This was the temple we stopped at our first half day in Xi'an.  I don't know what the significance of the temple was other then it was old and nice.

My mother standing next to one of the smaller gates within the temple.  You can even start to see the pollution in these pictures...the tower is a little hazy.

On the read of the main temple was a huge mural depicting many different Buddha figures and other characters.

A close up for the Buddha mural.  It was quite breath-taking, with all of the of the rich colours mixed in with the gold.

The obligatory garden section of the temple.

The sun setting over the temple.

Not too far from our hotel, maybe 5 or 6 blocks, was a large bell tower that my father and I walked to after we had settled into the hotel for the evening.  I'm sure if any of our other tour members went out or not...but it was an interesting walk around the busy, night streets.

You could pay to "chime" the bell, a.k.a. hit it with a giant piece of wood.  This is on the main level of the bell tower.  This also gives you a view of what the pollution was really like.  None of the other picture bring it out quite the same, but the lights really add to it.  I can't remember what Canadian air is like.

This is from on top of one of the gates of the city.  You can see the wall stretching out along the left there.  It is a massive wall, wide enough for 6 horses a breast to ride along it.  Very impressive, China doesn't do anything small.  The group below was doing Ti-chi.  Also another good pollution picture.

Still at the gate, this is a replica of the Terracotta Warriors.  I figured I wouldn't be getting this close to the real things so I had better cash in on the opportunity while it was presenting itself.  There was another tour climbing up the step to the left of me, all laughing at the sight of me.  It was hard to keep a straight face.

And the Terracotta warriors, drum roll please.  They were part of Emperor Shi's tomb, from the Qin dynasty, about 2000 years ago.  The warriors were built to protect and fight for the emperor in the afterlife...

Each of the statues has a uniquely carve head and distinct body styles.  There were a number of common poses for warriors and archers and the such. There were also a number of horse and chariots carved...

In 1974, farmers digging a well, unearthed a head of one of the warriors and shortly after a massive dig was begun.  Three different dig sites are currently under works, and statues are still being found...

So far, about 8000 terracottas (warriors and horses and the such) and 10000 arms have been found in the excavation sites.  I thought it was neat, but my dad really liked it.  I think this was the highlight of the trip for him.

This was in the museum part of the dig site.  It is a replica of what the horse/chariots would have looked like in the day.  It's also a neat picture.  I like the people looking in the background especially.

This is the garden/tomb of one of the queens.  The Guy with me is one of the members of our tour group.  He and his brother were taking their mother on the trip, and we got along really well.  I think I was sort of adopted by the end.

My parents and I at the top of the stairs you can see behind the guy and me in the previous picture.

This was the summer retreat type place.  The emperor who fled here was killed as he was trying to escape up the mountain at the back.

A number of dragon head fountains emptied the water from one tier to the next in the pool in front of the main building.

Another shot of the main pool.  There was a number of cliff sides with writing on them we saw throughout our travels.  They were neat to spot.