Day 7 - XianThe end of week one saw the weather warming up at last.Today we went to see the Terracotta Warriors and decided to "go it alone" and make our own way there using public transport - after all we are on a 3 month trip and our sponsorship is limited!!Being the first day of the national holidays, "Golden Week", the whole of China had the same idea that visiting the Terracottas would be a great day out.After an hour queuing for the # 30...

Day 6 - Hua Shan (Holy Mountain) A visit to one of the five sacred Taoist mountains, Hua Shan, 120km west of Xian was supposed to be a welcome break from the noisy crowds but we made our first school boy error by booking onto a Chinese language guided tour bus as this was a bit more off the beaten track for westerners.Usually a fan of the back of the bus, on this occasion our bus was a baking hot oven with upright seats and non-stop mandarin commentary.After an...

Day 5 - Xian Xian is the staging post for a trip to the Terracotta Warriors and with 5 million inhabitants it used to be the imperial capital between 1000BC and 1000AD. After a cosy night on the train it was a rude shock to alight in Xian in the pouring rain and to be confronted by a riot of people trying to take us to the Teracottas rather than our hotel. The highlights of our day touring Xian mostly inside the old city walls in the rain was the street mark...