For the last stop we flew to Xi’an, home of the famed Terracotta Warriors. Xi’an is a two hour flight inland, and it is fueled by the surrounding coal plants. As we were landing you couldn’t help notice the smog that shrouded the city. Our guide told us that in Xi’an they would rather breath the dirty air from the coal plants than die from radiation that would result in an accident at one of the many nuclear power plants around which Shanghai is built. Hmm…that’s an interesting choice.

In Xi’an we visited a large Buddhist temple, museum, and calligraphy studio before hitting the sack early. We wanted to be well rested for the main event tomorrow.

The Terracotta Warriors are located about a 90 minute drive outside of Xi’an. The huge archeological site was discover in 1974 when a farmer discovered the clay army while digging a well. Ever since, the Chinese government has been excavating the area and creating a popular tourist destination.

The short story behind the Warriors is that the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang began creating the clay army when he began his rule in 210BC. The army of well over 8,000 figures was created to protect him in the afterlife. The army consists of soldiers, officers, horses, chariots, and more were buried 23 feet deep. Since its discovery hundreds of artifacts have been restored. It is estimated that it will take over 100 years to fully excavate the area.

It was a long journey to Xi’an but seeing the Warriors and the massive pits in which they are buried was definitely worth the trip.

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Shanghai is everything you’ve heard. It’s cosmopolitan, bustling, and crowded. It’s tall, beautiful, modern buildings and jam-packed city streets.

It is modern China. We only had a day and a half to explore and we could have spent a lot more time here.

Our evening cruise on the Huangpu River was a great introduction to the Shanghai skyline. At 6:00 every evening the buildings along the river light up at a cost of $400,000 each day. The Oriental Pearl Tower, the one with pink spheres is the central focus. Built in 1994, it is said to be the tallest TV tower in Asia at 1535 feet. The World Financial Tower, which looks like a bottle opener and the Jinmao Tower are other landmarks.

During the cruise we were again asked to have our photo taken with many Chinese. We couldn’t communicate beyond a smile, but we all had a great time.

Our second day in Shanghai started back along the waterfront to see the skyline during the day. The strolled along the Bund, which is the riverside promenade that draws thousands of tourists every day. In addition to watching the ships stream up the river, we also stopped to see the Bund bull, which is a reprisal of the Wall Street bull by the same artist, Arturo diModica.

This version, however, is said to be younger, stronger, and “redder” for the Chinese setting.

After our walk along the Bund, we headed to the Old City bazaar. We hadn’t had many opportunities to do real shopping in China and today was the day. We were turned loose for several hours to search for treasures. We bought a few gifts, a knockoff purse, and a stuffed panda toy for Mia our poodle. The bazaar was built with upturned eaves and lattice windows in the Ming style. While it had the feel of old China, it was actually built in the 1990s. In the bazaar there are two Starbucks and a McDonalds amid the souvenir shops.

Shanghai is known for producing world-renowned acrobats. We were lucky to be able to attend a show at the Shanghai Circus World. The production included juggling, contortionism, trick bike riding, and high flying acrobatics. When the show started we were exhausted and thought about skipping out and returning to the hotel to rest. It was a good thing we didn’t. ERA: Intersection in Time was spectacular, rivaling the best Cirque du Soleil show.

Our wake up call the next morning came super early as we caught a morning flight to Xi’an for the next phase of our Chinese journey.

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