Xi'an: the muslims

What we also enjoyed a lot in Xi'an was the Muslim Quarter. For me, it was quite a surprise to find such a big muslim community in China. When I think of China, I think of Buddhists, Confucianists and Taoists maybe, but not Muslims... I picture temples, not mosques... But, we are never too old to learn, right? Xi'an has a beautiful mosque and the muslim quarter is absolutely magnificent: narrow alleys lined with butcher shops, bearded men with white skull-caps sitting on their front steps and food stalls selling all kinds of Islamic delicacies. The best, however, is the seemingly endless number of shops selling all kinds of souvenirs and 'brand' goods! Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren... all genuinely "made in China"!!

Xi'an: the warriors

After regaining our strenght in Changchun, we traveled to the city of Xi'an. Xi'an (or 西安, which litterally translates as 'safe west or western peace') is located in the centre of China and is one of China's major attractions. Xi'an is one of the oldest cities in China and has been the capital of some of the most important dynasties (it was the capital of the Qin, the first dynasty to rule over all of eastern China). Xi'an was also the eastern terminus for the caravans of the silk road. What draws most of the tourists to Xi'an, however, is the Army of Terracotta Warriors. Needless to say this was also our main reason to go there.
The first underground vault containing thousands of life-size terracotta soldiers was discovered in 1972 by some farmer (who now hands out autographs to tourists!). Since then, two more pits have been discovered. Actually, all the vaults had collapsed by the time of discovery and so, all but one of the soldiers were broken. Even today, archeologists are busy trying to put all the pieces together (according to our guide it might take another 2 generations before all the work is done). The vaults looked like huge pits (I had always imagined them to be more like underground caves... don't ask me why...), but the soldiers were absolutely magnificent! Every face is different and the details are amazing! If you are ever in Xi'an, make sure to go and see them!! We bought 2 miniature soldiers made from the same clay (or so they told us) as the real ones. (Again, according to our guide, they will become collector items since the they are running out of clay... )