Xi'an is now known for its Terra Cotta Warriors, but historically it is one of the oldest cities in China and one of the 4 Great Ancient Capitals(Beijing was another one). Over 8 million people live in the area. We stayed in the ancient walled city-but almost everything had been rebuilt in the Tang style and there was even an underground mall under the city Bell Tower.
Nearby was the 1,000 year old Wild Goose Pagoda 
and Buddhist Temple that we visited.
That night we went to the Dumpling Banquet and Tang Dynasty Show. The dumplings came out in the shape of what was inside them-this is a fish dumpling.
There were graceful and beautiful dances performed that they said were from the ancient times.
The next day we rode out to modern China's greatest archaeological discovery-the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses, which silently guarded the tomb of China's 1st Emperor for over 2,000 years! In 1974 a local farmer uncovered the first of 3 massive earth and timber vaults, while digging a well. They built special air conditioned buildings over each of these vaults to help preserve them.
So far they have uncovered over 6000 life sized warriors, horses and chariots but still have many unopened areas. Most of the statues are broken because of the weight of the dirt and have to be put back together-like giant puzzles. The Emperor's tomb(covered by a mound) is nearby, but they don't want to open it up because of the "evil spirits".
It was amazing to think how old this area was considering that now it is known for its universities, hi-tech and software industries, telecommunications companies and aerospace industry----you might want to look for a job there someday!
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