兵马俑:The Terra Cotta Warriors
The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century.Work is ongoing at this site,which is around 1.5 kilometers east of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum,Lintong County,Shaanxi province.It is a sight not to be missed by any visitor to China.
The museum covers an area of 16,300 square meters,divided into three sections:No.1 Pit,No.2 Pit,and No.3 Pit respectively.They were tagged in the order of their discoveries.No.1 Pit is the largest,first opened to the public on China's National Day,1979.There are columns of soldiers at the front,followed by war chariots at the back.
No.2 Pit,found in 1976,is 20 meters northeast of No.1 Pit.It contained over a thousand warriors and 90 chariots of wood.It was unveiled to the public in 1994.Archeologists came upon No.3 Pit also in 1976,25 meters northwest of No.1 Pit.It looked like to be the command center of the armed forces.It went on display in 1989,with 68 warriors,a war chariot and four horses.
Altogether over 7,000 pottery soldiers,horses,chariots,and even weapons have been unearthed from these pits.Most of them have been restored to their former grandeur.
The Terracotta Warriors and Horses is a sensational archeological find of all times.It has put Xian on the map for tourists.It was listed by UNESCO in 1987 as one of the world cultural heritages.
华清池Huaqing pool
Huaqing Pool is located at the foot of Lishan Mountain,about 35 kilometers east of Xian city.It can be conveniently visited on returning from the Terracotta Army site.On arriving at the Huaqing Pool,one is struck by the distinctive features of traditional palaces of the Tang Dynasty.The palace is called Huaqing Pool because it has many pools and hot springs.Willow branches droop gracefully down to the water of the pools.Pavilions,bridges and pools together constitute a most elegant palace.It was a rainy day when I went there and the whole palace was enveloped in mist:it made the scenery even more beautiful.
It is famous for high-ranked imperial concubine Yang in Tang Dynasty.Yang Guifei was bathing in this place and was loved by the emperor ,so he built a lot of beautiful and magnificant palace there!