Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, Xi'an

It's quite misleading to call this place a parking lot. This is the actual tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. The final resting place of the first emperor of a united middle kingdom. After walking for miles (took a wrong turn, failing light, about to give up 🤤), I finally arrived at the top of a flight of steps, where an inconspicuous tomb stone erected in front of a hill with the base stretching as far as my eyes could see. I told myself : "This has got to be it!". Awesome! (Until the tomb is being excavated, we will never know what's inside, the whole world is waiting with bated breath for the day)

No doubt thousands of statues still remain to be unearthed at this archaeological site, which was not discovered until 1974. Qin (d. 210 B.C.), the first unifier of China, is buried, surrounded by the famous terracotta warriors, at the centre of a complex designed to mirror the urban plan of the capital, Xianyan. The small figures are all different; with their horses, chariots and weapons, they are masterpieces of realism and also of great historical interest. 🇮🇳

We got scammed. We paid for a ride to the mausoleum. They took us around the park for 10 minutes even though the mausoleum is just a 300m walk away. There is nothing to see as the mausoleum is not yet excavated. It's 75m below ground 😀

China's first emperor is sleeping here

Good for a walk, but not much else.