There are places where history is not read in a book but trodden underfoot. The Chinese city of Xi'an is one of them - a former capital of numerous dynasties, the starting point of the Silk Road, and home to one of humanity's greatest archaeological discoveries.

The biggest reason to come here lies buried some twenty kilometers from the city: the Terracotta Army. Thousands of soldiers, horses and chariots, made of clay over 2,200 years ago, fashioned to guard the tomb of the first Chinese emperor, Qin Shi Huang. Each soldier has a unique face - not one is the same. And the most incredible part? The entire army stayed hidden underground until, in 1974, ordinary farmers digging a well struck it by accident. Centuries of silence, broken by a single strike of a shovel.

Xi'an itself is a living museum. The old city is surrounded by 14 kilometers of wall from the Ming dynasty - one of the best-preserved in the world. Inside, the Muslim quarter buzzes with markets and food stalls, and the old Gao house preserves a traditional shadow theater, inscribed in UNESCO's intangible heritage. In the evening, the city turns into a stage where visitors dress in imperial costume inspired by the Tang dynasty.

For the Balkan traveler used to European destinations, China looks distant and inaccessible. But that very distance is the point - this is not a place you see to cross it off a list, but to grasp how old the world is and how small we are in it. The Terracotta Army stood still for 22 centuries waiting for someone to discover it. Some journeys do not ask you to understand them - only to stand before them and fall silent.