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Gallery
Xian - Capital of the past
| Xian was the Chinese
capital from the 11th century B.C. to the 10th century A.D. Its
Islamic mosque was built in the eighth century. There is a giant
panda, remnants of a 600-year-old Ming dynasty City Wall, and Bei
Lin, a museum with a huge collection of stone carvings with ancient
calligraphy.
Seven miles east of the city are the remains of the neolithic
Banpo Village, now a museum.
The buried terra-cotta warriors of Qin Shi Huangdi (259-210 B.C.)
was discovered in 1974. Emperor Qin was the first emperor who
unified China's divided territories into one nation and standardized
its written language. He was also the one who ordered to build the
Great Wall.
The actual burial mound has not been excavated because its
treasures are considered too delicate.
Visitors can see in a nearby building the terracotta army of
8,000 fully armed warriors who guarded the imperial tomb. Each
sculpture has a distinct facial expression, with arms and armor
suitable to his rank. In actually life-size, they are the most
important archeological find in the country. |
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