I am humbled daily on this trip at how little I know of the world's history. So, I have come to Xi'an (pronounced She-in) to gain some perspective on China's history and see the 8th Wonder of the World. Before Rome and Constantinople there was Xi'an. Xi'an was the Eastern end of the famous silk road, and was the center of Chinese civilization for more than 2,000 years! Who knew?
Please indulge me in a bit of history so that I will remember what I've learned. As I understand it from my guide who spoke Chinglish, in the mid 200's BC the son of a Chinese provincial King inherited the crown at age 13. He was an amazing (and extremely harsh) leader who conquered all the six neighboring states by the age of 19, when he proclaimed himself the First Emperor of all China. Emperor Qin Shihuang created a true bureaucracy, standardizing currency, weights and measures, and language, etc. He created a civilization some 160 years before Cesar ruled the Roman Empire.
Now why is this important to today's traveler? Emperor Qin left behind a treasure as impressive as the pyramids in my opinion. Like the Pharaoh's he was obsessed with the after life and decided to literally take his great army with him to the grave. So, on my first morning in Xi'an I set off with a fun group from the hostel to see Emperor Qin's Terra-cotta Army.
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