Xi'an: Backroads, Bingmayong

Well, as with much of the tourist attractions in China, those in Xi'an are highly touristy. Many attractions are located near street markets (the best of which is outside the Great Mosque). It is often these markets that provide the most entertainment, rather than the attractions themselves. I have yet to purchase anything from the real street markets, though I plan to in Beijing before I leave China. Anyhow, I can say this for Xi'an: it does supply considerable activity.
In this way, it is like Beijing, being both large enough and old enough to have the kind of history that brings in the tourist dollar. But that's not to say that tourism is the only kind of activity available. As I have perhaps already made clear, my favourite neighborhoods are the back-streets, complete with a population of ZERO white people (except of course for those walking though; me). Here you are the attraction, food is cheap and plentiful, and you see the things that older chinese city culture is famous for: seafood markets, roadside food stalls, and street vendors. Here, the souvenirs dwindle, the staring quadruples, the spitting doubles, the roadside card games appear, and the laid-back culture of the poorer classes comes out in its real colours. Sometimes, you can buy the local specialty, Suan Mei *something* juice along the side of the road (strawberry or grape?) at the equivalent of 15 cents. Wandering around like this today was the real adventure, but first I will describe the beginning of our day (Myself, Gilad, Ana, Lidi).
Today was the Bingmayong Day. As I am sure you know, the Terra-Cotta Warriors are a world-renown spectacle that draws visitors from every corner of the planet. This is complete with three 'pits' of warriors, and a rather measly museum. We did the 'reverse' route from the museum back from pit 3 to pit 1, meaning that we completed a 'build-up' to the main event in pit 1. All of the pictures, all of the images and thoughts add up to pit 1. The rest...I'm not so sure.
Walking into pit 3 was a big let-down. There is almost no real detail, and the real sights are in glass cases off to the side of the museum. Thus, pit 3 was a good place to start. Pit 2 was a bit better, with very few warriors and horses, though most of them were complete and in good condition. Then it was on to the part we hoped would hold the impression we wanted to take with us. Following the crowd around the back let us the long way around, but eventually we got to the entrance. Walking in we all had our fingers crossed, but the sight was indeed rewarding.There in pit 1 were the rows on rows of terra-cotta men that you can seen in pictures, the excavated pits, the horses and partially restored fragments of the other warriors. I went camera-happy, much to the chagrin of my fellow travellers. I was the one who stayed the extra two seconds waiting for the shot (at every angle and location). Oh, to have a DSLR.
After the warriors was fairly much an exploration of the city proper. We walked from the train station down through the alleys to the business and shopping districts to the west of the Zhong Lou.
For me, this felt somewhat routine, which is perhaps the irony of the day, being that the real fun was had providing some help to our new arrivals, one of which is vegetarian, and thus somewhat restricted food-wise. One way or another I'm going to call it a very good day, seeing as I saw one of the wonders of the world, and then spent the rest of the day in the city. Ta-ta for now. Check facebook for the photos.