The world’s most shocking archaeological discovery of all time - The Terracotta Army were found by a group of peasants while digging a well in Shaanxi province in north-west of China in March 1974. What they uncovered from the earth were fragments of a clay figure that led to the discovery of the an extraordinary treasure of an entire army of life-size terracotta soldiers and horses concealed underground for more than 2000 years. It turned out to be one of the greatest archaeological findings in modern times.
How to get there?
Here is a guide on a budget trip to visit the Terracotta army museum which is located in Xian, the capitol of Shaanxi province, China. Taking a public transport could save you hundreds of dollar with a little planning on your tour especially on the time schedule.
You may take the more popular bus ride from the Xian Railway Station. The bus departs every 30 minutes or so from 7.00am till 7.00pm and it is parked at the parking lot at the eastern side of the railway station. The bus will display number ‘5’ and a little signboard stating heading to ‘Terracotta Army Museum’. Sometimes when the bus driver is not ready, you can see a queue waiting for the bus door to get opened. The price is about 20RMB for a single trip and journey will take you about an hour. The bus will stop at some other tourist attractions, but unless it is part of your schedule to visit them, you should only alight at the last stop which is at the Terracotta Army Museum to avoid unnecessary delay in the visit.
Tickets can be purchased at the ticketing office at 150RMB. For most of us who are foreign tourists who could not understand Chinese, you have an option to hire a local guide whom many loiter near the ticketing office area for a fee of 150RMB to 200RMB. Another option is to rent an audio recorded guide from the ticketing office for 40RMB. It is easy to understand the voice recording which has probably an American accent and quite informative.
Of course, you may choose to walk by your own self which I think is not too difficult but in order not to miss any important part you would like to use a guide book. After getting the above ready, a little walk of about 5 to 10 minutes from the ticketing office will bring you to the main entrance gate. A little tram service that costs 5RMB is available to bring you to the main entrance gate if you do not wish to do too much of walking.
The museum consists of 3 pits namely: pit 1, pit 2 and pit 3. This is the entrance hall of pit 1 and so far is the most impressive compared to the other 2 pits.
Stepping into the hall of pit 1, there shows a giant board with the preface on it. Since we are here, just share a brief history of Qin Shi Huang. Qin Shi Huang was born in 259 B.C. in the Qin state at the warring states with 6 other independent states. With a combination of strategies, military strength and technologies, he conquered the 6 warring states and unified China at 221 B.C. and proclaimed himself not just a King but the first Emperor of China.
According to historian, the work on the mausoleum began as early as 246 B.C. when the Emperor ascended the throne as King of Qin at the age of 13. During the building of the mausoleum, more than 700,000 workers were involved and the Emperor's tomb is located at the foot of Mount Li which was an auspicious geographical site famed for jade and gold mines. The tomb constructed was a city like size with underground caverns containing everything the Emperor would need for the afterlife even to conquer the underworld probably.
The entire mausoleum consists of several palaces, towers, officials, stables and many valuable artifacts and wonderful objects. It was mentioned in a famous historian script that it had 100 rivers flow simulated by mercury and a ceiling mimicking the night sky with luminous pearls set as stars. There are more than treasures including mysteries held inside the tomb of China's first Emperor who passed away in 210 B.C. , however these historical mysteries may continue to lie buried inside until Chinese government permits and new technology evolve to excavate the tomb site. With the current archaeological technology, opening the tomb will cause serious damage to the burial site. For over 4 decades, only 2000 terracotta warriors have been uncovered and all of them which were originally painted with colors have their color pigments flaked off once they are exposed to the air when unearthed. It will take centuries to excavate the entire site which estimated to have over 8000 terracotta figures in total and right now the Qin Emperor who is left undisturbed for more than 2 millennia will continue to sleep.
How to make terracotta warriors and horses using clay? This board briefly describes the process.
The army of pit 1 was actually the site where the farmers originally found the clay fragments of the terracotta warriors while digging a well. It is approximately 1.6 KM east of the Qin Emperor's tomb mound. The size estimated I would say is about 4 football fields combined together.
I would think the terracotta army is magnificent. The pit is well ventilated with humidity control system. By the way it is also fireproof and burglarproof.
You may notice that the walls are in fact shorter than the terracotta warriors. It was due to a flood that caused the walls to partially collapse. The walls were then fortified to maintain a stronger structure over the years.
Scientists have estimated that there could be over 6000 terracotta warriors and cavalries in pit 1. What we are seeing currently are only about 1000 of them unearthed. The formation of the terracotta army in pit 1 was set in a line deliberately to pose as war-ready like to prepare for any battle.
