The last day in Xi’an was the most exciting because we were going to visit the Terracotta Warriors outside of the city. The warriors were built during the first dynasty in China for the first Emperor of China. They are around two thousand years old, but they were still wonderfully preserved. There are 8000 large warriors guarding the Emperor’s tomb, but only two thousand are visible because excavating the other ones would damage them. The first lot of warriors we went to was quite impressive. Even though there were only about twenty warriors they were all very well preserved. Its hard to imagine that these warriors have been around for thousands of years. The largest lot of warriors was humungous. The rooms must have been around 300 meters long and 50 meters wide and it was filled to the brim with warriors. The terracotta warriors were one of the most impressive places in China.

A dust storm kicked up in the afternoon and we all got masks so that the dust wouldn’t hurt our lungs. They were also extremely stylish. We biked around the old city walls which were two kilometers by three kilometers which ends up being around 8 or 9 miles. The wall was built thousands of years ago but it still stands. We couldn’t see that much because of the dust storm but it was still a great ride because we were able to see many different local people walking around the wall. The ride was bumpy because the wall was made of small stone bricks that were uneven. This bike ride was a good way to look around the city and get a feel for how big it is.

At night we all ate dinner at the hotel and we ate some lamb stew that was apparently a local specialty. It was delicious. They also had a chicken that was to die for. It baffles me that pretty much every meal I have had in China is so much better than an average meal in the United States, and at a much lower price. After the hotel dinner two of my buddies and I went back to the Muslim Street. This must be my favorite place so far in China. It has so many different smells. Some smells are great and some smells make me feel like I just ate some rotten meat. The flashing signs and the quantity of people make it a hard place to walk around in, but that is part of the fun. In China people walk differently. In the United States we give a lot of personal space and don’t bump into each other but in China it is common to get extremely close and bump into each other. That is what makes walking in China fun. You just get to walk through people and bump into them with no repercussions. I am going to Miss Xi’an and the Muslim Street because of the great food and fun walks. I hope Shanghai will be just as fun as Xi’an.