Xi'an's biggest claim to fame is the discovery of one of the most spectacular archaeological finds in the world. Often hyped as the Eighth Wonder of the World, it is amazing to think that there were no historical records of the Terra-Cotta Warriors

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Xi'an's biggest claim to fame is the discovery of one of the most spectacular archaeological finds in the world. Often hyped as the Eighth Wonder of the World, it is amazing to think that there were no historical records of the Terra-Cotta Warriors until local peasants unearthed them in 1974. If finding life-sized statues of mounted soldiers armed with real weapons was not amazing enough, the sheer scale of discovery—more than 6,000 figures have been excavated to date—was astounding. Buried about a mile from the lavish (but as yet to be excavated) tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the immense collection of stone fighters provides a fascinating insight into the tormented mind of this formidable man. He was apparently so obsessed with his own death that he began making plans for the afterlife as soon as he became emperor at the age of 13. Walking through the vaults that contain row upon row of the eerily still fighters stirs the imagination of kids and big kids alike.

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