To Do: See Terracotta Warriors

It was on my 'To Do This Year' list.

• See Terracotta Warriors 

   

Their fame and history (210 B.C.), and the audacity of a man to make thousands of statues to protect his tomb, drew me.

I was thrilled when my fellow-ex-Kuwaiti-resident-who-now-resides-in-Korea friend said she wanted to join me in the Shaanxi capital of Xi'an to check them out.

Little did I know the incredible detail eat soldier/piece of art held, nor that they were originally intricately and colourfully painted. I also learned the extent to which Qin Shi Huang went to make sure his artists were not able to share their talents with other leaders. We were told that the artisans and probably the ruler's concubines were shut up in the tomb with him, most likely alive.

And little did I know that Xi'an had so much to offer. Besides being home to more than 7,000 terracotta soldiers, it has one of the oldest, largest and best preserved city walls in China.

Our hotel was within the walled city and we spent about 2 hours biking around it.

I also didn't know the warriors are not actually in Xi'an city proper. They take forever to get to. They took us even more time to reach because, unfortunately, I had the taxi driver take us in the wrong direction, for quite some distance. 

Luckily, after we arrived an English speaking guide found us, because I had not been able to acquire one online. She took us to a hidden away place on the grounds for fun tea tasting, before we started the tour. 

In Xi'an, we also went to a, disappointing, musical performance, visited some beautiful towers and pagodas, and meandered through the lively night market in the Muslim district of the city.

I can see why the location of this fun 3-day getaway, is one of China's top foreign tourist sites.