Tuesday, June 07, 2016

Xian Trip 2016 - Day 2 - Terracotta Army/Warriors Museum- Pit 1

The real excitement and sole purpose of us visiting Xian, was to visit the Terracotta Army兵马俑. The Terracotta Army (Chinese: 兵马俑; literally: "Soldier-and-horse funerary statues") is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE and whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife. (Source: wikipedia.)

This is where it begins. The Terracotta Army was discovered on 29 March 1974 to the east of Xi'an in Shaanxi province by farmers digging a water well approximately 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi) east of the Qin Emperor's tomb mound at Mount Li (Lishan), a region riddled with underground springs and watercourses.

There are over 6,000 terra cotta warriors and horses in Pit 1, of which 1,000 have been unearthed. They are marshaled into a well-organized battle array composed of the infantry and cavalry. The vanguard includes 210 foot soldiers divided equally into three lines. The cavalry and war chariot follow close in line, forming the main body of the battle formation. The foot soldiers are alternated with the chariots drawn by horses, lined into 38 columns. On both the northern and southern sides of the war formation stand 180 warriors which serve as flank guards. The rear guards are on the western end, with two lines facing east and another facing west. Some soldiers are armed with battle robe, and some are equipped with armor. Read more from Travelchinaguide.

There's a lot of description along the edge of the pit, so I dont think we need to engage any museum guide for a fee.

The excavation works has not been completed. The whole pit was really massive.

Video of the Terracotta Army Pit 1

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