Gran-in-Waiting: Day 4/5 in Xian: The Terracotta Warriors

I am travelling at 200mph in the new 'bullet train' from Beijing to Xian and getting a good view of the factories that are generating the smog! The journey takes 5 hours and the carriage is packed. Once outside Beijing the countryside is not particularly remarkable, but there is a massive construction programme underway, with new town after new town flashing passed the window, and hundreds of tower blocks, seemingly empty. I suppose the Chinese government must have some master plan they are executing, such as a wholesale migration from peasant farming to production industry. Our guides confirm that for many workers housing comes with the job, and if the works moves the family expect to move with it.

The reason that we have come to Xian is to see the Terracotta Army. I'm not sure what to expect, although I've been to an exhibition on the topic at the British Museum and I've seen documentaries on TV. I know that it is basically an archaeological dig. In fact it is remarkably well organised for tourists (it needs to be with this multitude), but after the turnstiles, noddy train, and shop, we finally arrive at Pit 1 and I've got butterflies in my stomach. We enter and it's gobsmackingly, out-of-this-world, magnificent and wow. There are hundreds of life-sized foot soldiers, lined up in ranks and each one is unique. Pit 1 was discovered in 1974 by a farmer who was digging for a well. He lost his farm to the government, but now has a PR role for the centre and we were able to have our photo taken with him. The site is reckoned to be over 2000 years old, to guard the tomb of the Emperor, and is now a vast room with a domed, corrugated roof, where we can view the pit from the edges. The original roof had caved in on Pit 1 and many of the warriors are taken to the 'in hospital' at the back of the pit, where they are painstakingly put back together. The overall effect is a charming compromise between tourist attraction and scientific laboratory. Pit 2 is important because the roof is still intact and so the warriors may well be in a better condition. Pit 3 contains horses and chariots. There is a museum with one of each rank of warrior encased behind glass, so that we can examine the detail in close up. I'm desperately taking photos to capture the scene because this is an experience that I will remember and treasure for the rest of my life.