German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on the second day of her visit to China, celebrated her 56th birthday Saturday in the north-western city of Xi'an, home of the famous Terracotta Army, dpa reported.
For her fourth visit to China, Merkel had asked to see the 7,000 warriors and about 600 horses of China's first emperor Qin Shi Huang, who ruled from 221 to 210 BC. The army was discovered in 1974 by farmers drilling a well.
Premier Wen Jiabao and Merkel also plan to meet with residents of the 8.3-million-inhabitant capital of Shaanxi province.
Xi'an, the first capital of the imperial China has developed into a high-tech development zone and an important transportation, finance and trade hub in western China.