The Terracotta Warriors are the biggest tourist attraction for Xi’an since it’s discovery in the mid- 1970s. You’d be crazy to visit Xi’an and NOT see the warriors!  This is me before seeing them (I was barely able to contain my excitement)!

The Terracotta Warriors are part of a bigger complex which makes up Emperor Qin’s burial tomb.  The tomb itself (a few hundred yards away from the warriors) has not been opened yet because it is 70 meters underground.  However, archeologists know that the tomb was like a mini version of his real palace with dozens of rooms, a garden, zoo, and more!  The warriors are supposed to protect the emperor’s tomb.

Intimidating, right?  The warriors were originally underground and the long solid rows were once support for a roof.  This is Pit 1, the most famous of the four pits.  In here, most of the warriors are facing in one direction.  However, there are some on the sides that face out to protect the emperor from all directions.

One of the most interesting facts about the Terracotta Warriors is the fact that all of these statues were found in pieces.  Each and every single one had to be reconstructed.  Originally, they were even painted but with time that has faded.

They say that each warrior is unique, based off a real person.  This statement is somewhat true.  The bodies and garments are all molds- therefore, they just mix matched different body types with different garments.  However, the faces and hair styles are all unique and based off real people.  Based off of these traits, you can even decipher if this person was a general, solider, archer, etc.

The day our class visited the Terracotta Warriors was the same day Michelle Obama visited!  Luckily, she came in the morning so the facility was open to the public in the afternoon.  I think because she was there they brought in some archaeologists to work.  It was pretty fascinating to see the level of detail that goes into uncovering the pieces then reconstructing them.

The following pictures show the 5 year progression of excavating one section of the pit.

Pretty neat, huh?

Here are just some more pictures from Pit 1 as well as Pit 2 and 3.  (Fun Fact: Pit 4 is empty.  They started building the tomb when the emperor was young but by the time he died, they were only able to fill up pit 1, 2, and 3.

 

 

This is an archer.  All archers are crouching usually on one knee!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The whole experience was so great and I was lucky enough to see them again when my Mom and brother came to visit me!