Day Eight: Terracotta Warriors and Banpo Village

Our day started with an early breakfast and check out from our amazing hotel, then we were on our way to see the Terracotta Warriors - now known as the eighth wonder of the ancient world. Firstly, we visited a centre where we were able to watch people making terracotta warriors, both life size and gift size, using the same techniques as those used during in Qin Dynasty 2200 years ago. We also had the opportunity to make some purchases of replica warriors.

Then it was on to the warriors themselves. They are located some 1.5kms from the actual tomb of the Emperor, and act as guards to his tomb. There are three halls where the entombed warriors are located, the first of which is the size of a football stadium. The face of each warrior is unique. Each warrior also had to be reconstructed from the smashed pieces that have been recovered by archaeologists, as they were destroyed by soldiers during the Han Dynasty. We visited each of the three halls and also visited a shop where we were able purchase a book on the warriors which was signed for us by one of the four farmers who discovered the warriors in the 1970s. We also enjoyed a very nice lunch at one of the restaurants at the site of the Terracotta Warriors.

Our last site for Xian was to be a Neolithic village called Banpo. One of the particularly unique characteristics of this 6000yr old village (that the girls were very excited to learn) was governed as a matriarchal society. They learned this from the finding that the women of the village had been buried together with clay pots and the men thrown into a ditch. We were able to see the remains of some of these bodies along with their tools and a reconstruction of parts of the actual village.

It was time now to say goodbye to one of our Xian guides, Nancy, as we head off to Beijing. Our flight went by quite quickly and we were landing in Beijing by 7:30pm to meet our new local guide, Tong. Having lived in Beijing for 8 years he has a lot of experience and knowledge about the city which he's already sharing through interesting personal life stories. He's also recounted some of the grand history that we are about to see for ourselves, but first we were to stop for dinner. Our dinner is worth noting because unlike the restaurants we have typically been to, tonight's meal was a 'stronger' experience into the joy that the Chinese seem to have for making food spicy... and I REALLY do mean spicy!

We then headed off to our hotel and we are now getting rest for the first day of sightseeing in Beijing.