Xi'an, China

This past weekend I went with a few friends to Xi'an, one of the ancient capital cities in China. (Google it if you want more info.) It's famous for the underground Terra Cotta Warriors discovered in the 1970's, sculpted and buried underground to protect Emporer Qin in the afterlife. Each warrior's face is personalized, and all the workers were murdered after constructing the underground army to prevent anyone from knowing it existed. (A farmer digging a well in 1974 found them.) 

Xi'an itself is a lovely city, very clean and spacious, with beautiful old buildings and architecture. Compared to the city where I live, I could hardly believe I was in the same country! (And yes, there is a reason Peace Corps does not put us in the more developed cities, but it was my first glimpse of the "other" China and kinda blew me away.)