Monday March 19 - The Eighth Wonder of the World

Whew, another full day!

Wake-up call at 7:00 am and onto the bus at 9. Bryanna has the cold now, but it's not slowing her down much. We headed first to the Terra Cotta Pottery Factory where duplicates of the Terra Cotta Warriors are made and sold (in every possible size).

The children had a lot of fun "dressing" as a warrior, and even those who are usually rather shy for the camera, had big grins on their faces when it was their turn.



After viewing the various stages of the pottery making process, learning about the different styles of warriors and how to tell a general, from an officer, from a soldier, from a bowman (and purchasing our own warriors!), we again boarded the bus and headed to the site of the real Terra Cotta Warriors.

The warriors were ordered by the first Qin Emperor over 2000 years ago in preparation for his mausoleum. Experts estimate that there are approximately 8000 warriors and horses (once all have been excavated) and they are considered the 8th wonder of the world (adding to another in China - the Great Wall. The construction of the Wall was also the result of this same emperor). Another fascinating fact, and what many of us did not realize, is that the warriors (as displayed today) have all had to be carefully reassembled. When you see some of the areas that have been cleared of earth but the warriors are still lying upon the ground, you realize what a huge jigsaw puzzle it is!



It was very cold in the "pits", so we all found it very chilly to circle the enormous area (even though it is fully contained within a building). Even so, everyone really enjoyed our time here. 2000 years old, and here the warriors still stand "protecting" their emperor.

We ate lunch at the Terra Cotta Warrior museum and this was an experience in itself. The specialty of the restaurant is their noodles, which were made right in front of us. Amazing how the cooks make all sorts of noodles with only their hands - no tools or machines involved. These pictures show the men making spaghettini noodles to go in Cassidy's favourite soup (which she ate THREE bowls of today).

After lunch, we left the warriors and the large park where they are situated, and travelled back into "downtown" Xi'an. There we visited the Great Mosque of Xi'an, the largest mosque in the city and the only one open to the public. It was built in 742 A.D.

It was one of those unexpectedly beautiful places you often see in the movies and don't believe are real. You see, we parked the bus in a busy, modern parking area at the base of Xi'an's Drum Tower, walked through tiny, packed alleyways full of market stalls and vendors selling their wares and then we stepped through an archway into another world...

By the time we left the mosque, it was 5:15 and we were feeling a little weary. Back to the hotel for dinner, then a bunch of the kids went swimming, while some dads (and a grandfather) used the hot-tub before settling back in our rooms for the night.

Tomorrow our group really splits up, as some head home, and many of us head to various provinces to visit the areas where our daughters were born.

The Thompsons, Presleys and Christensens all head to Hefei, the capital of Anhui province, tomorrow afternoon and Ma Rui will be accompanying us there. Depending on our schedule, there may not be a post for the next couple of days though we'll check messages daily if possible!

To the Presley clan, your messages have all been passed along to Candice, Michael and kids and they love knowing you are following along with us. And a special hi to all my friends who are as obsessed with e-mail and blog journals as I am - I know you're out there!

Love to all of you - hope the snow is melting at home!