Heritage Tour
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Sunday, July 5, 2015 TERRACOTTA WARRIORS The whole day today was dedicated to the Terracotta Warriors: visiting the archeological site and learning the history of how they came to be as well as the efforts to restore the thousands of pieces. We learned that the Terracotta army was destroyed soon after their creation during what was known as the Farmer Rebellion back around 206 BC. As a result, the army was badly broken and many of the weapons were removed from the hands of the soldiers. The farmers then buried the Terracotta Warriors, and they were not found until 1974, by a local farmer. There are 1,000s of them, and the efforts to put them back together is like the most challenging puzzle you have ever attempted. The Terracotta Army figures excavation was regarded as one of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century. The lectures provided the history surrounding the discovery and incorporated a history that spanned the dynasties. It was really interesting. Even more incredible was the fact that nearly all the Warriors were unique in their appearance. Some of the Warriors were found with the likeness of modern day people like the ones in these photos: In the evening we went to a dinner theater. It was a pretty cool concept: they served only dumplings of every variety along with a traditional Chinese dance performance in a beautiful theater. The show was visually spectacular. We tried about 12 varieties of dumplings. Some of the dumplings were actually in the shape of the food inside. Can you guess this one? Today was our 18th Wedding Anniversary! Nice way to spend it for sure. July 6th - this was a travel day for us. We flew to Changsha in the Hunan Province and will travel to Annabel's home town on July 7th. More exciting pictures to come tomorrow for sure!