THE 'A' LIST site of A List sites in Xi'an (and maybe among all A-List sites in China) is the Terra Cotta Army. Here is how it is described in Wikipedia.
The Terracotta Army 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 with the purpose of protecting him in his afterlife.
The figures, dating from approximately the late 200s BCE,[1] were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong County, outside Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. The figures vary in height according to their rank, the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army hold more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remain in situ in the pits near Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum.[2] Other, non-military terracotta figures have been found in other pits, including officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians.[3]
If you'd like to read more about the fascinating history of this site, here is a link to the entire article.
Here are two of the three pavilions open to the public.
However, if you would like to truly get a feel of the experience being here, watch these two videos.
A look at the overall display
It takes painstaking work to reassemble each warrior or horse
Each person is an individual, not just their faces but their sizes. They are hollow on the inside in order to allow for even firing in the kilns when they were first made. Originally they were painted and covered in lacquer. But most of that has not survived exposure to air.
Details
1 comment:
Okay, now that I have seen the video I don´t ever want to go there in person. I will content myself with learning about it from afar.
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