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China Family Holiday Xi’an and Chengdu
Author: Terri Berk
Our Family China tour continued with 1 day in Xi’an and 2 days in Chengdu. We departed Guilin (see Shanghai and Guilin blog) late afternoon the day before. We awoke early in Xi’an, and headed off see the Terra Cotta warriors. First stop was a local pottery factory where our children were given the opportunity to make their own replica of the Terra Cotta Warriors from clay. The only challenge was getting them back to the US in one piece. Next we were taken to the Museum of Qin Terra Cotta Warrior and Horses. We started in the museum where we viewed half size scaled models of real bronze chariots and over 1700 gold and silver pieces of ancient artifacts. From there we went to Pitt 1 and what lay before us were ten partitioning walls separating an underground army into different columns. Within the columns were more than 6,000 terracotta warriors and horses. The pit size was approximately 3 football fields in length. The warriors represented the Qin Dynasty 221 B.C to 206 B.C. It is thought that the warriors were meant to safeguard the emperor’s passage to the afterlife and protect his kingdom from attack. From there we went on to the Han Yang Tomb and Museum. Found in this tomb were color-painted nude pottery figurines, and 90 large subordinate burial pits. Next we were taken to the airport for our flight to Chengdu.
First day in Chengdu was spent at the Giant Panda Research and Breeding Institute. Please see my blog about Giant Pandas. In the afternoon we had a brief tour of the Tea House in Peoples Park and walked through Wanjiank Lau Park. The next morning we were taken to S.O.S. Children’s Village in Chengdu. We toured the property and then broke into 3 groups and each group met with an individual family. The family is comprised of one woman who dedicates her life to these orphaned children. She raises them as if they are her own. They live in a single dwelling were they eat sleep and work as a family. We lavished the children with all the treats we bought the day before. In the afternoon we were off the Beijing.