Recently in Xian Category

In 1974, a group of peasant farmers in the Silk Road town of Xian, China made a most unique discovery while digging for a well. Instead of striking water, they unearthed what turned out to be the one of the most amazing archaeological discoveries of the 20th century, an entire army of terracotta warriors. Archaeologists and historians soon descended on Xian, realizing to their surprise that the discovery was a vast memorial to Emperor Qin Shi Huang (259 B.C. - 210 B.C.), the first emperor of a unified China and the man who commissioned the building of the Great Wall. Today, visitors flock to the Museum of Qin to gaze at this amazing spectacle of seemingly endless battalions of terracotta troops, which were designed to defend the emperor in the afterlife. So far, over 7,000 pottery soldiers, horses, chariots, and weapons have been recovered from the pits, but this is a working archaeological site, so who knows what still might turn up. Guests at the nearby Sheraton Xian Hotel won't want to miss this amazing window into ancient China.