I think fifth grade was when I first learned about the Terracotta Soldiers. If I remember correctly, my history textbook had a picture of the soldiers, but did not mention where they were discovered. I had to visit the public library in order to learn that the soldiers were in Xi’an. Then I had to look up Xi’an in an encyclopedia to learn where it is.

If you look at our travel map, you get a pretty good idea of where exactly my family in China is (clustered in the northeast). Xi’an, though obviously in the same country, is a considerable distance inland. Residing in the USA, knowing that I would frequently visit China, but recognizing how far away Xi’an is put the Terracotta Soldiers simultaneously within and out of reach. Like I can get there, but not quite. I think that’s what makes a bucket list item. There has to be some realistic possibility of doing/seeing it, but a greater element of unlikelihood.

Regardless, I crushed a bucket list item today. Cindy and I walked to the bus station and boarded a packed bus for the Terracotta Soldiers, roughly 80 minutes away from Xi’an. They were discovered in 1974 by a farmer who was digging a well. He unearthed a few pottery pieces and the rest is [was? will be?] history. There are three discovery pits, ascending in numerical order but descending in size. Our Lonely Planet guide suggested that we visit them in reverse numerical order so we were properly awed by the last pit. That sounded stupid to me. I had waited 20+ years to see this thing. I wanted to experience maximum wow right away. If I built up to maximum wow, then my delta wow from Pit 2 to Pit 1 would be < than my delta wow going from nothing to Pit 1.

Pit 1

Wow

Pit 1 is basically an airplane hanger. They built an IKEA-sized building over the archaeological site and created a raised walkway around the dig for tourists. Those tiny little things walking along the perimeter in the first photo are people. That gives you a sense of scale. A lot of the nuances of the Terracotta Soldiers are common knowledge at this point. For example, no two faces look alike (they were modeled on actual people). They held real bronze weapons. They were organized according to rank and role (i.e., archer, chariot, horsemen), just like a real army.

Cindy is moderately impressed

Back at the hostel, it was time to take care of logistics. I began applying for our Uzbekistan visas while Cindy searched for our next hostel. Both activities were unbelievably annoying. We managed to book a hostel after over an hour, but the visa process could not be completed without an electronic wire payment, which would have to wait until the next day. Whatever, I crossed off a bucket list item. Time to celebrate. We reconvened with Marine and found a dumpling restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet. We ordered shrimp dumplings and lamb dumplings, both of which were delicious.