Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum

The Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang lies on the northern foot of Mount Li in Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi, the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor in Chinese history. Construction began soon after he took the throne, and after unification hundreds of thousands of convicts and laborers were mobilized, with work lasting nearly forty years. According to the Records of the Grand Historian, a magnificent underground palace was built within, with “mercury for the hundred rivers, the Yangtze, Yellow River and seas,” and it holds countless rare treasures. The tomb park covers about 56 square kilometers. In March 1974 farmers at Xiyang village, Lintong, digging a well about 1.5 km east of the tomb, unexpectedly found fragments of clay figures; archaeologists then excavated and found Pit 1, Pit 2 and Pit 3. The three pits cover over 20,000 square meters and hold about 8,000 clay warriors and horses close to life size, plus tens of thousands of bronze weapons and over 100 wooden chariots. Pit 1, the largest, is a rectangular formation of infantry mixed with chariots; Pit 2 is an L-shaped formation of crossbowmen, cavalry and charioteers; Pit 3 is thought to be the command post for the three armies. The figures are mostly about 1.8 m tall, each lifelike and different in expression, and were originally painted in bright colors. In 1980 two large painted bronze chariots and horses were found west of the tomb, made with great delicacy. The discovery of the Terracotta Army is one of the most important Chinese archaeological achievements of the 20th century, hailed as the “eighth wonder of the world.” In 1987 the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and the Terracotta Army pits were inscribed on the World Heritage List.