terracotta warriors

Reputed as one of the greatest archaeological finds in the twentieth century and the eighth wonder of the world, buried at 1.5 km east of Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum, Terracotta Army or Terracotta Warriors and Horses (兵马俑) is the funerary object of Emperor Qinshihuang (259~210 BC), the first Emperor of China. In ancient China, people believed in after-world, thus, Emperor Qinshihuang built the Terracotta Warriors and Horses as his underground army to protect his soul in the after-world. In 1979, Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum was open to the public on the excavation site. In 1987, the museum, together with the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (they were combined into Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum in 2009, the museum was selected by Trip Advisor as the top 25 museum in the world, the only Asian museum on the list) were listed as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. After being buried in the ground for over 2,200 year, the Terracotta Army was finally accessible to public.