Eastern Tour of Xian

The main attraction in Xian is the Terracotta Warriors. I felt to really appreciate this I should do a tour. The morning of my arrival in Xian I went to the China International Travel Service at the Bell Tower Hotel to book a trip. This was also very easy as the agent spoke good English. I booked the eastern tour for the following day.

The tour included The Big Goose Pagoda, Banpo Neolithic Village, Terracotta Warriors Factory, Lunch, Army of Terracotta Warriors, a silk factory all with an English Speaking Guide! The tour was Y350, however I believe it was good value for money. The guide allowed us ample time to explore at all sites. The tour started at 9 am and went through to 5 pm.

The Big Goose Pagoda is Xian's most famous landmark. It was built to house the Buddhist sutras brought back from India by Monk Xuan Zang. At this temple we received a souvenir card of your Chinese zodiac sign which is meant to definitely bring a blessing to you.

Banpo Neolithic Village is the first museum in China to demonstrate the lives of hominids in prehistoric China. The Ban Po Site is a representative site of the Yang Shao Culture.

The parking lot at the warriors site is about a 15 minute walk to the museum. We caught a golf cart for a mere Y5 each.

The lunch was very tasty. There was only 6 of us on the tour, which made it more personal. We got to know each other over lunch. I think there were about 13 dishes for the 6 of us. The dishes although were Chinese, definitely had a western influence. I quite liked it as after eating Shandong food for so long. You kind of like something different when you travel.

Within the museum area the warriors can be seen in 3 different pits which are active archaeological digs. The site is large.

The discovery of The Terracotta Warriors was by a farmer who was drilling a well for water. The farmer was at the site on the day that I was there and signed a book for me. When he was signing my book another man took his photo, which is not allowed. The man tracked me down and asked me for my email address. He has since emailed me the photo!

Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum is located 35 Km E of the city of Xian. Three large burial pits with various characteristics were found east of the Mausoleum. It is estimated that 8 000 terracotta warriors and horse would be unearthed from the pits. To protect these treasures, the museum was built. The Terracotta Army is the 8th wonder of the world.

The silk factory was the QinJinTang factory. They showed you the whole cycle and then the finished products. Ultimately they want you to buy their produce but really there was nothing there they I particularly liked and it appeared never did the others as we all walked away empty handed.