Robin's Adventures

Few of the terracotta warriors were completely intact when they were excavated. Experts are still working hard to reconstruct and restore the warriors from the broken pottery pieces. It may take about a month to reconstruct a single warrior.

Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum has not yet been excavated and remains sealed for now. It is believed that the tomb duplicates the emperor's imperial compound and has palaces, towers, flowing rivers created by mercury, and an large assortment of valuable artifacts.

One of the best preserved of the terracotta warriors was a kneeling archer that was excavated from pit 2 in 1994. The attention to detail can be seen in the stitches on the sole of the shoes and in the hair styled in a decorative braid that is coiled into a bun standing on top of the head.

Most of the warriors originally held weapons. Most of the weapons have rotted and decayed over time, but some items, such as swords, lances, spears, axes, crossbows, and arrowheads were found during excavation and are on display at the museum.

Two of the bronze carriages that were excavated have been restored and are on display at the museum. There are about 3,400 parts, mainly made of bronze, in each carriage. Each chariot, which is believed to be the largest piece of ancient bronze-ware ever found world wide, is drawn by four horses.

Check out these noodle chefs in Xian, China as they demonstrate the process of making noodles.

Da Ci'en Temple was built in 648 AD by prince Li Zhi in memory of his mother. Da Ci'en means mercy and kindness and the temple is Buddhist. In the center of the buildings that are part of the temple is a large square with a tall pagoda called the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.

The pagoda, built with 10 stories in 710 AD, suffered major damage in an earthquake in 1556. The current structure, rebuilt following the earthquake, is seven stories tall and leans several degrees to the west.

Inside the temple there are various statues of Buddha, carved historical murals, a large sermon hall, and 15 ton bell that was cast in 1548.

Enjoy the highlights of the outdoor marketplace in Xian, China.

The Great Mosque, which was built during the Ming dynasty, is the largest mosque in China today.

The mosque has five courtyards, each with a central monument such as a gate or a gazebo, and more than 20 buildings, including a large prayer hall.

The structure is unique in that the design utilizes traditional Chinese architectural components, but the function is Islamic.

After an hour and a half flight, we arrived in Chengdu. We stayed at the Shangra-La Hotel with a nice view of the Jinjiang River. At night we could walk over to the beautifully lit up Anshun Bridge on the river.

The Jinsha Site Museum houses an archeological site for the Jinsha civilization that lived and worked in this area between 1200 and 650 BCE. The site was accidentally discovered when it was being developed for a current day real estate project.

Archaeologists have found artifacts of ivory, jade, bronze, gold, and carved stone. One building of the museum covers and protects the active dig site and another building houses and displays the artifacts that were found during the excavation.