Miramsmeanderings: The TerracottaWarriors 26.9.13

Today we went to view the Terracotta Warriors. Obviously one of the awaited highlights of the trip. So very amazing. Amazing that they were made in the first place, taking a huge number of years to do so. Each figure being different and representing accurately the soldier, horse, etc and his rank in the scheme of things. Even more amazing is the work that is being done restoring them from, mostly,piles of rubble. They were initially destroyed by an earthquake in 1556 and by fire by the Qin dynasty of the time and reburied, then were rediscovered by a farmer in the 20th century. A beautiful complex has been built to house the sculptures. A nice lunch in the restaurant there.
After we returned to Xian John and Judy and we two went for a walk along the City Wall. Most impressive wide high and solid wall with a roadway/walkway along the top. We were lucky enough to time our visit to a drum display in a courtyard beneath us. Fantastic display of drumming by male and female soldiers in dress uniform of bright reds. Then took our lives in our hands and crossed the intersection through the milling traffic safely and found our way to the Muslim Quarter. Had a look at the market street!! Narrow alleyways crowded with small shops and people selling all manner of goods. Eventually found our way to the food and restaurant street and chose a mutton soup restaurant that looked very well patronized. Made our wants known mostly by sign language and sat upstairs with the locals. We were objects of some interest and amusement as we tackled big bowls of mutton soup. It consisted of a tasty broth with a lot of glass noodles and breadlike sippets as well as pieces of tender mutton. Substantial. Wandered back to the hotel enjoying the night scenes and completed the night with an ice cream at a Dairy Queen. Yum. A very good day.

Restoration workshop