"Xi'An - The Terracotta Army Barracks are here" Xi'an by shivan

Xi'an Travel Guide: 1,223 reviews and 2,838 photos

A scenery that has no comparison in the world

Xi'An is a large town located in the Shaanxi region, central China, and counts 7 million inhabitants.

Xi'An is the ancient capital of the Chinese empire, and for these reasons many monumental tombs are present here.

An harsh controversy popped out in the seventies when, I'm dealing with alternative archeology now, an archeologist calculated the presence of ancient monuments in the Shaanxi area, ask me how he did it if you're curious, but the chinese government gave no permission to explore.

Satellite investigations evidenced the presence of what are called "white pyramids" exactly where the professor said they must be.

Now, travelling to the Terracotta Army site, I saw many tombs of ancient emperors that have the shape of a short pyramid. I actually don't know if what I saw is what that professor discovered but for sure there is so much history to explore...

The ancient chinese empire dates back to millennia b.C. and all this makes this area so interesting.

The Terracotta Army

the head of a warrior

Shaanxi, and Xi'an in particular anyway are well known all over the world for the incredible Terracotta Army.

A bit of recent history.
As I said in my China page, most of China is still rural, and the Shaanxi area makes no exception to this.

Well, a farmer was working on his wheatfield and TONK! he hit something unusual.

Digging and digging he found the statue of an angry warrior with a large bump in the head.

Enlarging the hole he found many friends of that warrior. He immediately informed the authorities.
Doing this, he made a great gift to humanity but I think a bad deal for himself.

The whole area has been confiscated, and the poor farmer is now an attraction himself of the Terracotta Army Museum, that has been erected exactly where excavations took place. Works still go on because the presence of more statues has been ascertained.

He is still there, so old and almost blind, sitting all the day at the market signing booklet for tourists.

Chinese faces' expressions are diffcult to interpret but I felt he is not so happy about is current condition, and that was not a good feeling at all.

Pros and Cons

Pros:The joy to see an unique monument
Cons:Bad atmosphere
In a nutshell:Don't miss it, no excuses

Last visit to Xi'an: Feb 2003
Intro Updated Sep 3, 2003
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Reviews (15)

The Xi'An museum Things to Do (12)

The Xi'An museum is absolutely amazing. It tells the story of the area since stone age to the japanese invasion in the... more travel advice

Traffic Warnings Or Dangers (1)

Traffic is not huge there, it is chaotic. Is there a traffic light red? They horn and pass. Is there a pedestrian... more travel advice

The main square Things to Do (12)

This is a pic of the main square. In the distance the temple with that big drum is visible. The Drum was used to call... more travel advice

The Belltower in the Ancient town Things to Do (12)

This is a pic of the Belltower (see the bell?), sited in the exact center of the ancient Xi'An. The Ancient town is a... more travel advice

Tourist Traps (2)
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Comments (15)

atobol Dec 9, 2005 at 6:31 PM Report Abuse

Great photos. Even though I lived here for one year, I never made it to the warriors. One day...
JetlagCity Nov 22, 2004 at 11:32 AM Report Abuse

Fantastic pictures, Nicola! This is what I would most like to see in China someday, even more than the Great Wall. Very good tips!
Paul2001 May 19, 2004 at 5:00 PM Report Abuse

Excellent photos of the Terracotta Army. China is high on my list for place to go to. Very helpful tips with this regard.
craic Feb 5, 2004 at 6:04 AM Report Abuse

They are so incredibly beautiful! Thank you for this great page.
nepalgoods Nov 9, 2003 at 12:05 AM Report Abuse

Very interesting! You have a lot of pics of the Terracotta Army.
dr.firas Oct 22, 2003 at 2:13 AM Report Abuse

Reminds me of the Tsaun Tszu war academy! Great statues and explaination!
Guantanamera Oct 2, 2003 at 12:22 AM Report Abuse

Something about Xi'an reminds me of the lovely Zhang Ziyi, a Chinese actress who I'm sure you would appreciate... for her many talents, of course...!
Lalique Sep 17, 2003 at 12:03 AM Report Abuse

Great page, Nicola!! Absolutly fnatastic. Have heard a lot about Terracota Army but never ever had a glimpce of it, now I have!
herzog63 Sep 13, 2003 at 10:56 AM Report Abuse

Great account of your visit!! I went to Xian but was so sick I never made it to the warriors!! LOL
Roeffie Sep 9, 2003 at 2:22 AM Report Abuse

Must have been a great experience! I hope to get there in 10 years or so!