Terracotta Warriors

The Terracotta Warriors were the guardians of the tomb of the first emperor of the united China, Qin Shi Huang, who died in 210BC. They were first unearthed in 1974, and since then enormous effort has been put into excavating and restoring the figures, and building a museum and viewing sites around the excavation pits. The combination of the massive scale of the terracotta army and the individuality of the life-size warriors faces, expressions, and poses is most striking. This is certainly a place to see if you come to China!





Warriors


Kneeling Archer
The daunting task of reconstructing the warriors is still going on in the viewing halls.


Fallen Warriors


Reconstruction

The Terracotta Warriors are about a mile from the actual tomb of the emperor. The scale of the tomb is impressive too - it is a hill 50m high (originally 100m) and 500m on each side. We visited the tomb on the way to the Terracotta Warrior Museum. This was useful in setting the scene for the warriors to come, but there is not actually much to see: although there are stories of wonderful things buried in the mound, no excavation has been carried out yet. Nearby to the tomb two bronze chariots, about half life size, were discovered. These are now on display in the Terracotta Warrior museum. They are wonderfully detailed and lifelike.


Bronze Chariot