Day 18

Today was a day that I had been looking forward to for months. Possibly even a whole year. We were off to see the Terracotta Warriors. The bus picked us up from our hostel at 6.30am, where our tour guide, whose English name was Snow (obviously), took us through some basic history about the warriors and the Qin dynasty.

Our first stop was a Terracotta Warrior factory, where thousands of replicas are made. It was an interesting visit but I think I can speak for everyone on the tour when I say that we saw right through their blatant attempt to flog cheap merchandise and were all left a little confused and disappointed at having been shown the replicas before the real thing. It's a bit like watching a film and someone telling you the ending ten minutes in. Personally, I felt really cheated as it took away some of the mystery and excitement.

Next up was the real thing, but it was still a national holiday, so there were countless security checks and crowd control measure to go through before we could actually get in to the excavated site. (Being such a huge fan of having my time pointlessly wasted by irritating incompetents, I'm sure you can imagine how thrilled I was.) Walking in to the hangar and seeing the warriors for the very first time brought about the same feelings of nervous excitement that I get when walking up the steps of a football stadium and seeing the pitch and crowd before the game starts. It's not until you get inside the main hangar though, that you can really start to appreciate the full size of the site, and it seems almost unthinkable that something on that scale was created by hand, with every warrior having a different face and painted bright colours. (Something I was unaware of until the factory tour.)

To get photos, people were fighting their way through crowds of thousands, jostling for the prime positions. Fortunately, I have been blessed with a massive physical advantage over the Asian race, so quite happily stood at the back, snapping away over their heads and occasionally offering to help out frustrated locals. So, there you have it, China - a menial service, with a smile and no charge. Just something you might want to think about in the future. (Makes mental note to scribble that down and drop it in the suggestion box at the Department of Industry when we get to Beijing.) Anyway, despite the crowds and the factory visit, I loved seeing the warriors and could quite happily have stayed all day.

At midday we left the site and headed to a hotel for lunch and were then dropped off at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, with friends from the hostel, Tom, Sophie, Sue, Brittany and Luke. We should have known better. The Big Pagoda was even less interesting than the small one and far more expensive. If you wanted to get in to the park, in which the Pagoda is situated, you had to pay. If you wanted to get in to the gardens that surround the Pagoda, you had to pay. If you want to go inside the Pagoda, you had to pay. And if you wanted to go higher than the second floor, guess what? You had to pay. It was ridiculous. I can understand that prices may go up in high seasons or on holidays, but to demand four payments just to go to the top of a tower? They might as well just be open about it and have the staff dress in masks and stripy jumpers.

Fortunately, no one was that fussed about going in to the Pagoda, so we just went for a walk around the gardens and then got a bus back to the hostel in time for the evening's entertainment. Brittany, Luke, Daley and I had booked tickets for a Han and Tang Dynasty show and dumpling banquet. No prizes for guessing which part we were most excited about. Inexplicably, we found ourselves in the VIP section with probably the best view in the house, which slightly perplexed the waiters as we were easily the most casually dress. The show and the food were both excellent, and afterwards we met up with some more friends at the hostel and went to a nightclub nearby.