Menu to Pictures of Xian
Xian is most well known as the home of the "Army of Terracotta Warriors ", those thousands of figurines that were discovered in a large tomb when digging a well. The picture above is taken at the site of the main dig in the tomb; with row upon row of the soldiers visible in the background. This is a site, fortunately found after the Cultural Revolution such that it avoided official destruction, where the Chinese government has done it right. This is a continuing archaeological dig managed by the best scientific principles to preserve the integrity of the tomb and its contents; yet have it available to the public in a non-threatening way. Bravo! Would that all governments took the same care with major archaeological finds in today's world. One immediately thinks of the recent activities in Afghanistan and the destruction of the Buddhist carvings there; along with all other religious artifacts to realize that such treasures are not yet safe in this world. Xian is, however, a model to emulate.