Travel Log: Xi'an, China

China content continues today! If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that in November I took an amazing trip to China. My husband and I spent 17 days (including travel days) exploring several regions of this massive country. We visited Shanghai, Zhangjiejie National Forest Park, Tianmenshan National Forest Park, Beijing, the Great Wall of China, Xi'an, and Suzhou. Xi'an is one of the oldest cities in China and one of the Four Great Ancient Capital Cities. It was a key city on the ancient Silk Road and the home of the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huangdi, in the 3rd century BC. Qin Shi Huangdi had his tomb and army of terra cotta warriors built and buried in Xi'an, and today the city is the second most popular tourist destination in China. Please continue reading to see more photos and details of our visit to this historic capital city.

After spending four nights in Beijing, we flew from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) to Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY). The flight was approximately two hours, arriving into Xi'an early evening where we took a Didi (the Chinese version of Uber/Lyft to the Ritz Carlton Xi'an hotel (approx 45 minutes). The following day we hired a guide and driver for a private day tour of Xi'an's famous terra cotta warriors and the walled city. They picked us up at 8:00am, and after approximately one hour's drive we arrived at the UNESCO World Heritage Site: the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperior. After a short wait in line to scan our tickets, we walked over to the first and largest Pit #1 to start our tour. Pit #1 was discovered by local farmers in 1974 when attempting to dig a well--instead of finding water, they found pieces of pottery that resembled human features. This discovery set off decades of careful excavation and this main pit contains over 3,000 figures of warriors and horses. Each warrior has unique facial features, hairstyles, armor, and footwear. It was absolutely incredible to walk through Pit #1 and get a sense of how the warriors looked back when they were initially created and placed in the emperor's tomb to guard him in the afterlife.

A section of Pit #1 (the largest pit) is devoted to a "surgery wing" where warriors and horses are reassembled using AI technology before being placed back in their original rows. Technology has come a long way since the 1970's when archeologists had to visually guess how the pieces fit together. These days, they can scan the pieces and AI will predict how they should be fit together--making the time in the "surgery wing" so much shorter/faster!

Pit #2 contains more horses and warriors, and Pit #3 contains a command center with what have been identified as higher ranking terra cotta officers. Additional advancements in technology have also helped archaeologists now better preserve original paint color on warriors. Our guide shared that previously when terra cotta warriors were unearthed, their paint color disappeared in a matter of seconds. However, there is now technology developed in Germany such that the warriors can be immediately wrapped and some of the original paint color can preserved--you can see a couple of photos with preserved paint below. 

After our visit to the Terra Cotta Warriors, our guide and driver took us to lunch at a local restaurant known for long noodles. We ordered noodles with scallions and chili oil and a baked eggplant dish, and some hot tea. Everything was delicious and very satisfying after several hours walking and touring the Terra Cotta Warriors. After lunch, our tour guide took us to the old city wall entrance where we purchased entry tickets (60 RMB or approximately $9 USD) and walked in through the drawbridge. We were able to walk up a set of stairs and find ourselves on the old city wall. This wall is the best preserved city wall in China and if you decide to walk the wall in its entirety it should take approximately 4 hours.

We walked a portion of the wall before descending a set of stairs and exploring the Muslim Quarter. This area was bustling with people and the network of streets was lined with food stalls, artwork, and souvenirs. We took some time to explore and purchased some tea to bring home. I could have spent many more hours exploring this vibrant area and all of the vendor stalls.

Our day tour in Xi'an was one of my favorite days during our two week trip to China. We learned so much about the first emperor of China and his terra cotta warriors, as well as the history of this ancient capital city. Have you visited Xi'an? If so, please be sure to leave me a comment to tell me your favorite moment from your travels. If not, would you plan a trip to this city? Thank you for visiting my blog today and I hope you have a fabulous week!