Xi'an -- Terracotta Army Pit One

There's the big man himself... No, not Rodney, but the first emperor in China, Emperor Qin, who had the army built to protect him in his afterlife. Story is he also sent 300 boys and girls to an island in search of the 'medicine of eternal life'.... of course, there was none to be found, but in order to save their own lives, they fed him kiwi. 

Pit 1 houses the location of the original 1974 discovery by three farming brothers while digging a well. At that point, the farmers no longer had land to farm, so these days their (paid by the government) job is to sign autographs at the gift shop! And for US$3, they'll smile for a photo ;0)

This stop was so exciting for Rodney. He remembers as a kid going to the World's Fair and seeing a Terracotta Soldier, so to see them in real life, was pretty much a dream come true!!

The soldiers were originally standing in form of pomp and circumstance.

 

They were originally manned with real weapons, but at some point they were ransacked with the weapons being taken and the statues broken to pieces and all set ablaze.

 

 

Archaeologists are still working tediously to find pieces and reassemble the statues. We would have loved to see them working, but they only work after hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you happen to travel to China, it is worth joining the more than 5 million tourists to see them!!

Now we were off to lunch and the other two pits!!