Shi Huang Di is perhaps the best known Chinese Emperor, largely because of his remarkable tomb. Buried along with 5,000 terracotta warriors as representations of his own army, along with rumours that his yet undiscovered tomb itself is studded with stars of precious stones, Xian is one of China's most extraordinary sites.

An army of miniature warriors was also discovered in the early 1990's and is now on display, this is the tomb of Emperor Han Jing. April 2006 also saw the opening of the first underground tomb museum where you can actually observe continued excavations of this smaller army taking place.

Xian is one of the few towns that is still surrounded by a fortified wall and, with two pagodas, a museum and a mosque that resembles a Chinese temple, it is packed with fascinating sites yet feels small and is easy to explore.







Classic China