The Terracotta Army Museum

The Terracotta Army Museum  is located in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China. It’s a mausoleum dedicated to the first Chinese Emperor Qinshihuang. The thirteen year old Emperor was the founder of the united Chinese Empire back in the third century BC. The area covers over 56 square kilometers where thousands of terracotta soldiers, horses and chariots alongside with other bronze tools find their place within a rectangular enclosure.

The construction of the mausoleum started over 246 BC and till now the grave mound has a height of fifty one meter. The life-size figures were supposed to protect the young Emperor in his afterlife. According to historical records, thousands of workers came to construct a gigantic underground city until the death of the Emperor. The tomb is the largest one in the territory of China. As the tomb to the first Emperor, it houses a great number of funeral objects. 

The mausoleum was discovered in 1974 by the locals, who were digging the ground to make a well. This was an archeological treasure so that many archeologists hurried to the area to enhance excavations. The excavations revealed that the artifacts belonged to the Qin Dynasty, which reigned from 211 BC to 206 BC. Already in 1975 the state initiated the construction of a museum on the spot. After the construction was finished, the museum has become one of the ‘musts’ to be visited by everyone who cross China. 

The terra cotta figures, standing in range like army warriors, represent the royal army by giving a complete imagination of how the imperial army  looked like. The way they are range gives one the image of a standing army going to fight. The life-size figures are sculpted with a careful hand, and it seems like no details was missed to depict the imperial soldier uniform and accessories. The whole site of the museum was well preserved with mausoleum constructions, burial sites, which gives us a full idea about the burial ritual system of the time.    

The mausoleum is protected by the state by being listed on sites protected by the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics. In the year of 2009 from the Museum of Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses, it emerged to be the Qinshihuang Mausoleum Museum by the Cultural Heritage Bureau, Shaanxi Province. By this, the bureau took the responsibility of the daily maintenance, as well as the management, expeditions and scientific studies of the site. By the law of 2010, the Shaanxi government launched a preservation plan of the museum, to keep it safe from the urban infringements of  Lintong.