(from Washington D.C., to Toronto ON), I was reminded of the first time I saw them, back in 1989, at the site of their discovery, in Xi'an, China. Despite the signs in English forbidding photography, I 'accidentally' snapped off this flash-shot with my snappy new camera with the digital date-stamp feature. 
Happy April Fools, terracotta bitches!I didn't make any notes on my travels, but I took many pictures (on real 35mm film- only the date stamp was digital), which I thought I'd go through, and
scan some of the shots I took of some of the numerous sculptures and monuments I saw on my trip.This one, the Statue of Five Goats, is a famous local landmark in Guangzhou. "Legend has it that
5 celestial beings brought 5 goats into Guangzhou. The goats were all carrying rice, which symbolized that they would make sure that the area would always be free of famine. Guangzhou has paid tribute to these benevolent goats by making them the symbol of the city. There are many goat statues in the 
"Goat City" and the Statue of the Five Goats is the most impressive."Sculptural menageries of mundane and fantastical creatures are a common artistic theme, with these leonine beasts serving the typical symbolic 'guardian' role, placed at important entrances within the Forbidden City in Beijing.
A varied assortment of other exotic beasts, such as the golden elephant the younger me sits next to, line the pathways. [Yes, thank you, I realize I look very dorky to 21st century eyes. Actually, this look was very cool in 1989.]
Tiananmen Square; an overwhelmingly huge paved open space, home to the columnar 'Monument to the People's Heroes', and the figurative monument at Mao's Mausoleum 
seen here; was eerily empty and peaceful when I was there, considering, in hindsight, the events of just a few weeks later.
Four museums across Canada are preparing for an invasion by China's famed terracotta warriors, with Victoria and Calgary slated as additional stops to the previously announced shows in Toronto and Montreal.
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