Terra Cotta Warriors

“Are you a paranoid fanatic who is worried your subjects will not respect you once you’re gone? Then assemble a giant rock army to protect your tomb and rule on into the afterlife!”

And that’s exactly what Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi did. Described as an extremely type A personality, Huangdi accomplished many great feats during his reign such as the beginnings of the Great Wall, the abolishment of feudalism, and to top it off, the unification of China. However, many of these achievements came at a cost and he created many enemies among his citizens after forcing them into labor on his massive construction projects. It has also been said that he burned almost all written texts and buried 460 disapproving critics alive. Therefore, he ordered over 8000 terra cotta soldiers, horses, and carriages be built. However, his massive immobile forces were no match for the disgruntled peasants who lit his tomb on fire shortly after his death, leaving the statues buried and forgotten until 1974. In the Spring of ’74, farmers happened upon this mythical legend after digging for a well. Excavations are still occurring today, 35 years later.

After getting 6” of snow we weren’t quite sure if we would make it out to see the Terra Cotta Army but it warmed up and melted down into a wet slush that we ended up tramping through. With cold soggy feet we finally arrived to check out the museum and three pits. No. 1 is the most impressive with over 6000 baked earth soldiers facing East in formation. No two fighters are the same; different facial expressions, hairstyles and stances make each one unique. We also learned that the soldiers were originally painted in bright colors that have since mostly faded and flaked away.