Terracotta Warriors and Xian

After Beijing, we took a train to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Warriors. This was a place on Zac's and my "must see" list as we had learned about it at an exhibit at the ROM a few years ago and, more recently, Zac had learned how the warriors were made during a visit to the Gardiner Ceramics museum with school. 

A previous Emperor of China had 8000 life-sized warriors constructed to protect him in the after life. The warriors were only re-discovered about 40 years ago and are still being excavated. Of all the historical sights we have visited, it was the one that Zac has been the most interested in intellectually, probably because he had the most background knowledge beforehand. 

Danny had visited the site many years ago in 1988 and was amazed at both how much more had been excavated and also the tourist infrastructure that has been built in the years since, as tourism by the Chinese has only emerged in the last 10 years or so. 

Other highlights in Xian included visiting and eating in the Muslim quarter:

And biking around the walled city:

Staying at an AirBNB apartment in a non-tourist area of the city gave us lots of time to interact with locals and shop/eat at local markets. 

Outdoor bakery:

Next stop: Shanghai 

Hutongs of Beijing

I had heard about the Hutongs of Beijing as being amazing places to visit to experience the cultural life of the city but wasn't able to visit one during our last trip. So this time, when we had the chance to stay in a Hutong through AirBNB I jumped at the chance. 

We had a fantastic apartment that slept 4 comfortably (Cousin Hui Hui was travelling with us), was beautifully decorated and had a full chef's kitchen. Our host, Lil, was a chef and previous food editor of TimeOut Beijing (a cross between Now magazine and Toronto Life) so provided many great foodie tips on where to eat. 

Cousin Hui Hui:

Our chefs kitchen:

I loved walking around the hutong and trying to peer behind the doors to see what was behind. Our neighbours ranged from young Chinese hipsters, to Grannies in pajamas taking care of toddlers, to theatre goers and students as the top Chinese theatre school was just doors down. 

Pictures from our hood:

Other Beijing highlights included The Great Wall:

Listening to musicians play in the park overlooking the Forbidden City. 

Eating Beijing Duck:

Visiting the Olympic stadium, "The Bird's Nest":