China: Day 15 - Xi'an

We were up early, for a flight from Beijing to Wuxi. Unfortunately, we were the only 2 that had been able to book the extended trip to this city.

Our new guide and driver met us at the airport, and escorted us to our hotel. A beautiful hotel that provided us with a full suite for our 2 nights in Wuxi. From our window we could look down upon a busy traffic circle with the ancient city wall a short distance further.

Next stop was a visit to the Shanxi Provincial Historical Museum. An amazing collection of artifacts dating as far back as 3000 BC. The tough part was taking pictures. Everything, as would be expected, was safely stored behind glass. Photos through the reflections and finger prints was difficult. For me the highlight was the set of warriors that had been transported from the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum.  These were not behind glass, and close enough that you could almost reach out and touch them. It was here that it became apparent that the warriors were built as hollow statues, and the heads were separate pieces carved and placed on top of the body. The neck holes were there to allow the bodies to be fired in the kilns without exploding.  For the horses, the tail was the piece loosely attached in the "vent hole".

Later in the day we visited the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. An amazing structure that dates back almost 2000 years. It was built for the study of Buddhist scriptures, and is considered the first place of Buddhist study in East Asia.  While we were there, we watched as a group of visiting monks from Japan were greeted by the head of the monastery.

In the evening we enjoyed the Imperial Dumpling Banquet Dinner and the Tang Dynasty Singing and Dancing Show.