Screaming crowds. Check. Battling selfie sticks. Check. More viewers than most of our state. Check. Tour guides shepherding their livestock. Check. Clear visual of the warriors. Check for those with x-ray vision. All of the above can be found at the popular tourist destination we paid a visit to on possibly the peak day. We had heeded the advice of Lonely Planet and went early but so had everyone else. Viewers around the largest pit were 6 deep around the railing, pressing into one another like a human trash compactor. We must have waited ten minutes, braced against the wall of people, just to push and shove into a spot wide enough for us kids to get belly up to the railing, snap a few pictures, soak inwhat has been called the 8th wonder of the world and wiggle out back out to a space large enough to lift your arms. Easier said then done. Mostly complete clay archers and swordsman enjoyed their spacious glass boxes while phones and tourists alike were pressed against the glass.
Don’t get squashed Nick!
It was like this in all the pits and Michele and Justin were intrigued by just how much the place had changed since they had visited some 15 years before. What had once been residential neighborhoods was now paved courtyards specially designed for the vendors that covered it. A well oiled money making machine. On the way out all of us especially me and Nick joined many family photo albums, posing in more selfies than we could count. More than a few times we didn’t even pose and just noticed that we had mysteriously been the center of many photos when amateur photographers cleverly angled their phones toward us.The family passed on the museum as we were unsure if there would be any room for us inside. Even if there was a few square feet of extra standing room that doesn’t guarantee a view of anything. We learned many things from this field trip, both educational and cultural. First, the terra-cotta warriors were made by Emperor Qin to protect him in the after life and secondly don’t mess with Chinese tourists armed with selfie sticks.
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