Anyone who has researched anything at all about Xi'an will know that it is famous for two things: the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the Terracotta Warriors. I was super psyched to see the first army of Terracotta Warriors that were ever discovered in the world.
As soon as we got the site, we first went through the attraction museum. The actual founder of the army was there, but they were charging 150 yuan to get a picture with the founder, a book, and a signature. I was really excited to get just a picture with the founder, but I had no desire to lug a book back to America, so I asked whether or not we could just get a picture or not. Of course not. Alas. I missed my chance.
Anyways, all I can say is that however historically amazing the Terracotta Warriors may be, in person, they are a bit boring. It's basically three pits that you look at and try to find all the warriors, snap pictures, and read the historical captions. As much of a history nerd I am, even I couldn't get into the trip. So moral of the story: go because it's the first Terracotta Army ever discovered and it's something you should see if you go to Xi'an.
The saddest part is that one pit remains entirely unexcavated because once you dig up the soldiers, the paint oxidizes and results in their colorless, stone form as they are today. Because of this, the Chinese stopped excavations so that they remaining soldiers can remain terracotta and with colors. Is it worth it though if you can't ever see what they actually look like? Apparently x-rays have sweeped the entire pit and we know how many soldiers rest there, but looking at an undug grave is just not as cool as seeing the other soldiers. Neverthless, this made the pit different from the other two, which was good for variation.
