Emperor Qinshihuang‘s Mausoleum Site Museum

The Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor is located in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China. It consists of two main parts: the Museum of the Terracotta Army (秦陵兵马俑 Qinling Bingmayong) and the Lishan Garden (秦始皇陵遗址公园 The mausoleum site park) . Among them, the Terracotta Army is the highlight and a must-see attraction known around the world.

The Terracotta Army, part of China’s very first group of UNESCO World Heritage sites, is considered a major symbol of ancient Chinese civilization. It is often ranked among the world’s top ten rare ancient tomb treasures. These life-sized terracotta figures were created during the Qin Dynasty as burial objects for China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. Before this time, it was common for nobles to be buried with living people as sacrifices, but the terracotta warriors replaced that practice.

Each warrior stands about 1.8 meters tall and was modeled after real people. What amazes visitors most is that no two figures look exactly the same. Many believe that craftsmen based their work on actual Qin soldiers of the time. The other part of the site, the Lishan Garden, contains the emperor’s mausoleum itself. However, the underground chamber has never been excavated due to current technical limitations. Visitors can instead see the Bronze Chariot Museum, auxiliary pits, and ruins of the mausoleum structures.