Today was a day filled with history. After morning devotion and breakfast, we were on our way to the Terra Cotta Warriors. Our local guide, Jessica, gave us a lot of wonderful information about the warriors which were built during the Qin (pronounced "Chin") dynasty. The first emperor unified the seven states of China, connected the existing walls to create the Great Wall and build this massive tomb with over 6,000 terra cotta figures to serve him in the afterlife. All of this was done at great expense of both resources and lives. Besides the oppressive building projects, he also unified the written language and standardized the weights and measures and the currency. Jessica said he was a complex figure in Chinese history doing some very good things and some very bad things during his reign. The museum is amazing and the students had a lot of opportunities to get good pictures of the earthen warriors. We even saw two of the five men who had discovered the burial site while digging for a well on their farm. Now they take turns signing souvenir books for people.
After the morning at the Terra Cotta Warriors we went to a number of different museums. We stopped at a art museum and learned the ancient art of Chinese calligraphy. We all practice writing Chinese characters will ink, paintbrush and rice paper. Some got the hang of it pretty quickly while others had a little tougher time. All really enjoyed trying though. After the art museum we were taken to a history museum. This was interesting but was beginning to be a lot of information for one day. Our last stop before supper was the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. This is an ancient Buddhist temple set up in the middle of the city. We spent time in the square around the pagoda and then said goodbye to our Xi’an local guide, Jessica.
We were on our own for the evening dinner and the students all ended up at the same location, Papa Johns. Mr. Sievert was ready for some American cuisine too, so he headed over there. Mrs. Leyer wanted to enjoy real Asian cuisine and found a great restaurant on the square. The kids enjoyed the pizza, a little taste of home.
Then it was back to the hotel and early bedtime since we would be flying back to Beijing on an early flight.
Today was a day filled with history. After morning devotion and breakfast, we were on our way to the Terra Cotta Warriors. Our local guide, Jessica, gave us a lot of wonderful information about the warriors which were built during the Qin (pronounced "Chin") dynasty. The first emperor unified the seven states of China, connected the existing walls to create the Great Wall and build this massive tomb with over 6,000 terra cotta figures to serve him in the afterlife. All of this was done at great expense of both resources and lives. Besides the oppressive building projects, he also unified the written language and standardized the weights and measures and the currency. Jessica said he was a complex figure in Chinese history doing some very good things and some very bad things during his reign. The museum is amazing and the students had a lot of opportunities to get good pictures of the earthen warriors. We even saw two of the five men who had discovered the burial site while digging for a well on their farm. Now they take turns signing souvenir books for people.
After the morning at the Terra Cotta Warriors we went to a number of different museums. We stopped at a art museum and learned the ancient art of Chinese calligraphy. We all practice writing Chinese characters will ink, paintbrush and rice paper. Some got the hang of it pretty quickly while others had a little tougher time. All really enjoyed trying though. After the art museum we were taken to a history museum. This was interesting but was beginning to be a lot of information for one day. Our last stop before supper was the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. This is an ancient Buddhist temple set up in the middle of the city. We spent time in the square around the pagoda and then said goodbye to our Xi’an local guide, Jessica.
We were on our own for the evening dinner and the students all ended up at the same location, Papa Johns. Mr. Sievert was ready for some American cuisine too, so he headed over there. Mrs. Leyer wanted to enjoy real Asian cuisine and found a great restaurant on the square. The kids enjoyed the pizza, a little taste of home.
Then it was back to the hotel and early bedtime since we would be flying back to Beijing on an early flight.
Next: Day 10