See the Terracotta Army in Xi’an

What the experience is

The Terracotta Army is the buried guard of Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of China. Work on his mausoleum began in 246 BC, when he came to the throne at the age of thirteen, and continued until his death around 210 BC. The army was placed in pits about a kilometre and a half east of his tomb mound at the foot of Mount Li, about 40 kilometres east of Xi’an. Farmers digging a well found it in 1974.

A museum has been built over the excavation. Visitors walk around the edges of three pits and look down on the figures in the trenches where they were set.

The three pits

Pit 1 is the sight most people have in mind. It is about 230 metres long and 62 metres wide, under a single roof, and holds thousands of soldiers in parallel corridors. Pit 2 contains cavalry, infantry and war chariots. Pit 3, the smallest, is a command post with officers and one chariot. A fourth pit was found empty.

The figures are life-size and taller according to rank. They were originally painted. The lacquer under the paint curls within seconds of exposure to dry air, which is why they are now the colour of clay. Tens of thousands of bronze arrowheads and other weapons have been recovered. Estimates give over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots and some 670 horses in all, most of them still in the ground.

The emperor’s tomb itself, under its mound, has never been opened.

When to go

Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons in Xi’an. The site is extremely busy during Chinese public holidays. Arriving at opening time, or late in the afternoon, gives the best chance of a clear view from the front rail of Pit 1.

Good to know

Entry is by real-name reservation: all visitors, foreign visitors included, must book in advance through the museum’s official channels (its website or official WeChat accounts), and a passport serves as the ticket. Walk-up ticket windows are no longer used, so book before travelling. Allow half a day including the journey from the city. A guide, or some reading beforehand, adds a great deal: the pits have few explanations. The site has been a World Heritage site since 1987 as part of the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.

Why OKYTO recommends it

Few ancient sites are seen so nearly as they were found. The scale of Pit 1, and the fact that each face is different, cannot be judged from photographs.