May 13

Today was, unfortunately, a day we had to wake up early (like had to wake up at 5:45 to be on the bus at 6:10 early, I am not a morning person). So, I decided to forgo a full breakfast and instead opted to make a breakfast to go. I made the most American food I could, a bacon egg and cheese on toast. The hotel did not serve this, so I had to get all of the individual parts from around the buffet and put it together myself. It was exactly what I needed to start my day, and I was so happy.

Another decently long bus ride today but I was able to sleep a little, so it didn’t seem too long. Today’s visit was to the Terracotta Warriors. Rocky taught us some of the history of the Warriors at the beginning of the bus ride. He said that they were constructed to protect the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty after he died and in the afterlife. Then, during the revolution that ended the Qing Dynasty, the revolutionaries destroyed the Warriors. At some point soon after, a mudslide buried the Warriors until 1974 when a farmer who was digging a well a came across some of the pieces. Ever since then archeologists have been digging up the pieces of warriors and trying to reconfigure the thousands of warriors. We walked through all three pits. The first contained an entire army, which was by far the most warriors, and was primarily configured of archers, both kneeling and standing, and cavalrymen and horses but also had some of the generals. The third pit was much smaller and contained the higher-ranking generals. The second pit had not really been excavated. This is because they discovered that the warriors were actually colorfully painted and the lights and exposure in the other pits had eroded the color. Instead, they dug under the warriors and were excavating them under a layer of dirt and the original wood walls to attempt to better preserve the colors. In a separate exhibit were two bronze cast chariots and some other artifacts that were neat but not as cool as the Warriors.

In the afternoon the entire group biked around the city wall of Xi’an. I was ecstatic to get back on a bike because it has been so long since the last time I rode one. The only downside to this time was that it was really hot and there was no protection from the sun. Despite the heat, I still had a blast. There was plenty of open space with almost no one else on the wall and the surface was smooth enough that I didn’t have to worry about potholes throwing me off the bike. There were little ramps to play on and great views of the city all around the wall. By the end of it, I was a little sunburnt and electrified, the early start to the day no longer was an issue.

For dinner, Dr. Li showed us a restaurant that the recipe for their food dates back to the Silk Road and travelers would only carry bread with them. The restaurant made a lamb soup that the bread could be dipped in and eaten with. To this day it is a very historic place with a great reputation. Oh, and the food totally backed up the reputation.

And of course, we were still in Xi’an, so that meant another round of bartering for souvenirs.