Tandem bikes, Terra Cotta Warriors and Tiny Tots

January 21, 2010

"Tandem bikes, Terra Cotta Warriors, and Tiny tots"

We woke up well rested, and ready for a day of adventure. There was so much to do and only so much time.

We boarded the bus and drove to one of the entrances in the Xi'an city wall. The wall was about 6 meters wide and made of stone bricks. It was built over 2,000 years ago! Another girl and I decided to ride tandem bikes. The wall is 9 1/2 miles all the way around. Rachel and I rode the entire way around the wall. It was so spectacular to see the different scenery from all the sides of the wall. It was so cold on top of the wall. We got to see locals setting up light up objects for The Chinese New Year. I was freezing cold and couldn't feel my hands or ears when we finished.

We left the wall and headed to a supermarket. It was Xi'an's version of Wal-Mart. While we were in there we picked up snacks, books, toys, markers and coloring books for the children we were going to visit in the afternoon. We already brought a whole suitcase full of stuff, but still had the desire and need to get them more. We spent over 800 RMB, which is around $150 USD.

After the supermarket, we drove an hour away to the Terra Cotta Warrior museum. Before visiting the museum we had lunch at a local restaurant. It was also very delicious. I was served the most tasty eggs I have ever eaten! There were a few shops outside the restaurant. However many of the items were very over priced.

We arrived at the Terra Cotta Warrior Museum and I was immediately in awe. The Warriors are in 3 separate tombs. It takes one whole year to uncover just two inches of dirt off the soldiers. It was amazing to me that each soldier had a different face than any other soldier. It completely blows my mind that these soldiers were created 2,000 years ago. These soldiers are older than Christ, legit. It was so neat to see all the soldiers lined up in complete orderly lines. Even more cool, they used to be in full color. One of the most amazing things I learned was that the Terra Cotta Warriors were discovered when a local farmer tried to dig a well. When we visited pit 2, one of the five farmers that discovered them was signing books and postcards in the museum. It was so fascinating because he is one out of two farmers still living. I was just in awe the entire time at the history and appearance of the Terra Cotta Warriors. They are so well preserved. They still have a lot of work to do to uncover the remaining warriors and tomb.

After the Terra Cotta Warriors we began our hour long ride to the Children's orphanage.

This was my favorite part of the day but was also my least favorite. These kids are not for adoption. They go to this children's village when their parents are killed or sentenced to life in prison. Most of the kids witnessed one parent killing the other. The kids are raised in the village until they can go out on their own and live. The government doesn't give any money and the village runs strictly off of donations. The place had no heating and it was very cold. Interacting with the kids was thrilling as well as heartbreaking. The kids performed traditional Chinese dances for us. We got to talk with them and give them gifts. The kids were so fun and adorable.

After the children's village we headed to a dumpling banquet and night show. The dumpling dinner was so delicious. They served me vegetarian dumplings. I have learned to eat things even though I don't know what they may be. The show was after dinner and it mocked an opera from the Tang Dynasty. There were elaborate costumes, traditional instruments and many props. It was really thrilling.

After the show we headed back to the hotel where we began packing. We will be taking the overnight train to Beijing tomorrow. We headed to bed shortly there after.