Nihao!

I've now been in Xian for two of my four days.
The first day I walked around the city for hours, I climbed up the bell tower in the middle and looked around.
Yesterday I went to see the Terracotta Warriors, which are awesome!! It's a huge complex. Even the pictures and the traveling exhibits don't convey the massiveness of it. You can really see their faces and shoe treads and hairdos like the books say. They are all different looking. I bought some postcards of course, which convey the awesomeness far better than my crappy photos.
I saw the famous farmer who discovered the warriors. If I'd bought a book he would've signed it. But I didn't buy anything.
Today I am planning to walk over to one of the train ticket booking offices in town and book a ticket to Beijing. Unfortunately I have bailed on going to Lhasa as sorting out the ticket and the permit seem to be (A too damn expensive and B too much hassle) beyond my ability.
So with 9 days left in China I am going to Beijing and then maybe a few day trips from there. Better to go to Beijing early and get my trans-Mongolian ticket sorted and then enjoy a few days of leisure time.
After my (hopefully successful) visit to the train ticket office I am planning on walking through the city's Muslim quarter.