Terracotta Warrior

In the mid 1990's we were lucky enough to visit China, before the present growth spurt. There were still a lot of old buildings around, and not many people in Western dress. Very few people had cars other than for business. What a difference in 20 years. We weren't allowed out without our Chinese guide.

It was quite unnerving in many ways, Chinese not being a language you could easily refer to a dictionary. No English signs anywhere and very few people speaking English. Those who did were always friendly and very keen to try out their English.

We managed to get to Xi-an to see the Terracotta Warriors and Horses. They had only been discovered 20 years before, and I think there were only 2 pits on display then, around 6,000 warriors. The viewing platform was on top of a long flight of steps, ensuring you didn't catch sight of anything until you emerged at the top. Breath-taking sight. I actually found it very moving. Every face was different, every uniform detailed and unique. There was part of a pit which was only partly excavated, with arms and legs and heads sticking out of the clay. They were all buried with the first Chinese Emperor about 200BC, to accompany him in the afterlife.

There were no tourist ornaments on sale then, too soon, but we heard about a man selling 3ft high replicas of two of the warriors. We met him late at night in our hotel room, a shabby looking man in a tatty Western suit, did a deal for two to be shipped to Liverpool, and shook hands on it, thinking this is the last we'll see of our money.

Three months later we got a call from Liverpool Docks, and then the paperwork arrived to go collect our warriors, safely crated up. They have moved house with us 3 times, and currently stand on our patio, but are beginning to crumble a bit, probably not frost proof terracotta. He's rather dignified though, isn't he?

Now you can buy them in every garden centre.