Last night in Xian, May 26th 2007

We visited Terra-Cotta Army today. This was built 2200 years ago by emperor Qin. There was a belief among Chinese emperors that when you die if all of these clay made soldiers, horses etc. are buried under ground with you you still maintain your power even after death. The most interesting part about this site every single soldier, horse and part of the army is unique. Every soldier's face is different with different emotions and there is amazing amount of detailed work that has been done on it. All of these statues were painted but because they are so old, the oxidizing effect takes away the color within 30 minutes after these statues are exposed. We have not been able to find the technology yet that can stop this oxidization. Enjoy the pictures. Me in front of the Army.

Right in front of this sign a farmer found a piece of a horse's statue. He was digging the ground to find the water because during 1970s, Xian had water shortage. After the farmer found the pieces government was notified and the whole Terra Cotta Army was found totaling more than 10,000 soldiers. Can you believe it? This circular roof is one piece and is made out of bronze (very expensive) which looks like next to impossible task 2200 years ago. Chinese workers must have had very good knowledge of metallurgy and alloy combinations. The picture of old Xian city inside the city walls. The total was distance is almost 13 Kilometers. Chinese emperor had built this wall so the city inside can be safe. I actually had a bike ride on this wall for almost 2 hours.