Xi'an and the Ceramic Soldiers

Errrrr.... I mean Terracotta Warriors.

So Liz, Ana and I took the over night train to Xian on Saturday and then did a full day of touring on Sunday. We saw the Terracotta Soldiers, the Somethingorother Pagoda, the City Wall and the old Mosque. It was all very beautiful and interesting. Though to be be honest, the Pagoda wasn't my favorite, it was really too big to appreciate since you had to crane your neck to look at it and frankly, I know nothing of Buddhism so I had a very limited appreciation for the artwork. But I did learn that I was born in the year of the Rooster.... SOLID!
See, it's huge.

WOW... what is this kid doing, swimming on the floor for kicks?
The Terracotta Warriors were a crowd pleaser! They really impressed me. The Chinese refer to it as the 8th wonder of the world, gee I thought there were only 7. However the Chinese also consider the Colosseum the 8th wonder of the world...interesting, it's my recollection that it had already solidified a spot in the top 7. Huh.....

This guy just might be my favorite

The Mosque was my second favorite because the architecture is just neat. Also it was a kick watching the Muslims come and pray. How come it's only dudes praying, what gives? Chicks can't go pray too? At any rate, it was pretty.
And the wall, well the wall got cut short because it was FIGGIN' HOT AS HELL standing on that thing. So we went up and then promptly went down.....so there's that.

Perhaps the best part of Xian is the food. They're not so into rice as they are into noodles. Also they make these amazing little sandwiches they call "Hanbaobao" which translates to hamburger. The meat is a bit shoddy, but it's still really good.
Then we hopped back on the train bound for Beijing. As per usual, it was good times had by all.