A Terra-fic Trip With My Grandparents

 

    In the summer of third grade, our family stayed in China for an unusually long time. Because we stayed so long, my grandparents were able to take us to different places in China. That year, we went to Xi’an to visit my grandma’s sister and to take me to see the legendary Terracotta Warriors. Also, my grandparents hadn’t been there for a long time, so they wanted to see if there had been any progress in the excavation.

    A week after landing in Shanghai, my grandparents, mom, and I bought overnight train tickets to Xi’an. I was really excited, because it was my first time sleeping on a train.  When we arrived at our room, I noticed there were two sets of bunks, which meant we could have a whole cabin to ourselves. We settled in the spacious room, and after watching the high-speed train cut through many different landscapes, my grandpa pulled out his computer and we started to play Plants vs. Zombies. Late in the evening, when my grandpa and I finally finished the 30 level game, we got some dinner that was being sold on the train. My grandpa and I started playing again, and played deep into the night. We fell asleep instantly after we finished another extremely hard game. Everyone slept peacefully, and by the time we were packed up the next morning the train had stopped in Xi’an.

    On the train platform, we searched for one of my uncles, who was there to pick us up. We immediately boarded my uncle’s car, and with his awesome street racing skills,  the car zoomed toward my grandma’s sister’s house. In the house, we got a very roomy bedroom. My uncle loved games, and in our free time, my grandpa and I played all the different games my uncle had downloaded. My grandma’s sister was also an excellent cook, and I bet I must have gained five pounds during the three days I was there.

    The best part of the trip was the Terracotta Warriors. This tomb was made around 220 BC for the Qin Dynasty emperor, Qin Shi Huang. The emperor wanted full-sized terracotta statues of soldiers, horses, chariots, and servants to serve and protect him in the afterlife. My grandparents were shocked that a new, even bigger excavation had been created.  But the last time they had been there was about 15 years ago, so I thought it made sense that a lot of progress had been made.

    My grandpa and I raced off immediately to examine the Qin soldiers’ armour and weapons while my grandma and mom looked at the ladies’ clothing in the Qin Dynasty. My grandpa and I found the armour and weapons really interesting. The soldiers’ armour was made of little metal squares linked together by iron rings. The Qin soldiers also used many types of weapons. There were crossbows, longbows, battleaxes, straight and curved swords, dirks, spears, throwing javelins, and little daggers. My favorite weapon was the lightweight crossbow that had a magazine so the soldiers could shoot the bolts faster. My grandpa said that his favorite was the fearsome and razor sharp axe that caused mass destruction in battle. The guides that we had taught me a lot about the history of China. I especially liked reading about the famous battles in history.

   Our last day was just spent playing games with my grandparents, and of course, stuffing myself full with the delicious food that could only be prepared with my grandma and her sister together. The train trip back to Shanghai was comfortable and uneventful. This has probably been the best vacation back to China that I have had so far!