terra cotta warriors

i remember learning about the discovery of the terra cotta warriors in school, and being blown away. it was amazing to finally travel to xi'an -- the ancient capital of china -- and see them in person! it is crazy that these warriors were buried underground for centuries and only discovered in the 70's by a farmer digging a well. every president since then has been to see them, and for good reason! they are amazing. they are warrior sculptures that were built for the first emperor of china when he died. the warriors surrounded his tomb to symbolize protection. there are almost 10,000 warriors. quite the discovery. we even got to meet the farmer who discovered them in 1974! they are known as the "8th wonder of the world," and we are so glad we made it to xi'an to see them.

^^ chase and our xi'an tour guide, richard ^^

^^ chase even got to become a terra cotta warrior! ^^

^^ sorry for the blurry phone picture, but this is the actual discoverer of the warriors!!

we each got to shake his hand. he went from being a farmer to a famous man! ^^ 

 ^^ loved that there were horse sculptures too! ^^

^^ one of our favorite friends in the tour group, anneke ^^

 

^^ we checked out a factory where they replicate the warriors ^^

we stayed in xi'an for a few days, so another post of our time in the ancient city is coming next. happy monday! this is a big week for husband starting his new job!

xo

see all china posts here