"Visiting the terracotta warriors" Topic

Any tips – do's and don'ts?

I am going as part of an organised tour so won't have control over timings and the like

Don't fall in beside them and don't try to sneak one out in your rucksack.

From what I've read, you may want to take binoculars.

H Just seeing them in mass is a good enough reason for going You will be surprised by the size of the pits Think football fields under glass There are several buildings with a number of pits so make sure you see the ones with the chariots and officers

The tour should cover the various pits including the chariots The museum is good and there are examples up close and painted reconstructions The chariot reconstruction is very good.

A stairway lets you go down to the floor level and that will really show the details. Binoculars as suggested and a good telephoto lens for your camera will help. The museum shop also has a good selection of souvenirs and books

Read this WIKI article before you go as it is a good primer
link

If you have time and again the tour should do it is a visit to the Xian City walls and the various quarters An overnight stay will give you the opportunity to explore Xian itself The Muslim quarter is particularly atmospheric and you can get some of the best noodles in China there

I would like to add some advice for visiting China The most important thing to remember is the famous line from the Wizard of Oz " We are not in Kansas anymore" China is simply China and you are not going to change it so learn to live with it There will always be crowds and lots of people trying to sell you something Keep cool and enjoy the experience The most important thing is to enjoy the trip

My advise would be to appreciate the greatest wargaming collection known to man:

Kid becomes emperor, has hundreds of thousands of subjects assemble his toy soldiers for him, then gets burried with them. All in 1:1 scale.

Truly inspiring.

Have they located the kid yet?

yes they know where the mausoleum is but will not open it According to various sources the tomb is booby trapped and the degrading mercury used to make stars and rivers in a grand map of China has filled he entire tomb with poison gas.

There is also the legend that Qin Shi Huang will come back and take over China once again I suspect that the Communist Party does not want to take the chance They have taken some radar scans and have a general idea of the layout

Hasn't Indiana Jones been there yet?

If he hasn't maybe he should.

You've got to go to the Shaanxi History Museum! Covers about 90% of China's history, stunning exhibits, and up to modern standards as far as a museum goes in terms of lighting and presentation of objects. It puts a lot of the museums in Beijing to shame.

As a side, I have visited a number of cities in China and Xi'an is probably my favorite.

If you find a clean western toilet, use it, whether you need to or not.

Yes, Xian is a gas.

It would be nice if the OP could come back and acknowledge the effort posters have made to answer g his query

He will

Hi all

Had a very interesting visit. The initial impression of the main chamber is a real wow moment and the half scale 'chariots' – more like command vehicles I think – are very well presented.

Xian city walls are also impressive probably about 15 – 20 yards wide at the top.

There is an interesting new documentary on the subject suggesting that the techniques used and sculpting style may have been inspired by or even supervised by 'Greek' craftsmen. See the attached link link

Although it may be heresy to say this on TMP the absolute highlight of the holiday was the Chengdu Panda reserve. Beiging was a bit of a disappointment but there was lots to see in Shanghai.

Most Chinese in the cities at least seem pretty well off and it is a very materialistic society. There is also a strata of very poor, mainly older people who seem to make a living out of going through the bins.

All in all a very interesting and enjoyable holiday.