One cannot come to Xi’an without visiting the Emperor Qin’s Terracotta Museum. The museum is constructed around the mausoleum of Emperor Qin.
In 1974 few farmers were digging a water well and discover some pottery fragments and bronze weapons. Further investigation confirmed they had found one of the biggest burial sites in China, belonging to the first feudal Emperor Qin Shi Huang (2200 years ago). We met one of the farmers, Mr. Yang Gaojian and had the honour to shake his hand and get his autograph on a book about the site.
Walking through the various pits already open to the public one can’t stop being astounded by the enormity of the site (20,000 sq. m) and the work already done in such a short period since its discovery (1974-2017). There are 4 pits open to the public and many more are still to be dug, waiting to discover the technology that would allow the preservation of the pieces and in particular the colours.
We almost run out of batteries in our 2 cameras trying to capture what we were seeing. Many “slide nights” will be required on our return to describe our experiences in this and all the other sites we visited during this trip. Family and friends, be prepared.
At the end of the Qin’s dynasty and most likely due to the fact that Emperor Qin was a dictatorial despot, the palaces and mausoleum pavilions were burnt and the roofs collapsed over the statues.
Pit 1 was the first pit to be dug and the largest pit of all. The size of two football fields in length this pit contains over 6000 terracotta warriors, horses and the remains of chariots. The statues being terracotta were all smashed to pieces when the roof collapsed and it is amazing the amount of reconstruction work that has been carried out in such a short period of time as you can imagine from the few photos we include in this section. The excavations show a battalion of infantry and chariots in battle formation. The front line includes 3 rows of soldiers all armed with bows and cross-bows. The wooden carved weapons have disintegrated but some pieces are shown in the various exhibits throughout the museum. Following the vanguard rows, are the remaining of the battalion with the horse-drawn chariots.
Each warrior had been sculptured individually with different faces, hairstyle, and accessories over the uniform and the head covers indicating their ranks. In the kneeling archers, one can see the details of threads of their boots. Imagined doing this for over 6000 statues. It is mind-boggling… only Chinese could do that!!!
We had a guide for this visit. The number of tourists is overwhelming and the use of a guide is highly recommended to streamline the visit and eliminate waste of time trying to navigate the various pits and the museum display buildings. My 1.91 m of height gave me an advantage; in the most popular exhibits, I could take the photographs over the crowds and not having to wait for my turn to reach the front. Poor Filomena had to mine through the crowds to reach the front row.
Enjoy the photos, but I recommend you come to visit yourself because words can’t transmit the feeling and experience when you confront such a spectacle.
