Gallery - Xian City

Xian was the Chinese capital from the 11th century B.C. to the 10th century A.D. Its Islamic mosque was built in the eighth century. There is a giant panda, remnants of a 600-year-old Ming dynasty City Wall, and Bei Lin, a museum with a huge collection of stone carvings with ancient calligraphy. Seven miles east of the city are the remains of the neolithic Banpo Village, now a museum. The buried terra-cotta warriors of Qin Shi Huangdi (259-210 B.C.) was discovered in 1974. Emperor Qin was the first emperor who unified China's divided territories into one nation and standardized its written language. He was also the one who ordered to build the Great Wall. The actual burial mound has not been excavated because its treasures are considered too delicate. Visitors can see in a nearby building the terracotta army of 8,000 fully armed warriors who guarded the imperial tomb. Each sculpture has a distinct facial expression, with arms and armor suitable to his rank. In actually life-size, they are the most important archeological find in the country.