December 11th turned out to be a nasty day as we expected. The weather didn’t hold out for us, but the Terracotta Warriors did. At 9 am, we hired a bus and a guide to take us up there for the day. The greater part of the morning was spent at the Terracotta Warriors, then, later in the day, we went over to the city wall that surrounds the province of Xi’an. It is said that 15 grown men can stand on the width of the wall. I would say this is a very believable statement that I would readily believe just from standing on the wall. It was an amazing view from the wall and the insides of some of the guard tower buildings were really r
emarkable!The brief history of the Terracotta Warriors comes from the idea a powerful emperor had during his reign. Since Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi believed he needed an army with him in his afterlife, he began building his army out of terracotta at the age of 19. It is known that 7,000 of these figures were buried with Qin Shi Huangdi in 3 different pits. When he died, the Terracotta Warriors along with 3,000 concubines were buried alive in his pits. Over the years, invaders came and stumbled upon the pits. When they did, they stole the bronze weapons the figures were holding, smashed a large number of the warriors and lit the pits on fire. To this day, archaeologists are still repairing the damage done so many years ago.
Walking into the dome where the Terracotta Warriors are kept really was just like stepping back into time or walking right into a history textbook. It truly became moving when I was staring at ancient relics of past history. No words can describe the emotions that were being felt at that exact moment. The only thing I can say that even comes somewhat close to what I was thinking is, “Wow! I am standing not more than 6 feet away from one of the most amazing monuments of all Chinese history! I’ve seen the Terracotta Warriors!”
We still attracted stares wherever we went today. Except people were taking digital pictures and sketching our family at various times throughout the day. Pointing, laughing and smiling are not the exception, they're the norm. We have sort of gotten used to it by now and it doesn't bother us. It is very rare to have a big family. The Chinese are especially taken with Cory and Merriella! They constantly try o talk Chinese with Merriella only to have her turn and look at us saying, "I don't know." Cory just pulls away or turns his head when he is addressed by people he doesn't know. He has a healthy bonding attachment, whereas Merriella is still learning the proper way to be loyal to her own family members. Her affection is transferred very quickly. Not so with Cory! He knows what it feels like to be loved and show love!
Cory did fantastic all day today and we had no problems with him at all! He was a hoot at breakfast and cracked us up even more throughout the day! He and Merriella really are the Terrible Two together. They don’t go anywhere without the other and are like two peas in a pod. They took a bath together tonight, which was a show in and of itself. They like to wash each other’s hair, but Merriella is very particular about how she wants it done! In fact, tonight, Merriella insisted that Cory was washing her hair wrong and quickly scolded him saying,”Cory, no. This is how you wash Ella’s hair!” He just stared at her with that adorable “melt your heart look.” The rest of the bath was truly likening to a comedy show. After he drank his bottle, he quickly hit the sack. It had been a long day and he hadn’t had his daily nap (except for the brief times he slept during the day.) It’s a hard life for a baby.
