THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE: SEARCHING FOR TERRACOTA ARMY IN XI'AN - PART 1

   4TH SEPTEMBER 2026   ~ The visit to Xi'an would not be complete without visiting the Terracota Army. It was one of the wonders of ancient civilization and was one of the items in my bucket list.

The trip to the historical site was not a pleasant walk in the park. The first obstacle was to get through the entrance gate. We already saw a sea of people upon arrival, mostly local Chinese.

The queue was very long and the weather was hot. Nevertheless, the line was moving quite fast. There was security check at the gate, similar to the process at the airport.

After the clearing the security check, we then had to take a ride on a buggy to get to the main complex.

To get to the exhibition areas was already an adventure on its own. And it was not easy to get 28 people in the group to stay together and not be separated.

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2

EXPLORING THE SOUTH GATE OF XI'AN CITY WALL IN THE EVENING - PART 2

CONTINUATION OF PART ONE

   3RD SEPTEMBER 2026    ~ I noticed that we were at the gate where there were not many activities going on, except for the theatre performance in the centre court. Maybe the activities were restricted because of the show. Once the performance was over, more lights were lit up, and the place became brighter. So we continued taking as many photos as possible at different spots and angles.

You still have to be there to observe and admire the beauty of the City Wall at night. The photos I took did not do justice to the spectacular view of the Chinese architecture.

There was another trip to another gate of the City Wall which was in the itinerary. However, that would happen in the afternoon and the vibe would not be the same with what we had experienced in the evening.

EXPLORING THE SOUTH GATE OF XI'AN CITY WALL IN THE EVENING - PART 1

buying the entry tickets

   3RD SEPTEMBER 2026    ~ There was no activity for the group in the evening so people could have a lot of rest. For one thing, the group comprised mostly of senior citizens and people who were above 50 years of age. Approximately 21/28 were the veterans and experienced ones, if I counted correctly.

A few of us decided to go somewhere as we reached the hotel quite early in the afternoon. Four of my friends and I decided to visit the City Wall and the tourist guide helped us book the e-hailing cars to and fro. They didn't have Grab or Uber in China. People had to use a similar service called Didi to get from one place to another.

We made our entry via the South Gate. We had to buy tickets to enter the City Wall. When we arrived, a theatre show [which we did not know about] had already started in the middle of the tower building.

Going up [and down] the stairs to get to the higher level of the structure was literally an uphill task for me who had knee problems. However, as the saying goes, determination is the key to success.

The first thing we could observe was the bright Xi'an city from a higher level.

The second thing was to admire the beautiful Chinese traditional buildings lit up with colourful lights.

The lights around the area were dimmed because of the cultural/historical show which was still in progress in the centre court. The photos taken at this time might not turn out beautiful because of the lack of lighting.

Because of the show, the pedestrian walkways were also closed so moving around the place was limited. Nevertheless, once the show was over, the area got brighter and they opened up the roads that linked people to the other gate.

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2