I arrived in Xian expecting to have an hour to wait until the Brin's arrived but almost fell over when I saw a sign with my name on it. They had taken an earlier flight and their guide met me at the airport.

I'd not met David Brin before but it didn't feel like that at all as I joined the family in a quick tour of sights along the route into town. A musty excursion underground to a Han tomb filled. Another little emperor who thought he could take it all with him but he could only afford a miniture terracotta army. Walking over a glass floor and peering into the gloom they looked as much like fallen bowling pins as an army of the dead. Remarkably they found the bones of a rhino amongst the sculptures, and full sized models of horses drawing elegantly carved chariots. There did not seem to be a consistency in their theory of the dead - perhaps they were covering all possibilities.

After a simple buffet lunch we climbed a 10 tier pagoda just because it was there - the view from the top of the modern city had little to remark upon. In the evening we attended a dinner banquet with a Tang dynasty show. This is something I'd not have considered for myself but it was a great experience. The backdrops of stage settings took us on a spin through scenes from around China. As the seasons changed different maidens danced and sang bringing to life a fresco, their long sleeves flowing around forming almost floral patterns of colour that last a moment before sweeping into a new form.

I have photos of most of the acts and it was quite varied. THe favourite amongst the kids seemed to be the comic sounds produced by a horn blower, thought it seems he did not need a horn to make the burbles and twittering - the horn just amplified the sounds.

We've still to see the full terracotta warrier exhibition and my train tickets are not booked yet. Let's see how that goes.