CHINA 5A TRAVEL
Eight thousand life-size clay soldiers - every face different - standing guard in excavation pits beside the First Emperor's tomb since 210 BC. The 'Eighth Wonder of the World' and the anchor of any Xi'an trip.
In 1974 farmers digging a well near Xi'an broke into a vault of fired-clay warriors - the vanguard of the Terracotta Army, buried around 210 BC to escort Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, into the afterlife. Three excavation pits now shelter the army inside the Emperor Qinshihuang Mausoleum Site Museum, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the largest ancient military museum in China.
Pit 1 is the show-stopper: a 230-meter hangar over the main battle array of some 6,000 infantry and chariots, ranks of figures standing in trenches with earthen ramps, front ranks unarmored archers, officers distinct by topknots and caps. Pit 2 holds the mixed corps - kneeling crossbowmen, cavalry and their horses - and Pit 3, the command post with staff officers and a sacrificed skeleton. Every warrior's face is individual; traces of pigment survive on a few robes and bends.
The Bronze Chariot hall displays two half-scale gilded chariots found near the tomb mound - 'the Crown of Bronze' for their gold-and-silver inlay precision. The ticket also covers the mausoleum park 2 km away (free shuttle), where the unexcavated tomb mound sits under a green pyramid. The standard loop: Pit 1, Pit 3, Pit 2, chariots, then the mound.
Highlights
Pit 1's standing army
The 6,000-figure main array under one vast hangar - the view that made the site famous; stand on the east viewing deck at opening for near-empty ranks.
The kneeling archer
Pit 2's best-preserved figure - sole treads, seam lines and a pigment-green tunic still crisp after 2,200 years.
Individual faces
Scan a front rank: mustaches, topknots, jaws and expressions all different - an army of portraits, not clones.
Bronze chariots
Two half-scale chariots with 3,000-odd gold and silver fittings - the finest bronzes surviving from Qin.
The excavation in progress
Rear Pit 1 lanes still hold shattered figures being pieced - archaeologists reassemble warriors like 3D jigsaws in full view.
The Emperor's mound
The shuttle-linked mausoleum park: a quiet 76-meter green pyramid over the sealed tomb, rivers of mercury by legend.
Photo Gallery
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