The Bryant Family Adventures: Xi'an - Day 3

Unfortunately, it was overcast and drizzly again today. At least yesterday was pleasant for all the outdoor sites and walking we did and today, I think, most of the things we are doing are inside.

We started off the day by going to see the Terracotta Warriors. Getting to them was a bit of an adventure though. First we took the local bus to the train station (quite an experience in itself b/c the buses are so crowded). Of course the train station is a busy, busy place and we were looking for either the mini tourist buses or the local long distance buses. But, there were no English signs pointing the way. After wandering around and being accosted by locals trying to rope us into tours, we finally found the long distance bus #306 and boarded for the hour long drive to the warriors. They collected the fare on the bus which was a bargain at ¥7 each - which is about $1. Oh yeah, and the local bus fare? Only ¥1-about $.15!

On the bus.

I should mention that while many things are still fairly inexpensive, not everything is as cheap as it was when we were here 4 years ago. Also, there are a lot more cars and less bicycles and scooters now. We were told this was because the Chinese are experiencing greater wealth and earning power than ever before. That's not to say that we haven't seen a lot of poverty still, but things are definitely different than when we were here before.

Anyway, back to the Terracotta Army. The drive there took us by the beautiful Li Shan Mountain. Even though China has so many tumbled down places, there is still beautiful scenery in the midst of it all the jumble and junk.

Beautiful Mountains

Buildings in front of mountains.

We made it in about an hour and it was as great as we had expected. We had seen the touring exhibition in London about 3 years ago and while that was certainly wonderful and informative, it was a great experience to be able to see them on their excavation site. We also saw the farmer who discovered the tomb back in 1974. He now makes his living signing books for tourists!