The Terracotta Army, Lintong, Xian, Shaanxi Province
China’s infamous and amazing Terracotta Army is a must see if you’re intending to visit China. It was created for the first Emperor of China Qin Shi Huang who was obsessed with finding the secret to immortality. To improve his chances of life after death he had 70,000 workers build his tomb – a job that took 11 years. The lucky ladies in Qin Shi Huang’s life (all 3000 of them) also followed him to the grave.
The tomb had 8,000 fantastic life-size clay warriors, which were discovered by some peasants in 1974. You can see 7,000 of the figures today and excavations continue at the site. Arranged in battle formations the warriors are the stars of the onsite museum which covers a massive 16,300 square meters. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. There are also chariots and horses and none military figures such as officials, acrobats, strongmen and museums. It’s estimated that there were originally the 8,000 warriors, 130 chariots, 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses with the majority still lying buried.
No comments:
Post a Comment