Sea Date, March 9, 2024

What an amazing sight! This army was built to protect Emperor Qin, China's first emperor, in the afterlife. The site is 22 miles square. Only a small portion has been unearthed. It was discovered in 1974 by a farmer digging a well. The Terracotta Warriors are actually quite colorful, but when exposed to the air, the colors disappear in under an hour, so the Chinese authorities are not unearthing anymore sites. They are working on a chemical process to protect the paint and then will resume excavation. The warriors are actually painted on lacquer. The lacquer falls off when exposed to air.

The process of seeing the Warriors is interesting. Our guide told us we needed to push and use our elbows - not my style! There is a crush of people, mostly Chinese tourists, trying to get to the fence to overlook the Warriors. I felt I was being crushed at times. They really, really need Disney line engineers as consultants.

The warriors had been attacked, broken and burned shortly after being built. Warrior doctors have been rebuilding them for 40+ years. We visited the Warrior Hospital. A few of the Warriors are preserved under glass and you can really see the detail since you can get so close.

Each soldier is unique. Facial recognition software confirmed none are the same! One theory is each artist used an actual soldier as a model.

We then saw a VR movie and a regular movie about the history of the Emperor and the Army. This was a truly a world class sight.

We walked through the food stall area and stopped and had lunch in a lovely tea room. Off to the caves where we used the same material used for the actual warriors to make our own mini-warriors. Jim's was the best, of course.

Then off to visit the Wild Goose pagoda. Again very crowded, the majority of tourists were from other parts of China. The young Chinese, like the young Japanese, enjoy dressing traditionally.

Next, off to the Wild Goose Pagoda. It is a monumental Buddhist pagoda located in southern Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. It was built in c. 648 – c. 649 during the Tang dynasty and originally had five stories. It was rebuilt in 704 during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian and its exterior brick façade was renovated during the Ming dynasty.

One of the pagoda's many functions was to hold sutras and figurines of Gautama Buddha that were brought to China from India by the seventh-century Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator Xuanzang. Today, the interior walls of the pagoda feature engraved statues of Buddha by the renowned 7th-century artist Yan Liben. It is part of the Silk Road experience.

That evening took us to a dinner show - The Story of Empress Wu. Food was fabulous and the music, dancing and acrobatics were reminiscent of the Olympic opening ceremonies. I loved the costumes. The Tang Empire of China was a dynasty that ruled from 618 – 907 A.D. and is regarded as a golden age of Chinese arts and culture, reform and advancement. During this time, one of the imperial concubines, Wu Zetian, came to rule as empress – and subsequently became the only woman in more than 3,000 years of Chinese history to rule in her own right.

Wu’s life is not without controversy. Legend says she was manipulative, promiscuous, ruthless and cruel, even murdering members of her own family. Yet during her 40-year reign, China grew larger and more powerful than ever before.

At the end of the evening, Jenny walked us back to our hotel. We were very lucky - this was the last night of the celebration of Chinese New Year. It was quite congested as many citizens were out celebrating. I was so careful crossing the chaotic street and then relaxed when I got to the sidewalk and started looking at all the light. Foolish! I got him by a motorcycle on the sidewalk and then yelled at! Apparently when the street lights turn red, the motorcycles leave the street and hop up on the pavement so they don't need to stop. Pedestrians, except me, know to watch out for motorcycles from behind. Ah well, not hurt, and enjoyed a lovely stroll through the center of Xian becoming a part of city life. What a day.

f Chinahen the mysterious Empress Wu reigned. Enjoy the imperial court

traditional dances and stunning costumes of ancient China.e your seat for a spectacular show of music and dance that highlights the golden age
of China when the mysterious Empress Wu reigned. Enjoy the imperial court
music, traditional dances and stunning costumesynasty Show – The