China, Part 3

My two favorite days in China were the days we visited the

Terracotta Warriors

and

The Great Wall of China.

A few of the Terracotta Warriors had come to my city

last year and we were able to see them up close.

Nothing compared to seeing them where they were found, though.

Each warrior has a different face and

body type. They were modeled after real people.

Their uniforms denoted their rank in the army.

There are horses, chariots and weapons among the warriors, too.

 

This is pit #1 of 3 pits! 

The government covered them with a roof before they were opened to the public.

The excavation continues to this day.

The estimate is that there are at least as many warriors still buried as

have been uncovered.

 

 

Some are headless.

Some are missing other body parts.

 

This warrior was positioned like he was holding

onto reins for the horse.

 

I didn't realize until I was on this tour that all of the warriors

were destroyed by the Ming dynasty.

They were found in several hundred to thousands of pieces

and have been painstakingly restored and positioned back in their original place.

 It was an amazing day to be able to see these where they were found in 1974.

 

In Beijing we enjoyed  a rickshaw ride through

the old part of the city.

The day we went to the Great Wall was a gorgeous day.

There aren't many "blue sky" days in Beijing,

but we were blessed to have several.

We were at the wall early

and were able to see it without mobs of people.

 

It is truly amazing that we were there!

It was difficult to walk along the wall.

The steps were very uneven

and the flat area was anything but flat.

We trudged along and saw as much as we could.

 

Can you imagine building this long before power tools,

vehicles and modern technology??

 

What a view!

We ended the trip with a tour of Tiananmen Square

and the Forbidden City.

 Above is the South gate in the square.

That is an oil painting of Mao Zedong.

It's replaced periodically with an exact copy.

I have to say,

this was my least favorite day of the trip.

There were mobs of people here,

pushing and shoving and taking our pictures.

My daughter stood out in this crowd,

being a redhead!

It was difficult to take in the meaning of the area

with all of the people.

 

 

This sign gave me the biggest laugh!

The government gave the bathrooms here 4 stars!

Maybe it's because they have toilet paper, soap, paper towels

and western toilets.

Believe it not,

these things were hard to come by on the trip,

especially toilet paper and soap.

I was prepared, though!

 

These photos are of the palaces in the 

Forbidden City.

The colors were so vibrant and beautiful.

 I kept picturing batiks as I was walking through this area.

:)

 

There is an Imperial Garden in the Forbidden City.

These rocks were taken from under water

and placed in the garden.

They were quite interesting, to say the least!

 

It would have been a peaceful place if it weren't for the

thousands of people there.

My daughter and I will have these memories forever.

It was wonderful trip

and the best part was being together.

Happy Day!