The Terracotta Warriors. These are also known as The Entombed Warriors or the Terracotta Army and they are claimed as the Eighth wonder of the Ancient World. It is not an exaggerated claim. The Hostel runs tours with an English-speaking guide so I joined two other travellers and boarded the bus for one of the most amazing sights in the world. We were a bit taken aback when the bus turned off the bitumen onto a dirt track which reminded me of the access road to the Bowen tip and let us off in a bare dirt parking area, but after running a gauntlet of hawkers along a lane walled in corrugated iron we came to the entrance gate to the impressive buildings of the Exhibition Halls and Research Institute. Our guide, Xiao Wang, was on her first day on the job and was very nervous at first to be speaking to real foreigners. We helped her relax and she gave a very thorough account of what we viewed. The first excavation is the most extensive and scores of warriors stand in rows, re-assembled from fragments by patient archaeologists. Elsewhere I have called it the biggest jigsaw puzzle in the world. I think the most amazing thing is that each was made individually and has his own face. It is thought that they were modelled on the soldiers of a real army. The hall is a huge hangar erected over the site. At the far end from the entrance some soldiers and horses were standing either complete or in the process of reconstruction. It was very cold in the exhibition halls and impossible to manipulate the controls of my camera with my new gloves on, so once again I had cold hands.
Another building was a circular theatre with a full surround film presentation. We stood watching an invading army riding towards us and turned to see them riding away from us into the distance. The Warriors really are a replica of a complete military force. A smaller pit held what is thought to be a command post for the two large divisions in the major excavations. All of the figures here are officers. The second excavation has few warriors on display. Scientists are waiting to excavate them when technology is available to preserve the colour of the uniforms. Each figure was brightly painted but the paint deteriorated rapidly when the figures were exposed to air again after so many hundreds of years. This pit was excavated and refilled immediately. After a visit to a building holding photos of Bill Clinton and other dignitaries at the site we left to pass through the line of insistent sellers and reboard our bus. We were dismayed when the driver informed our guide that the restaurant he normally takes people to was closed for the day and refused to look for another one. We went straight to a reconstruction of an underground palace. Perhaps it was hunger which prevented me from enjoying this greatly. It is a replica built from plans of the Emperor’s tomb itself. I am not clear whether this has not been excavated or if it has been destroyed by tomb robbers. It must have been magnificent, with a sky made of gems, lights made from phosphorescent fish oil, and rivers reproduced in mercury. The landscape is reproduced and the life of the court is reproduced, with rows of musicians, harem ladies, courtiers, government officials, etc. The tomb rests in the middle of the artificial landscape. Next to the Emperor are two of his wives. Wives who had not borne children had the choice to enter a nunnery or die with the Emperor. The really amazing thing about this ruler is that his complete burial site extends over 120 square kilometres and was 27 years in the building. He makes the Pharaohs look like petty chieftains. Most of the site is not excavated, including a central mound in a pyramid shape that is the size of a smallish hill. It is likely this is where his tomb is. Who knows what other treasures are still below ground in this huge area.