Thousands of terra cotta soldiers, each unique, and thousands of tourists including us overlooking these astonishing archeological pits. You can see the tiny tourists surrounding the arena-like setting [off in the distance at the top of the pic].
After visiting the Temple of Heaven on the morning of day 3, we headed to the airport in the afternoon and flew south west from Beijing to Xi'an. Day 4 was spent there, visiting the excavation site of the Xi'an 8000 strong terra cotta army. It's an amazing place to visit --- "an extraordinary underground treasure: an entire army of life-size terra cotta soldiers and horses, interred for more than 2,000 years" --- tiny snippet from the Smithsonian website: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/terra-cotta-soldiers-on-the-march-30942673/?no-ist
Here's a bit more info, if you're interested:
"In March 1974, a group of peasants digging a well in drought-parched Shaanxi province in northwest China unearthed fragments of a clay figure—the first evidence of what would turn out to be one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of modern times. Near the unexcavated tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi—who had proclaimed himself first emperor of China in 221 B.C.—lay an extraordinary underground treasure: an entire army of life-size terra cotta soldiers and horses, interred for more than 2,000 years
The site, where Qin Shi Huangdi's ancient capital of Xianyang once stood, lies a half-hour drive from traffic-clogged Xi'an (pop. 8.5 million). It is a dry, scrubby land planted in persimmon and pomegranate—bitterly cold in winter and scorching hot in summer—marked by dun-colored hills pocked with caves. But hotels and a roadside souvenir emporium selling five-foot-tall pottery figures suggest that something other than fruit cultivation is going on here.
Over the past 35 years, archaeologists have located some 600 pits, a complex of underground vaults as yet largely unexcavated, across a 22-square-mile area ..... "
The website [and many other links] go on to describe this incredible find, one that was listed by UNESCO in 1987 as one of the world cultural heritages.
