5. The Terracotta Army
I remember reading about this in history books when I was younger, but I had completely forgotten about it until recently. This faux-army is made entirely out of terracotta, which is a type of baked clay. It was discovered to the east of Xi’an on March 29, 1974 but was created when Qin Shi Huang, the first Chinese emperor passed away in 210-209 BC. The purposes of this clay army was to protect the emperor in his afterlife. It is now estimated that there are 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 calvary horses. Other figures include officials, acrobats, strongmen and musicians. Neat isn’t it?
4.The Bund
The Bund is a waterfront area in Shanghai. It is home to dozens of historical buildings that overlook the Huangpu River. This view looks absolutely breathtaking to me and is one of Shanghai’s most popular tourist attractions.
3. Shigu Town
Shigu is an ancient town filled with rich traditions and history. The town was named after a stone tablet in the shape of a drum recording the merits of a headman in Lijiang during the Ming Dynasty. On the bank of the river there is a memorial hall of the Long March for the Red Army. Although the town itself doesn’t have much to offer because it is full of humble, hardworking citizens, simply the glorious architecture and nature are worth going to see.
2. The Forbidden City
This is another one of those things I learned about in history class that I never thought I would be remembering. This city, located in the middle of Beijing, served as the Chinese imperial palace during the Ming and Qing Dynasties and housed 24 different emperors. Built in 1406-1420, this complex has 980 buildings and it 7,800,00 square feet. It now serves as the Palace Museum and holds thousands of valuable antique items. The name Forbidden City comes from the fact that no one was allowed to enter or leave the walled city without the emperor’s permission.
1. The Great Wall (duh)
I think it would be a horrid crime if anyone were to go to China and not visit the great wall. It truly is an amazing work of art. I won’t bore you with the history of the Great Wall since I’m sure you already know it, but I will throw out some interesting facts! You know the wall is huge, but how huge is it? Well it’s 13,171 miles long, but only 3,889 miles are actually wall. The other parts are made of trenches and natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers. There have been a few people who have actually walked the entire stretch of the wall itself. It took one man 15 months to do so. The wall is not continuous though, there are sections that go for hundreds of miles and then just end completely and most of it is in total ruins. The wall is also able to last so long because it’s foundation was mixed with sticky rice flour! I can’t wait to visit here and get my cliche picture on the wall.
I am dying to visit the Terracotta Army as well as the Great Wall. I really want to do a bike tour along it. I love reading your passion blog because I always learn so much from it!
All of these places seem awesome! The Terracotta Army is so incredible for a couple of reasons to me. First of all I find it interesting to see how much the global culture has changed since the old times. Imagine the President of the United States demanding Congress to allow the construction of a nuclear weapon to protect him during his “afterlife.” Even in China I don’t think something like that would ever happen anymore. Yet, it is still fascinating to see the historical sites. I also find it quite interesting to see the architecture of the urban selections you made. To me, the buildings seem to be a mix between colonial style, current England structures, and of course a hint of Chinese style. It is really cool though how they border so much water. Of course the Great Wall is a must see! I didn’t know that rice flour was used as a paste though! It’s amazing just how long the wall is. Although I must admit, I am a little disappointed that China has let much of the wall simply deteriorate.