1.My Hometown------Xian,China

2. Xian (FromWikipedia) My hometown Xian is the capital ofShaanxi province in China and a sub-provincial city. Known as one of the mostimportant cities in Chinese history, Xian islisted as one of the Four Great AncientCapitals of China because it has been thecapital of 13 dynasties, including the Zhou,Qin, Han, and Tang. Xian is also theeastern end of the Silk Road. The city hasmore than 3,100 years of history. It wascalled Changan in ancient times. 3. Location of Xian 4. Culture and Demographics Historically, Xian Its population ishas been one of thearound 7.5 million.most important About 4 million livecities in the world. in the city area. ItThe culture of Xian is one of the mostis inherited fromheavily traffickedthe traditions oftourist cities withinone of the worlds the Peoplesearliest Republic, acivilizations. destination for tens of thousands of people foreign and Chinese tourists alike every year. 5. Sights (1) The city is surroundedby a well-preservedcity wall which was re-constructed in theMing Dynasty. Thearea in which Xian sitsis a relatively flatplace, making travel onthe wall relatively easyunlike the steepinclines of the GreatWall. It is also plentywide enough to rent abicycle and cruisealong the wall withoutruffling anyonesfeathers. 6. South gate of city wall 7. East gate of City wall 8. Performance at City Wall 9. City Wall at Night 10. (2) The Mausoleum ofQin Shi Huang andhis TerracottaArmy are located40 km to the eastof the cityssuburbs. 11. (3) The Big Wild GoosePagoda and Small WildGoose Pagoda are bothspectacular towers andboth are well over 1000years old and havemostly survived greatearthquakes. The formeris next to a large squarewith many fountains thatrise and fall in time tomusic during one of thedaily performances. 12. (4) The BellTower andDrum Tower,located atthe citycentre 13. Bell Tower 14. Bell Tower at night 15. Dram Tower 16. Bell tower 17. Walk to Dram Tower 18. (5) The Stele Forestis famous for itsnumeroushistoricinscriptions andstoneworks. 19. (6) The ShaanxiHistory Museumhas a largecollection ofartifacts bothmodern andancient. 20. Terracotta Army1 The Terracotta Army or Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses is acollection of 8,099 life-size terracotta figures of warriors and horseslocated near the Mausoleum of theFirst Qin Emperor, Construction ofthis mausoleum began in 246 BC andis believed to have taken 700,000workers and craftsmen 38 years tocomplete. Qin Shi Huang wasinterred inside the tomb complexupon his death in 210 BC. 21. Terracotta Army 2 the First Emperor was buriedalongside great amounts of treasureand objects of craftsmanship, aswell as a scale replica of theuniverse complete with gemmedceilings representing the cosmos,and flowing mercury representingthe great earthly bodies of water.Pearls were also placed on theceilings in the tomb to represent thestars and planets, etc. They werebuilt as an army for the king(Emperor Qin) to use in the after life. 22. Terracotta Army3 Qin Shi Huangs necropolis complex wasconstructed to serve as an imperialcompound or palace. It comprises severaloffices, halls and other structures and issurrounded by a wall with gatewayentrances. The remains of the craftsmenworking in the tomb may also be foundwithin its confines, as it is believed theywere sealed inside alive to keep them fromdivulging any secrets about its riches orentrance. It was only fitting, therefore, tohave this compound protected by themassive terra cotta army interred nearby. 23. Terracotta Army4 8,099 figures have thus far been unearthedat the site. These figures include infantry,archers, and officers and are manufacturedin a crouching or standing pose. Each figurewas given a real weapon such as bronzespears, halberds or swords, or woodencrossbows with bronze fittings. It isbelieved these weapons date to as early as228 BC and may have been used in actualwarfare. Along with the soldiers andofficers, chariots made with great detailand precision were also included as part ofQin Shi Huangs army. 24. Terracotta Army 5 The terracotta figures are life-like and life-sized. They vary in height, uniform andhairstyle in accordance with rank. Thecolored lacquer finish, molded faces (eachis individual), and real weapons and armorused in manufacturing these figures createsa realistic appearance and stands as atestament to the amount of labor and skillinvolved in their construction. It is alsoproof of the incredible amount of power theFirst Emperor possessed to order such amonumental undertaking as themanufacturing of the Terracotta Army. 25. 1, A miniature replica of one of the figures.2, A terracotta soldier and his horse 26. 1,A group of terracotta soldiers2, Terracotta horses3, Terracotta cavalry-man 27. Tang Paradise This tourist attraction not only claims to be the biggestcultural theme park of China but also the first royal-garden-like park to give a full display of the Tang Dynastys culture. 28. Performancein theparadise 29. North Square of Big Wild GoosePagoda Big Wild Goose Surrounding Pagoda, the scenery is also quite charming, especially the square north of the Da Cien Temple. Covering about 131563 square yards plus 23920.6 square yards of water area, it holds many records: in Asia, it is the biggest Tang-culture square, the biggest fountain and waterscape square, and the largest-scale sculptures area. In the world, it has the most benches, the longest light-belt, and the largest- scale acoustic complex. 30. Music Fountain 31. The Mall In Xian 32. Mall 33. Road 34. Buildings 35. FastFood 36. taiji 37. My School 38. Teachers officeBuilding 39. Classroom Building 40. Art Building 41. Club meeting in School