he disagreed with. He was quite the despot in many ways. His tomb was a disappointment as it is not open to the public but what is displayed is a cheesy diorama and reproduction of his ...

... to see the process, the real ones are fired for 7 days, we were warned not to buy fakes, unless we wanted them to turn to dust, as they don't fire them for long enough. On from here to one of the highlights of my trip, the Terracotta Army, Names the 8th wonder of the world, it is truly awe inspiring. The sheer scale of all the pits (4 in total) and the endless rows of figures, each one different, I was completely speechless. I used up quite a bit ...

... full day of sightseeing, as we were to visit the Terracotta Warriors. This is one China's most famous attractions, probably ranking up there with the Great Wall or Forbidden City. As I have to go meet for a group presentation (yes we actually have class work to do here), I will try and write on this later. It looks like as my travels continue it will be increasingly difficult to keep up with this blog as the internet and time become increasingly scarce resources. I will do my best though.

... visiting Chengdu first, as opposed to Beijing, but changed my plan at the last minute, thus avoiding the earthquake by pure chance. It actually turns out I was on the Great Wall of China when the quake hit, possibly one of the safest places to be! Yet I have continued my planned route south towards the earthquake zone and I'm now in Xi'an, where we are expecting some aftershocks this afternoon. So, the good news is at ...

... cutter. It was obvious why we went into this house because after she spoke with us downstairs, we all went upstairs to her studio so we could buy some of her artwork. This woman also had a special talent which involved cutting paper into amazing and intricate designs. We watched as she cut up a piece of paper into some design and then I would say 50% of the students bought some of her art. In another home we visited ...

... look at the sights, although not always as close as you'd like. Apparently, the farmer who originally found the place wasn't too fond of folks photographing the warriors, so it used to be that you could just photograph things on the grounds, etc., and then you could walk around and see the three "pits" where the warriors are. Pit 3 is the newest to be found but has been about half excavated. Pit 2 is a very small area with just a few of the statues. Pit 1 is the largest and most ...