This is a long overdue entry on my Xi’an trip with the students during June. After reviewing the photos that I’ve taken, I decided to blog a little about it as well as putting up some pictures (as it’s been a long time since I put up photo series in here). I’ve not much time to write a quality post right now, so I’ll let the pictures do the talking )

Early in the morning, we travelled to the Terracotta Army site. There were several different sections to visit, as the terracotta army were buried under a vast piece of land together with the Emperor of Qin. It is interesting to know that this recent discovery of the terracotta army (in 1974) was accidental. It was discovered by some local farmers when they were digging a well.

Below are some of the many pictures that I had taken at the exibiting site. 

However, I believe the next activity (after visiting the site) was where the students really enjoyed themselves thoroughly. After lunch, we proceeded to a terracotta factory by coach.

The exibition section of the factory. One word of advice though, you can buy stuff that are sold here at a much cheaper price elsewhere! 

In this factory, the students will get a chance to learn how to make miniature terracotta warriors themselves by using mud and molds.

Above, you can see the students eagerly learning how to make the terracotta warriors from the expert (centre guy). I wasn’t sure of the exact procedure though. It seemed like the students needed to squeeze the mud into the mold, leave it inside for awhile before knocking the eventually-harden piece of mud ( ) out of the mold.

Below are some more fun pics of the students enjoying themselves. Not all of them succeeded making the terracotta warriors though. That showed much skill is required to produce a quality terracotta sounvenir!

The students worked in pairs or in groups once they retrieved a set of molds. 

Gingerly fitting the mud into the mold.

It’s no easy job squeezing the mud into the mold (made of concrete). The mud has to be packed densely.

Some already made terracotta army are being displayed (and left to dry). These were made by the workers.

More students inside the shed having fun. This group of students had already taken the shaped mud out of the mold. They were trying to stick the legs back to the body of the warrior because they fell apart. I think they didn’t succeed!

Well, I guess that’s all for this series. If you’re interested in how the Terracotta Army came about, this link explains its history in great detail.