It was an early morning, the tour group planned to leave at 8:30am. The terracotta soldiers were amazing, the detail was incredible. What was quite interesting that I didn’t know was that the site is actually an ongoing archeological dig site. The workers apparently come in around 6:30pm when everything closes to the public and continue to dig up a never-ending supply of soldiers from the ground. The tour was nice and I’m glad I decided to take it. It gave me a chance to converse with other people in more substantive material, something I haven’t been able to do in a while it seems. Our tour guide was also able to give us some interesting facts about the soldiers which I probably would never have learned on my own.
A few of the facts include:
- Upward curled shoes indicate your ranking – the higher the better; if they didn’t curl at all it meant you were nothing, just an ordinary foot soldier
- Big bellies and mustaches were in at the time representing how handsome you are
- A nail in the sole of your shoe was a sign that you were married
- The ribbons on the archers indicated if you were left or right handed
After we got back I took the rest of the afternoon off to recuperate. Around dinnertime, I headed out to the Big Goose Pagoda – one of Xian’s most pictured landmarks. The area was gorgeous, at night was even better with all the lights. It was already too late to climb up the Pagoda when I arrived, but the real reason I came was because every night they do what is considered the biggest water foundation show in the world. From my comprehensive background in watching water foundation shows, I can guarantee you that this was by far the largest I’ve ever seen. It started at 8:30pm and was still shooting away when I decided to call it a night at 9. All things aside, it was actually really amazing; I think I managed to get a few good pictures and video clips. It’s on every night and free –something quite rare and unusual for China – so this is a must if you’re ever traveling in Xian.
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