Everyone interested in Asian culture and the Far East has heard about the huge 6,000 life-size terra-cotta figures of armed warriors and horses which were buried with the first Chinese emperor, Qin Shi Huang in 206 BC.

If Beijing is the political heart of China, then Xi'an is its historical center. An ancient philosopher once mused that all those seeking the truth should go to China. A contemporary philosophy added that no visit to China is complete without a journey to Xi'an. This reflects the important position Xi'an holds as a famed historical and cultural city and one of China's six major ancient capitals.

I have been in Beijing for ten days now and I still have time before my internship at Beijing Review begins. Therefore, I decided to travel around a little bit in order to get to know more about the country and the people.

My decision to choose Xi'an was based on the history of the terra-cotta soldiers and the story of Yang Guifei - recognized as one of the four most beautiful women in ancient China. Xi'an also enjoys equal fame with Athens, Cairo, and Rome as one of the four major ancient civilization capitals.

You can easily reach Xi'an, which is the capital city of Shaanxi province, by plane from Beijing.

My friends and I stayed in a hostel that was at the south gate of an approximately 12 km long city wall.

According to legend, when Zhu Yuanzhang, the first Emperor of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), captured Huizhou, a hermit admonished him that he should "build high walls, store abundant food supplies, and take time to be an Emperor" so that he could fortify the city and unify the other states. After the establishment of the Ming dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang followed the hermit's advice and began to enlarge the wall built initially during the old Tang dynasty (618-907), creating the modern Xi'an City Wall. It's the most complete city wall that has survived in China, as well as being one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world.

Because it was during the Chinese New Year when I visited, the wall was covered with many colorful animal figures.

On top of the wall you have a great view of the city and you become immediately aware of the big contrast: on the one side, inside of the old city wall, is the Old Town with historical constructions, such as the drum and the bell towers, some buildings, which are build in a typical Chinese way and some newer buildings. On the other side of the wall there are high-rise buildings constructed in a modern style and also some factories. You can either circle the whole wall by feet or by bike, which you can rent on top of the wall, to have a great view over the city.

We then headed for the Dayan Ta (the Great Wild Goose Pagoda), one of the most well-known Buddhist pagodas in China. From a distance you would guess, that the pagoda is made out of wood but as you get nearer you see that it is made out of brick. The pagoda, which can be seen today, was built in the year 704 for the purpose to protect some sutras, which were brought from India by Monk Xuanzang (602-664). The simplicity of the construction makes the seven-storied pagoda very interesting, remarkable and unique.

The next day we wanted to go on a day-trip to the Huaqing Chi (Huaqing Hot Spring) and to the Great Terracotta-army.