Made in China

The Chinese First Emperor, Qin Shihuang, unified China under his imperial rule, displayed brilliant military systems and feats of engineering, but shed far too much of his country's blood. His other obsession besides world domination was his own immortality. He built a tomb guarded by a life-size terracotta army including more than 7,000 warriors, infantrymen, horses, chariots and over 10,000 weapons. 

First unearthed in 1974, the underground burial complex of the First Emperor is truly mind-boggling. The exhibition currently at the Asian Art Museum until May 27th includes ten figures—a representative sample of the actual army.

I took my children during their Spring Break and we managed to cover the entire exhibit in under an hour, although the ceramics lost their interest (but not mine). The museum's cafe is worth a time allotment. My kids love the Japanese soda bottles that come with a glass marble (don't throw away the top - it's the only way to open them). The pork spare ribs, market fish in banana leaf, and vegetable spring rolls were all yummy and to be shared. 

These were taken with my iPhone (no flash photography was allowed, sadly).