Terracota warriors: The silent sentinels of Xian
The Terracota Warriors from 2,000 years ago continue to attract visitors from around the world.
In 1974, fragments of terracotta statues were discovered by a farmer digging a well in a field outside of the Chinese city of Xian. A discovery that changed the course of the city and unearthed the largest pottery statue collection to be found.
While the Terracotta Warriors are the main attraction, Xian too, offers a chance to experience a welcoming and well-run Chinese city.
Getting there
To take the stress out of travel with kids, a guide is always a good option for excursions in China. Byranbai Private Tour provides a fantastic service and is highly rated on TripAdvisor.
While there is some information on the Terracotta Army in English, a good guide is so much more informational, and will always have first-hand experience that can’t be learned without experience, like tips on how to avoid crowds.
Your guide will advise a departure time from the hotel at 7.30am. A perfect time to leave as the drive takes under an hour, and more importantly, you arrive just in time to beat the tour buses. This lets you view the warriors before the crowds amass, as opening time is 8.30am.
The Terracotta warriors
The warriors had all been damaged and were in small pieces when found by archaeologists, so they begun the difficult task of piecing them together. Individual pits within the site show the different stages of reconstruction, even one called the Terracotta Warrior Hospital.
The reconstructed warriors stand in their original rows, many still without their heads. History has it that, Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the unifier of what is now known as China, appeared to be a mad visionary.
His plans for the region were eccentric for the times, but what made him even more bizarre was the amount of time and resources he lavished on trying to live forever.
Apparently, hundreds of thousands of craftsmen took decades to finish the terracotta army necropolis; and craftsman too familiar with the location of the site were not left alive long enough to reveal its location.
The warriors and their horses have been buried underground for over 2,000 years, since the death and burial of the emperor in 210 BC.
No two sculptures are alike, with each piece heralding incredible detail: hairstyle, facial features and even clothing depict warriors from the different regions of China and soldiers of varying ranks.
This is a surviving testament to how people dressed, looked like and what they did from thousands of years ago. However, the tomb has not been excavated as archaeologists fear doing irreparable damage.
Apparently, the warriors were originally painted, but the unearthing of the warriors has caused oxidisation, fading paint, therefore the archaeologists have decided to leave the warrior fragments in the ground until a time when the technology is available to help preserve the paint.
What else can be found at the site?
You will find the bronze chariots and horses on display along with some high-ranking officers, however apparently some items in the display are replicas.
Practical family tips
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- When travelling with kids, a good guide is invaluable. Things like toilets and interesting kid-friendly facts can help make or break a day and if the guide is any good they will know this.
- For families, it is a good idea to take a stroller or a backpack for carrying kids. There is a lot of walking, from the entrance, there is about a 10 minute walk to the pits.
- It is difficult for the kids to appreciate the significance of the site, but kids eight years and older can start to get an understanding of what they are seeing.
- Getting there early is super important due to the sheer numbers who come to view the warriors. Pit One is the largest and most impressive but also the most crowded, so for any chance of a view arrive before the buses. Apparently, lunch time can be a bit quieter.
- There are plenty of places to shop and eat around the site, including famous chains like Starbucks. The trick with a guide is that they will know where to find the really authentic and cheap places to eat.
- It is expensive to shop here, so the better option is to shop for souvenirs in the city.
- There is public transport available to the warriors, and hotels offer guides and transport, but do your own research on good guides and drivers in the region, it is sometimes cheaper and a better option than what the hotels can offer.
- It is easy with the terracotta warriors to combine that destination with other sights to make a day of it.
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