Our second destination will be Xi’an – capital city of the Shaanxi Province.

To arrive in Xi’an, we will be taking the Bullet Train from Beijing. It’s about 1216 km or 755 miles away and the train trip will take a little over 6 hours. The Bullet trains travel between 250 and 300 km/h, so we’ll be able to relax and watch the scenery zip by.

Xi’an (pronounced Shee-an) has a population of about 8 million, and has always been a significant city. It was originally known as Chang’an, and was China’s ancient capital during 13 different Dynasties. It is also the starting point of the Silk Road – the overland trade route that connected the east and the west for 1,500 years.

We’ll be staying for three nights at the Sofitel Legend Peoples Grand Hotel Xi’an. It’s centrally located and looks fairly close to many of the other sites around the city that we’ll visit.

We are most excited to visit Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site – home to the Terracotta Warriors. I have wanted to visit Xi’an and see them since I first learned about them. They date back to the Qin Dynasty or about 200 BC. It’s thought that they were created to protect Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the afterlife.

The story behind their discovery is fascinating. Back in 1974, a farmer was digging a new water well and was having problems, so they dug down and found pieces of the warriors. Digging around further they discovered that there were many more of these ‘statues’ underground. So far excavations have unearthed over 7,000 – including warriors and horses; with each one having been created with different facial features, so they weren’t just mass produced. I can’t wait to see them in person.

Besides visiting the Terracotta Warriors, there are other places such as the Shaanxi History Museum, the old city walls, the Muslim Quarter, the Big Goose Pagoda, and the Xi’an Drum Tower that we hope to visit.

The food in the region is made with many different spices, usually a combination of Asian and Middle Eastern flavors. Since the Arab traders would come through the city, they contributed to the spices found and used here. With peppercorns, cumin and chili being prominent spices, we will definitely be packing the Tums!

And we will be packing them for sure, as we booked our airfare this weekend: a direct flight from Toronto to Beijing, with a direct flight home from Shanghai to Toronto.