My fellow Xining blogger and teammate Neil sent me this funny article from BBC News about a German art student who decided to enlist in the ancient Terra Cotta Army located outside of Xian.  Here’s a link to the article OR you can just read it reprinted below:

The terracotta soldiers were created for an imperial Chinese tomb 2,200 years ago Enlarge Image

A German art student briefly fooled police by posing as one of
China’s terracotta warriors at the heritage site in the ancient
capital, Xian.

Pablo Wendel, made up like an ancient warrior, jumped
into a pit showcasing the 2,200-year-old pottery soldiers and stood
motionless for several minutes.

The 26-year-old was eventually spotted by police and removed from the scene.

Unearthed in 1974, the statues are said to be one of the 20th Century’s greatest archaeological finds.

The ancient clay soldiers were created to protect the
nearby tomb of the legendary Emperor Qinshihuang who united China over
2,200 years ago.

Police confiscated Mr Wendel’s costume and sent him home

Mr Wendel is reported to have entered the museum on
Saturday where he changed into his outfit, jumped over a barrier and
took up a position on a pedestal he had taken along.

"I got to the area where he was supposed to be, looked
around and didn’t see him – he looked too much like a terracotta
warrior," Hong Kong newspapers quoted a security guard as saying.

As Mr Wendel’s "performance art" did not harm any of the
ancient relics, he was not arrested or charged but given "serious
criticism", the reports said.

Mr Wendel had his costume confiscated and was sent back to the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, where he is studying.