Warriors and the Wall of Xi'an

Life in Baoji is both relaxed and exiting. The exciting things are always happening in the unseen world. Life is a little slower but it allows much time for discussion and contemplation. We had the opportunity to be in China over the May Holiday appropriately called "May Day". Chase and Marissa took Keen with them to Beijing for a wedding between two of their previous students. So while they were at the wedding we traveled and spent a day in the City of Xi'an.

Someone should have warned us about travel on holidays in China. Maggie and I now have a greater understanding of what it would be like to be ants.

Xi'an is one of the Larger cities in China. They even have a Papa John's Pizza but sadly, we missed it. Xi'an is the most notable city close to the Terra Cotta Army.

It is one of the largest and most extravagant burial sites in the world.

There are over 6,000 clay warriors buried...

not to mention horses and carriages...

pottery, tools...

and whatever else may be needed for the afterlife of a great emperor,... such as a copper crane.

Also they were each hand crafted differently. They each have a different face and were painted when buried. Check out these different hair-dos.

The dig site is not totally uncovered either. Evidently it is very expensive to preserve the warriors, and they seem to be making a killing on the tourism as it is.

After the Terra Cotta Warriors we traveled back into Xi'an to check out the Xi'an City Wall.

The wall entirely closes around the city. It almost looks like a castle. Every now and then you will come to a gate with a courtyard

or a fortification that looks like this...

Or like these...

And this is a corner post...

Along the way are many signs to tell you when you can use the phone...

Or where to exit...

And even when to go to the bathroom...

Here Maggie peers over the wall for a snap as a Chinese guy sneers in the background...

Just within the walls, all the buildings are covered with traditional Chinese roofing.

Before making the journey back to Baoji, we stopped by The Muslim Quarter, a huge market saturated with culture and all kinds of food.

In a small shop around a corner we found this man who wrote in Chinese on a scroll for us an ancient scripture about those who abide... bear much fruit!