The Terracotta Warriors and Horses are the most important archaeological excavations of the 20th century located lies 35 kilometres east of Xi'an, at the base of Lishan Mountain. Life size figures of terracotta warriors and horses arranged in battle formations are the star features at the museum.
The museum covers an area of 16,300 square meters, divided into three sections: No. 1 Pit, No. 2 Pit, and No. 3 Pit in that order. Altogether over 7000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, and even weapons have been unearthed from these pits. Most of them have been restored to their previous magnificence.
There are four main categories of figures: chariot warriors, infantrymen, cavalrymen, and horses. There are generals, middle ranking officers, lower ranking officers, ordinary soldiers, and resistant warriors.
The soldiers are divided into infantry armed with swords and spears, archers, crossbow archers, cavalry, chariot drivers and officers. Among the infantrymen there are some with armour and others without. Chariots are respectively designed for commanders, aide officers of a squad of three or four soldiers.
Excavations indicate that the cavalry functioned as an autonomous force in battle, with chariots in performance a vital strategic role. A shopping centre nearby also provides visitors buy small replicas of the warriors, horses and chariots as souvenirs for a couple of Yuan.
In the Pit No. 1 includes: Large body of troops from the left group marshalled in battle order. With 14,260 square meters, it is the largest of the three pits. Five slopping entrances reach down to it from the east and west. Ten partitioning walls separate the underground army into different columns.
The walls are reinforced by stout beams, which are covered by reeds and earth. The floor is paved with black bricks.
There are more than 6,000 terracotta warriors and horses into battle line formation. Three columns in front of each battalion performing the role of being the vanguard, each unit of 70 soldiers, making a total of 210 soldiers who fulfilled the role of being the resistance or vanguard in the battle
The Pit No. 2 is 20 meters due east of Pit No. 1. It is 6,000 square meters subdivided into L-Shaped foursquare sections, where archeologists unearthed 1,000 warriors, 500 horses, and 89 wooden chariots. The horses are both for pulling chariots and for carrying riders.
The first module is the unit at the eastern end, within which displayed a matrix of 334 warriors. The second module is the unit at the south end including first to eighth passing holes and sixty-four battle vehicles, each of which has three sergeant figurines.
The third module is the central unit in the pit including passing holes ninth to eleventh, nineteen war tanks and over 100 pieces of unarmed soldiers. The fourth module is the unit in northern half of the pit, including passing holes twelfth through fourteenth, 6 chariots, and 124 horses and cavalry.
For reach to the Pit No. 3 have to walk 25 meters north from Pit No. 1. It was discovered within a month after the archeologists had found Pit No. 2. It is a concave structure of 520 square meters. There are only one car, 4 horses, and 68 pottery figurines in this pit. The formation of these pottery figurines is different from the first and second pit, they were displayed in the combat formation.
There are animal bones and deer horns strewn about, probably sacrifices offered on the eve of a battle. These are half size scale models of real chariots, faithfully copied down to the last detail, complete with horses and people. They are constructed with bronze and cast bullion. There are 1720 gold and silver pieces, weighing 7 kilograms. The chariot has been painted white by conservation workers.
In 221 B.C., Emperor Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty established the first centralized feudal dynasty in China. He was a important man in the History of China. After his death, he was buried at the northern foot of Lishan Hill in the east of Lintong County. The tomb has been reduced to half its size after 2,000 years of water and soil erosion, but still impressive, 76 meters high and a original space of 120,000 square meters.
One curious detail about the construction of the tomb is that the emperor had the building begin shortly after becoming king of Qin at the age of 13.
This action contradicted Confucian wisdom that a son should demonstrate respect for his father by building as impressive a memorial as possible and that a man should never plan his own funeral rites.
In fact, he ordered the burning of books of history and philosophy as well as the death of 460 Confucian scholars who had had the temerity to continue teaching principles drawn from the past. The tomb took 39 years and 700,000 workers to reach conclusion. It had pearls embedded in the ceiling to represent the stars, and rivers and lakes were modeled with liquid mercury. The tomb itself has not been opened yet.
In March 1974, farmers from Xianyang village accidentally discovered many broken pottery figures while digging a well 1.5 kilometers east of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum, Lintong County, Shaanxi Province.
The State Council authorized to build a museum on site in 1975. When completed, people from far and near came to visit. Xian and the Museum of Qin Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses have become landmarks on all travelers' itinerary.
In 1976, after driling, another two pits were discovered respectively 20 meters and 25 meters to the north of the former one. They were numbered Pit 1, 2 and 3 respectively in order of discovery, with a total area of 22780 square meters. In 1978, a fourth pit was discovered; it is shaped as the Chinese character zhong (middle). In 1980, two bronze chariots with four horses were discovered.
No. 1 Pit is the largest, first opened to the public on China's National Day, 1979. There are columns of soldiers at the front, followed by war chariots at the back.
No. 2 Pit is 20 meters northeast of No. 1 Pit. It contained over a thousand warriors and 90 chariots of wood. It was unveiled to the public in 1994. Archeologists came upon No. 3 Pit also in 1976, 25 meters northwest of No. 1 Pit. It looked like to be the command center of the armed forces. It went on display in 1989, with 68 warriors, a war chariot and four horses.
The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses is a sensational archeological find of all times. It has put Xian on the map for tourists. It was listed by UNESCO in 1987 as one of the world cultural heritages.
In November 1996 it was listed as Key Cultural Relics Units under the State Protection by the State Council. In 2005 the museum was extended. Lying at the foot of Lion Mountain, the museum covers over 6,000 square meters. The funerary objects of the king, about 4,800 pieces of colored terracotta warriors and horses about 40 cm filled with vivid expressions, have been unearthed.
There are six pits altogether in the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Han Dynasty: three infantry pits, one pottery-guard pit, one cavalry pit and one chariot pit. The terracotta warriors and horses are basically in good condition and they are all arranged in battle formation of the Chu Kingdom in the early Western Han Dynasty, with soldiers as well as officers visible in the infantry.
Apart from the six pits, there is a military exhibition hall and a temporary exhibition hall added to the museum after its extension in 2005. The temporary exhibition hall is being prepared for cultural relics on loan from other museums.
Compared with the Xian Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Qin Dynasty, the Han tomb figures are smaller but the development of their features is based on that in the Qin Dynasty.