Canaan International Xi'an

<br>We awoke this morning in Xi'an to slamming snow,snow, snow. We were off to see the terra cotta soldiers and it was cold---Alaska cold! The terra cotta solders were created 2,000 years ago and were buried underground to "protect" the soul of the Emperor Qin (pronounced "chin"). This emperor is famous for building the Great Wall. He is also famous for spending 38 years to mold, paint and fire more than 6,000 life-sized soldiers. He believed that these ...

... way to the top of Laozhai hill, its one of the limestone peaks overlooking the river. we left at 1700 just enough time to see the sunset. We knew the walk would take 30minutes to reach the top,but we didn't think it would be 1130 steps The steps were made from stone and very steep and randomly placed with edges missing here and there. Some bits were extremely dangerous, as you are walking next to a sheer drop ...

... on my map. I have come to expect this of LP guide maps so was unphased when it was not in LP China (see the story from my first Korean trip, the part about Bogsomethingerother with the shiny metallic Buddha and being chased out of monastery grounds by an unfriendly Korean monk whilst trying to follow LP guidebook instructions to get to a hiking trail). I have (after 20 minutes wandering up and down the wrong part of Fuzhou St in Shanghai) also learnt to loathe the maps ...

... really, really cute. The dinner was tasty. After the dinner we were treated to a Tang Dynasty music and dance stage show . It was lovely, really. But, I was so tired that I had trouble staying awake except for a few acts--like the Quarreling Ducks and some of the dancing and each time the show's master and mistress of ceremonies made their announcements. We were dropped off at our hotel around 9:30 pm and were set for an 8:30 start the next day.

... from my room which was enough for an hour on the internet at a place down the road. I tried to find a freephone overseas number but I had no luck. With the help of Hannah (cheers!) I managed to get the Mother on messenger and got her to ring the bank for me. After about 40 minutes they finally agreed to accept a reverse charge call - all I needed to do was call the International Operator of China. I went back to the hotel to see if the receptionist would let me use their ...

... only got to see pit 1 and 3, but it was supr cool - Pit 1 particularly! On our return from the trip we headed to Starbucks (yes in China) for some overpriced warm drinks before heading back to the hostel to plan the evening (which landed up being a chilled night in chatting to other travellers around the hostel bar) This morning we hired bikes and cycled along the length of the city walls along with a kiwi guy that we ...

... to the Terracotta Warriors for later that day. We headed off on the tour with 14 other people at 8am and had a great day. The first Emperor of China built the largest tomb in the world for himself. It was 56 square miles and took 750 000 slaves to build (all of whom were killed to keep the tomb`s location a secret)! He also made replicas of 8000 of his best warriors and inserted them into the tomb in three separate pits. He believed that the warriors ...