People from all over the world visit Xi’an in China's Shaanxi province to witness life-sized, ancient soldiers at the Museum of Qin Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses. Each beige-colored, armor-clad warrior flaunts various intricate facial expressions and features. They range in height from six feet to six-foot five-inches.   
 
"China is amazed at how smart they were and this is a symbol of national pride," says Li Xue, 23, a student at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
 
Courtney Barnett, 34, of Louisiana was on a trip to the museum with her family during a two-week visit to the province. Barnett adopted a two-year-old girl with her husband and says she wanted to take her to see this part of China’s history.
 
"We were in awe as soon as we saw the statues," she says, looking into pit one in the first room that she visited. This pit, the largest of four, is believed to contain 6,000 warriors and horses, some unearthed while others are still buried. 
 
Around each pit, tourists crowd to snap photos. Archaeologists, scattered throughout the museum's pits, can be found working meticulously to preserve their findings.
 
The scientists cover their faces with masks and wear white gloves to protect their hands and the artifacts. They use tiny paintbrushes to carefully wipe the surfaces of the soldiers, horses and buildings discovered 35 years ago.
 
On July 1, they were hard at work continuing the excavation of more of the 1,000 plus warriors already discovered. At the same time, however, their mission is to figure out why Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the Qing dynasty, built the Terra Cotta Warriors in the first place.
 
Worldwide archaeologists and historians surmise one theory of spirituality and another of loyalty to the emperor. Neither has yet been set in stone.   
 
"Conventional theory is that they are spiritual guardians to protect his tomb," said Professor Charles Haddad of Stony Brook University, regarding the Terra Cotta Warriors. "Archaeologists are digging for proof of this theory."
 
According to this theory, Qin feared death. Once he died, he wanted his warriors to protect him from the dangers of the afterlife. 
  
Haddad and Professor Yoichi Shimatsu, a former investigative journalist and current environmental consultant, believe the loyalty theory clashes with the conventional version. "If he was a dictator that wanted immortality, how come there weren’t more important people?" Shimatsu asked rhetorically. "If you wanted to preserve the kingdom, why weren’t there more people?"
 
Shimatsu pointed out that despite such a massive amount of warriors protecting Qin, other vital members of the emperor’s society, such as bureaucrats and scholars, should have been replicated as well.
 
He added that Qin may not have built warriors for protection, but rather as a means to fundraise the building of his own tomb. Qin could have collected the money from military officers who paid to have a statue made in their likeness.
 
"Qin had no real way to finance projects, so he looked to his officers who were wealthy with estates," Shimatsu said. "The officers may have paid the government to get it built." He said the fundraiser may be the reason each warrior has its own distinct representation. 
 
Even though the excavation may symbolize national pride for many Chinese, archaeologists and historians struggle to find the ultimate reason for the creation of the ancient statues. They hope to learn more by continuing the excavation. 
 
"It is painstaking work to preserve statues," Haddad said. "Archaeologists are just finding soldiers instead of the full representation of the emperor’s society."

 

The booming of diesel engines emanates for miles as construction trucks on a distant highway haul building materials to modernize western China. On the narrow Highway 312, these freight trucks come to a standstill as a traffic jam creates the first of many temporary halts, adding endless hours to a driver's daily grind.

 

In the distance, power lines stretching from the dry earth to the lush mountaintops taint the view of high peaks and vegetation.

 

Welcome to the fabled Silk Road.

 

The Silk Road, stretching over 4,000 miles, has served to transport goods to and from the West for over 2,000 years. While truck drivers still traverse this section of the ancient road, it's become a symbol of China's uneven development. Outdated dirt roads don't hold up to the modern vehicles and traffic volume.

 

The government has taken action to update this route. A new highway that runs parallel will be completed at the end of this year, said Tian Young, a 34-year-old truck driver from Huan Province.

 

Young, dressed in a red and black striped button-down shirt, transports machinery to help build houses and factories in western China. "I am very proud of it," he says.

 

Because of the continuous traffic on this road, drivers pack noodles and other snacks to prepare for the long haul, Young says. During the peak hours of traffic between late afternoon and early evening, peddlers mill about selling food and drinks.

 

"If I forget to bring food, I buy it on the street," Young says.

 

With no sign of traffic picking up, Young and his fellow travellers get out of their vehicles and amble down the street.

 

Throughout the evening, they look west for signs that the traffic is easing up.

 

A quarter of a mile ahead, inside a tunnel, Chen Qin Qing stands beneath orange lights, speaking to her husband as he sits in a blue truck used for transporting building goods. Together, they too are involved with the development of the West.

 

Qing, from Shanxi province, said that the trip to Gansu province normally takes 10 hours. Because of difficult driving conditions like narrow roads and hairpin turns, the tiresome journey can result in accidents and up to 12-hour delays, Qing says.

 

This puts the lives of drivers at risk and a snag in the road to the modernization of western China.