Xi'an: Land of Giant Action Figures

After Beijing I flew to Xi-an, in Shaanxi province where I spent four days.  Sadly, while in Xi-an I purchased a memory card which turned out to be defective so I lost all the photos I took here and for the next few stops as well.

:(

Anyway, here are some higlights with accompanying internet-sourced photos!

Terracotta Army:  This tomb full of giant action figures from the 3rd century reminded me of the epic 'set-ups' from my childhood.  Sure, it was full of tourists, but the main hall with thousands of restored warriors was pretty cool.

Xi'an walls:  The old city of Xi'an is surrounded by a giant rectangle of walls built in the 14th century.  Nowadays, these make for a perfect bike ride around the city complete with panaramic views of the concrete towers rising in all directions.

Wild Goose Pagoda:  I met up with an awesome local one night through couchsurfing and went out for a meal of delicious soup dumplings (jia san bao zi) before heading over to the Wild Goose Pagoda for an epic nighttime fountain + light show.  Thanks Lixin!