A street scene in Beijing.

Las Vegas? No, a building in Beijing.

All the cities we visited had hundreds of colorful billboards and signs

The city of X'ian at dusk. This shot was taken from atop the ancient city wall. X'ian was the capital of several ruling dynasties and one of the great cities of the ancient world. Cities have existed in this area since the 11th century BC.

Making noodles in X'ian.

Discovered by farmers digging a well near X'ian in 1974, this burial pit consists of a huge army of terra-cotta armoured warriors and horses left in the mausoleum of China's first feudal emperor Qin Shi Huang.

You see pagodas all over China. This one at X'ian is called the small wild goose pagoda and is from the Tang Dynasty. Its roof was lopped off by an earthquake in 1556.