celebrations. The famous lion dances occur throughout this period. Tomb Sweeping Day is in April, and sees Chinese families spend the day tending the graves of departed loved ones. Hong Kong hosts one of the liveliest annual Chinese celebrations – the Dragon Boat Festival. Usually held in June, the festival honours the poet Qu Yuan and features races between teams in long ornate canoes. Many Westerners take part in the races, but plenty of practice is needed to get all the paddles working as one.

Special prayers are held at Buddhist and Taoist temples on full-moon and sliver-moon days. Temple and moon-based festivities include Guanyin’s Birthday (late March to late April), Mazu’s Birthday (May or June), Water-Splashing Festival (mid-April), Ghost Month (late August to late September), Mid-Autumn Festival (September or October) and the Birthday of Confucius (28 September). China’s minority regions host some of the best festivals, from the dramatic monastery dances of Tibet and Western Sichuan to the stunningly costumed festivities of the Miao (Hmong) people of Guizhou.

China: Sights
With its long and dramatic history, China offers endless cultural treasures. Famous attractions like the Terracotta Warriors, the Great Wall, colonial Shanghai and the imperial grandeur of Beijing are obvious magnets, but there’s also sacred mountains and huge national parks to wander in.

Army of Terracotta Warriors (Bingmayong)
Address Xi’an Phone tel: (029) 8391 1961 (info) Transport mini-bus: green Terracotta Warriors
bus: Nos 306, 307 Hours 08:30 – 17:30 Web www.bmy.com.cn Keyword art-related, monument, archaeological site, war-related Ranking alongside the Great Wall and the Forbidden City as one of China’s top historical sights, the 2000-year-old Terracotta Army remains a stunningly well preserved, perpetually vigilant force standing guard over an ancient imperial necropolis. Almost as extraordinary is a pair of bronze chariots and horses on display in a museum by the main entrance.

The discovery of the Army was, like many major discoveries, entirely serendipitous. In 1974 peasants digging a well uncovered what turned out to be perhaps the major archaeological discovery of the 20th century: an underground vault of earth and timber that eventually yielded thousands of life-size terracotta soldiers and their horses in battle formation. In 1976 two other smaller vaults were discovered close to the first one.

The 6000 terracotta figures of warriors and horses face east in a rectangular battle array. Every figure differs in facial features and expressions. The horsemen are shown wearing tight-sleeved outer robes, short coats of chain mail and wind-proof caps. The archers have bodies and limbs positioned in strict accordance with an ancient book on the art of war.

Archaeologists believe the warriors discovered so far may be part of an even larger terracotta army still buried around the Tomb of Qin Shihuang. Excavation of the entire complex and the tomb itself could take decades.

Forbidden City
Address Dongcheng District, Beijing Phone tel: (010) 6513 2255 (info) Transport underground rail: Tiananmen Xi, Tiananmen Dong Hours May-Sep 08:30 – 16:00 , Oct-Apr 08:30 – 15:30 Web www.dpm.org.cn Keyword royal The Forbidden City, so called because it was off limits for 500 years, is the largest and best-preserved cluster of China’s ancient buildings. It was home to two dynasties of emperors, the Ming and the