Xi'an (pronounced shee-AHN' and meaning "Peace in the West" in English) is a Chinese city in the middle of the country on the central plateau. It is China's oldest city and its first capital.
An ancient city wall surrounds the original part of the city. It was built under the rule of the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, the first Emperor of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), as a military defense system.
In 1974 farmers in the countryside outside Xi'an were digging for a well. They struck big terra cotta objects. The farmers reported them to the government, which sent in archaeologists, who discovered a huge group of buried terracotta figures. Come back tomorrow for more about the Terracotta Warriors.
3 comments:
We spent a number of days in Xi'an in January years ago, so the only other visitor to the terra-cotta warriors that day was the Canadian Prime Minister. We had the place to ourselves.
Brings back strong memories, certainly that long city wall.
On my list of places to visit one day. Some nice photos here.
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