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Drum Tower
Smaller than the Bell Tower, it is just near the Great Mosque and marks the entrance to the Muslim quarter.
Great Mosque
One of the largest mosques in China, this building dates back to the 18th century. The mosque is still regularly used, with several prayer services each day.
City Walls
Built on the remains of the Tang's Forbidden City during the Ming dynasty, the wall has a total length of 14 km. It is about 12 m high, and about the same width at the top.
Big Goose Pagoda
A bit south of the city wall is the Big Goose Pagoda. It was built in 652 after the holy monk Xuan Zhang returned from his journey to India where he fetched the holy scriptures. This journey has found its way into the great Chine classic 'The Journey to the West'. Xuan Zhang translated the whole scriptures into 1335 volumes of Chinese text. It is 64 m high and built out of wood and brick. It is possible to climb to the top.
Little Goose Pagoda
With 43 m high smaller than it's big brother, the Little Goose Pagoda is not far away. It was built in 707, also to hold holy scriptures brought back by another monk. Although its top has been destroyed by an earthquake in the 16th century, it is still possible to climb to the top.
Banpo Neolithic Viallage
Discovered in 1953, the remains of a village inhabited at the time of about 4500 BC to 3750 BC by the earliest settlers in the area are beautifully displayed with labels in both, Chinese and English.
A trip to this village is often combined with a visit to the Terracotta Warriors.
Terracotta Warriors
In 1974, some peasants digging a well by chance uncovered one of the greatest archaeological sites in the world. During his reign (from 247 BC until July 210 BC), Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of China built himself a mausoleum with more than 8000 terracotta warriors guarding his dead body, not two of them looking the same.
There were two walls around the mausoleum, the inner was 1355 m long and 850 m wide, with a circumference of 3870 m. Originally a hill of 150 m, the mausoleum itself is now (2200 years after it has been built) still 50 m high. It covered an area of no less than 350 x 345 m². There are three main pits with terracotta warriors inside.
Pit 1 is 230 m long and 62 m wide, and is the main battle formation. Pit 2 is in the shape of an L, 96 long east-west and 84 m long north-south, making up another battle formation of mixed arms. Pit 3 is U-shaped. It is generally believed that pit 3 is the commando post for the battle formations of pit 1 and 2.
A fourth pit has been found during June and July 1978. It is shaped in the fashion of the Chinese character zhong (middle). In December 1980 two bronze chariots with four horses has been found. They are half life size, with one chariot being 3.17 m long and 1.06 m high. It weighs 1241 kg and is made of 3462 components, of which 1742 are of bronze, 988 of silver and 732 of gold, and is beautifully painted. The horses are 91 and 93 cm tall and 110 to 115 cm long.
There are four main category of figures, chariot warriors, infantry men, cavalrymen, and horses. There are generals, middle ranking officers, lower ranking officers, ordinary soldiers and armoured warriors. The latter can be further divided, according to their headgear into warriors with a square scarf, a cylindrical bun, a flat bun and kneeling warriors (crossbowmen). All in all, there are over 130 battle chariots, more than 500 chariot horses and some 116 cavalry horses. The horses are 2 m long and 1.72 m high.
The entrance fee is exorbitantly high (for Chinese prices), but still worth it. It is possible to buy small replica of the figures for a couple of Yuan. Remember to barter.
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