The Terracotta Warriors of Xian
Terracotta, also knows as the Italian baked earth is a widely used ceramic material ever since 3000BC. Today, it is a popular material to make ceramics like vases, as well as sculptures and other forms of decorative arts. Terracotta is also widely poplar for making roof tiles and bricks, as well as an easily decorated building material especially during the era of renaissance in Europe. Ancient Pakistanis used Terracotta to mold and sculpt figurines that were sacred to them even ones that symbolized fertility for both men and women. In ancient China, terracotta has been used to create oven baked figurines.
And although I am sure you have heard of Terracotta many times, you may think its been used mainly for purposes like the ones mentioned above, but there is one place in the world where the name Terracotta signifies a powerful empire and a rich part of history. This place is China, a big city in the north-west called Xian.
Xian was a home of many notable and powerful empires and dynasties in the history of China, but it is more famous for the terracotta warriors. The terracotta warriors are sculptures of Chinese warriors from the Qin Dynasty that were made to guard the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who was famous for unifying China as a central state. He was also a key character that spearheaded the foundation of the world renowned attraction and destination which is the Great Wall of China.
The creation of the Emperor's tomb as well as the Terracotta Warriors was said to take 38 years utilizing over 700.000 laborers along the way. The warriors were made to depict exact replicas of real life soldiers of the Qin Dynasty .Each warrior has its own rank as well as unique facial features and expressions; their hairstyle and gestures were also different from one another, a truly astounding work of art. The warriors' armors are detailed with strict accordance to their status and rank in the army and their positions were with strict accordance to the codes found on the Art of War. Each warrior held real weapons such as bows, swords arrows, spears, daggers and axes all of which despite being buried for over 2000 years are still sharp. The tomb was discovered in 1974 whilst a local farmer was digging a well and up to this day, 1,860 warriors and chariots have been unearthed but more are yet to be discovered.
The Tomb of Emperor Qin as well as the Terracotta army has been a leading tourist attraction in China aside from the Great Wall. It has been said that traveling China without visiting and seeing the tomb and the army would be like going to Egypt and not having to see the pyramids, so if you are planning to travel China, be sure to take to visit the marvelous tomb. You can book individual/private or group tours from your hotel. The tomb of Emperor Qin and the Terracotta Army can be visited in the Terracotta Army Museum which is about30km east from the Lintong district of Xian. The museum is open from 8AM until 5PM and admission rates range from 65-90 Yuan.
Read More @ SourceModern China 2011——Chinese City 2 ——Shenzhen
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