China Terracotta Army

We took a bus out to the park where they found the Terracotta figures surrounding the tomb mound of the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang.

 First stop at the entrance was at a shop where you could buy souvenirs and statues (not the ones found there, but newly made ones).

 There was a lacquer store where you could see them making Chinese furniture, like the big screen we have in our living room.  It was interesting.  We saw much smaller ones that were several thousand dollars.

 Finally we got to see the terracotta warriors.  They have these huge covered warehouses they've built over the diggings to protect them from the weather.

 It was quite amazing.  They are all life size and there are approximately 8,000 of them.

 They were found by a farmer in 1974.  They were placed in trenches around the burial site of the Emperor Qin Shi Huang.  And they've only looked on the south side of the tomb so there could be more on the other sides.  The trenches had roofs and then they were covered by dirt.  So they remained buried for centuries.

 They're life size and all represent actual people or horses and each has a different face.

 They were originally in color, but shortly after being uncovered and exposed to the air they oxidize and loose their color.

 The roofs had caved in and they were all in pieces when found.  Here you can see what they look like in pieces and some that have been restored.

 It was amazing how many there were.  Can you imagine the work that went into this.  It's really kind of sad when you think of the resources that went into this project just to bury it.  Historians estimate one third of the population was used to build and make all this and it took 40 years..  Just to be buried with that emperor.  Think of what they could have done with that manpower, money and effort in the way of road and bridges and public buildings.  Sad.  According to Chinese folk legend, Emperor Qin Shi Huang died of a people's curse due to his tyrannical government.

This is a staging area when they are reassembling the fragments back into their original shape and form.

Each warrior has to be put back together individually.

A close up of some of their faces where you can see actual facial features of individuals.

A few, right outside the entrance to the tomb, were chariots and warriors of bronze and gold.

Palace guards.

It was all just amazing what they built way back then over 2,200 years ago (from 246 BC to 208 BC).

we feel fortunate to have seen this, considered by some to be the great wonders of the world.