Xi'an with the Mac Daddy (Daddy Mac and Gramma Mac)

We had the joy of hosting my parents not too long ago for their second visit to China.  This year was special for many reasons, but in particular being able to share Xi'an with them as we celebrated their 70th birthdays this year!   WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!

Some quick facts on Xi'an:

• Located Northwestern China.  Picture China as a rooster facing right, Xi'an is basically on the wing.
• One of the oldest cities in China, dating back over 3,100 years
• Home of the world famous Terra Cotta warriors
• Home of hundreds of emperors tombs
• The first major city that people encountered on the silk road when entering China
• Home to a major Muslim population.  Meaning great, "clean" food
• A small city in China of  over 7 million people (plus or minus 5 million).

Entrance to the tomb of  Emperor Qin Shi Huang.  He was the emperor who unified China in 221 BC, the Qin dynasty.  Note that the mountains at his head and a river at his feet mean good feng shui...

Taking it all in.  This is just one of the locations for his life sized terra cotta army.  They said that only about 1% has been discovered.  This was about the size of 3 football fields.

A little closer look.

The warriors were modeled after real soldiers, note the really skinny guy in the middle right.

This was the "hospital" where the fragments were pieced together over the course of months and months per soldier.

Each of the boxes holds a soldier, or horse.

So this I love.  One of the worlds great treasures so let's make sure we don't spend too much on the ramp or the wheel barrow moving things around.  I mean really, whats the difference between putting together a 10,000 piece warrior and a 10,500 piece warrior because you dropped it?

Here we are!

Classic, almost caught Ro napping.  He is on to me with this tradition, so we may be looking at his last vacation nap in a stroller.  He was not happy that I took his picture.

We went local for lunch in the Muslim district.  Daddy Mac showing us how it's done.

Riley posing with our cook.

After we got back from the Muslim area and a shopping street, we hit the town close to the hotel.

Our guide was not keen on the touristy dumpling house I got off of a travel show.  But this is what happens when you leave us alone for dinner.  Hey, there is nothing wrong with swinging back to the beaten path now and then.  Here are the boys looking at the display of dumplings, famous because they are shaped to look like their filling:  duck, frog, pig, fish, walnut, etc.

Here's what they looked like when they hit the table.  All in all a pretty good meal. 

On day two we headed off the before mentioned path.  Our guide had "some family" living in the caves close to Xi'an, so we got an inside look.

Bed and fully automated mahjong table.  Apparently his sister runs a mahjong den.

Really cool, just really cool.

Teaching us how to play a form of Jenga.  This was the favorite part of the trip for the kids.

The whole crew and a few new friends.

While we were in the area, we stopped by a newly opened second tomb, which also house terra cotta warriors.  This is the mausoleum of Jingdi, fourth emperor of the Han dynasty.  The Han was the longest running dynasty in Chinese history, even today sometimes people in the majority group call themselves "Han People".  Above is a model of the tomb.  The trenches running out of it are where the warriors lie.

These warriors were much smaller (about 2 feet tall) than those we saw the day before and, well, pretty creepy actually.

Anatomically correct creepiness.  They don't have arms because the arms were made of wood so they could be pose able.

Of course the creepy dolls needed some creepy animals.  Actually, these came across as being cute.

Belt noodles for lunch.  My children thought they had an all access pass to the kitchen.  Or maybe that was me and they just followed.

In the afternoon we hit the old city wall.

Pretty cool view of the old and the new.  Man it was hot up there though!!!

Afternoon at the small goose pagoda and the air conditioned museum.  Whew!

Much deserved massage upon arriving home.  Yes, she is in pain.

Street vendor trying to get Ro to like something so his grandmother will buy it for him.

Typical street in old town, photo taken by my dad.

A little surprise picture on my dad's camera.  I don't know what is so interesting about a "beware of dog" sign, other than the fact that the dog is clearly a male.