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Bell Tower and Old City Wall – During the Ming
dynasty, Xi'an was defended by a substantial city wall and watchtowers.
You can walk on top of ancient city wall, it's quite flat and wide,
and beautifully restored. The grassy area just outside the wall would have
been a moat. In the center of the old city wall is the Bell Tower –
the bell was rung to mark times of the day. Climb up the Bell Tower,
a wonderful three story wooden tower with glazed tile roof, there's an observation
deck on second level. |
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Shaanxi History Museum – The Shaanxi History Museum
is a beautiful modern museum, with tons of exquisite Chinese treasures,
including paintings from Tang dynasty tombs in the area. The collection
is fabulous – golden bowls and dragons, jade weapons, seals and bracelets,
ceramic figures (the camels are fantastic), and don't miss the exhibit of
Tang costumes and personal ornaments. |
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Big Wild Goose Pagoda – In the 7th century, the
Tang dynasty monk Xuan Zang took off for India, collected Buddhist texts,
and returned to China, bringing the Buddhist religion with him. The Big
Goose Pagoda was built to store the Buddhist scriptures, and although the
Pagoda has been rebuilt over the centuries, it hasn't significantly changed
in appearance. Climb up the pagoda, winding stairs up seven levels
331 ft. high, with windows to look out at each level. |
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Tang Paradise (Tang Dynasty Lotus Park) – Tang
Paradise is a newly opened cultural theme park that re-creates life in the
Tang dynasty (618 - 907 AD). Explore Tang style buildings, listen to Tang
music, watch colorful dance shows, acrobatics, and martial arts demonstrations.
There are water play areas for kids, get your picture taken on the back
of a two humped camel, and in the evening, watch a spectacular water show,
a movie projected on water fountains in the lake. |
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Museum of Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses – Kids
will be impressed by the boggling terra cotta army, thousands of ceramic
warriors and horses guarding the nearby tomb of the first emperor of China,
Qin Shi Huang (Qin Shi Huangdi). A truly amazing archeological discovery,
the terra cotta warriors stand in rows in earthen tunnels, prepared for
battle (pit 1 is bigger than two football fields). The expressions on the
faces of the figures are so real, it's like staring into the face of ancient
China over 2000 years ago. |
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Spend time checking out the details of these life-size warriors,
plated armor, footgear and headgear, and Mongolian horses. Pick up the audio
tour for on-the-spot information. And don't miss the smaller museum with
a shiny bronze sword and two large reconstructed bronze horse chariots. |
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Amazing discovery
of the terra cotta warriors, thousands of pottery figures guarding
the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Find out about the archeological
site, how the figures were made, soldier's armor, weapons, and horses.
Gorgeous close-up photographs of the terra cotta warriors. (Picture
book)
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Join
a family's yearlong journey from Xi'an to Kashgar, following the
Silk Road. Travel on the caravan path to the desert oasis in Dunhang,
rest in Hami to escape winter's cold, pass through Turpan in springtime,
to arrive at the great bazaar in Kashgar. Captivating illustrations
of each city on China's Silk Road. (Picture book)
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Delightful
collection of stories from the Silk Road – legend of the goddess
of silk, Monkey mistakenly fights the dragon sent by Kuan Yin to
guard them on their journey, demons and dragons of the Taklamakan
Desert, and more. Seven stories, each from a different stop on the
Silk Road, magically illustrated. (Picture book)
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Long ago, a Chinese princess swirls her silk sleeves, like red butterfly wings. Embarking on a journey to a desert kingdom along the Silk Road, the princess yearns to take something from home. In her long hair, she hides worms and seeds of the mulberry tree, bringing with her the shining secret of silk. (Picture book)
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It's
700 AD, and another caravan is leaving Chang'an (Xi'an) to travel
the Silk Road. Follow their progress past the Taklamakan Desert,
over high mountains, through oasis cities of Kashgar, Tashkent,
Samarkand, to Baghdad and Byzantium. Find out about caravan life
and the long and dangerous journey on the Silk Route, beautifully
illustrated. (Picture book)
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(More children's
books on other China pages) |
