After a busy day and just one night in Xi’an, it was time to move on again this morning and head for Chengdu later in the day. However, before leaving Xi’an, it was off for another exciting trip to see the famous Terracotta Army that was about 30 minutes’ drive away.

We arrived early, of course, but it was already busy and a case of having to find some quieter parts of the exhibition area and keep moving from one part to another. The area is huge and all inside, so with the heat and the large crowds it felt quite claustrophobic in some areas. Visiting the warriors was a breathtaking experience as we observed row after row of warriors, chariots and horses. The warriors all have different faces, and their heights vary according to their rank – the tallest being generals. The pit is the largest group of burial pits in the mausoleum of the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty and known as the eighth Wonder of the World. The warriors are also listed in the World Cultural Heritage list by UNESCO. The figures date back to late 200 BCE and were discovered by local farmers in 1974. We all spent quite a while going round all the different areas and took lots of photos. There is also a hospital area here for broken warriors that are awaiting repair.

The setting for the Terracotta Army site is beautiful, with garden areas and hills surrounding it. We walked around the outside area and then meandered past the market stalls selling warriors and other tourist souvenirs. We were actually on our way to the Terracotta Army factory store where Alison told us that the gifts would be of a higher quality, but obviously more expensive, as otherwise everything in China is generally very cheap and you get a lot for your money.

Now I must tell you at this point that Alison had some great little sayings that she frequently used during the tour that included “Sticky Rice” which she used when she needed us to hurry up – this eventually became the chosen name for our WhatsApp group. Another was “Happy Place” that referred to the toilets; although considering MANY of the toilets whilst out and about were squat toilets, even in some restaurants, we failed to feel the “happy” vibe! The hotel toilets, on the other hand, had the opposite problem in that they were so technical with numerous switches available that it was sometimes difficult to know how to flush them? I have actually adopted the “Happy Place’” for the toilets back home now, but I do get odd looks when I say I’m off there as no one has a clue where I am going. Whilst walking past the market stalls this day, Alison made a completely new proclamation as she informed the group that there were many “Hookers” in this area. We thought it was quite odd that no ladies of the night, or day, were flaunting themselves in public view. She kept saying they were everywhere when we questioned it. We then realised that she meant “Hawkers”. We had to point this error out to her which amused her so much and had her practising the pronunciation for the rest of the day!

On arrival at the Terracotta Army factory store we were given a demonstration and talk about the warriors and told how they are made before allowing us to wander freely around the store to make any purchases we wished. There were many other items on display, too, from silk pictures to furniture, which were all amazing and so well made. I did buy a small warrior, but Richard in the group actually purchased a life-size warrior that he was having shipped out to his home. His plans for the siting of his warrior sounded great, so we are all hoping he will post some photos of it on “Sticky Rice” when it arrives.

After a lovely buffet lunch in the factory, where we had the opportunity to try the Xi’an mini burgers, which were delicious, it was time to leave Xi’an and head to the station for another 4-hour train journey across China to Chengdu in the Southwest – home of the panda! The scenery on this route was much more scenic as we climbed into the hills and went through many tunnels. We had food delivered to us again for the journey.

We arrived in Chengdu during the evening and checked in to our hotel. We actually got an earlier night here after the long journey which gave us a bit of down time before our first panda encounter the following morning.