The terracotta figures were produced based on life-sized. Each and individual of them has their own unique facial features and varies in height, size, uniform, hair, weapons etc. Isn't that amazing?
Some historical accounts stated that the tomb had been looted by Xiang Yu who was the Overlord of Western Chu after the fall of Qin Dynasty. Some figures in pit 1 and 2 show signs of being damaged by fire and remains of the burnt ceiling rafters have also been recovered. The burning of the site could be the main reason to cause the roof to collapse and crush the army figures below. The terracotta warrior shown here has been restored from the fragments.
Pit 2 is located about 20 meters northeast of pit 1. This pit is discovered in April 1976 and consisted of mixed military units like archers, chariots, cavalries and infantries. Total area is about 6000 sq meters.
The excavation of the pit 2 is still in progress. Only a large area of remnant of the roof beams and a small portion of the terracotta army are on displayed. Shown here are those terracotta figures in unrestored condition.
Terracotta kneeling-position crossbowman was first found in pit 2. Total of 220 crossbowmen were found at the East part of the pit in which 160 were in kneeling-position.
The behind of the kneeling-position crossbowman shows some color pigment left over when it was excavated and exposed by the atmosphere from oxidation. It will take years for scientists to come up with new technology to prevent damages caused by the excavation.
This shows a middle ranking official. The rank was identified by his double layered flat hat and squarish shoes during that time.
This is a high ranking official. The wearing of a double layered robes under a fish-scale armor, headgear and squarish shoes were the signs of a General. Usually a General will be taller in height compared to the other soldiers.
Standing archer in a pose ready to shoot the arrow. It is part of the infantry but dressed in unarmored robe.
Cavalryman with his war horse. Notice that the robe of the cavalryman is knee length and he is also wearing an armor vest.
This bronze sword unearthed in pit 2 measures to be 34 inches long and still remains every sharp and smooth despite the fact that it was buried for over 2000 years.
Various weapons such as swords, spears, halberds, lances, cross-bows, battle-axes, arrows etc were found mostly in pit 2.
Majority of the war chariots were found in pit 2. Total more than 60 over chariots were lined up in war formation in section 2 of pit 2. Each chariot is pulled by 4 war horses. Shown here is the bronze chariot designated only for the Emperor.
Pit 3 is about 30 meters northwest of Pit 1 and covers an area of about 520 square meters. Based on expert findings, pit 3 is the command post of the other 2 pits and it is the smallest pit.
Total of 68 terracotta warriors are unearthed together with 4 horses and a chariot from pit 3. One thing that puzzles experts is why there wasn't a commander-in-chief found in the command post of Pit 3? Some says Emperor Qin Shi Huang he himself was the commander-in-chief and the image of him could not be replicated to replace his dignity and authority as an emperor.
You can see that many of the warriors do not have heads. It is believed that they did have heads originally but at some points vandals could have broken in and destroyed the heads. The terracotta figures unearthed here in pit 3 are more splendid compared to those in pit 1 and pit 2 as they are in full armor. Pit 3 was also found with gold, bronze and stone decorations.
Afraid of getting lost in the large museum compound? Do not get too worried as there is a map showing the layout of the museum compound just after entering the main gate.
On the way out after finish touring the museum, you may visit some of the shops around it. Most of them are selling some finger food and cold drinks while others are selling handicrafts and souvenirs.
Trying to look cool like a terracotta warrior? You may fit into the outfit of an imitation for a small fee. Both adult and children size are available.
I personally like this fridge magnet which I bought from one of the souvenir shops. This design is showing Qin Shi Huang and his terracotta army. Price is about 25 to 30RMB. Though slightly overpriced, I feel it was still worthwhile due to the unique 3D effect which most fridge magnets do not have as a feature. I think you will like it too. Another popular design which you may choose from is a terracotta General leading an army.
Another souvenir which you may consider having is a miniature size of a bronze chariot which Qin Shi Huang rode on it during battles he fought. It is encased in a clear plastic box and looks great as a gift or as a collection.
When I was young, I was fascinated by the terracotta warriors. Overall the trip to visit the terracotta army was really an eye opener for me. Till now I am still curious what mysteries lie inside the Qin Emperor's central tomb. For more than 40 years after its discovery since 1974, only about 1% of the entire tomb has been excavated. Until science advances with better archaeological tools for excavating artifacts, perhaps with a robotic machine that can enter the tomb? No one will ever see what lies inside the hidden palace till someday.....
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