What to see on the visit of the Xian Terracotta Warriors Army

Possibly you have had the opportunity to see some scale figure of the Terracotta warriors de Xian, and even in some exhibitions, some life-size figures.

Now, I assure you that the sensation is not at all similar to seeing the impressive image of the army of warriors deployed in the Xian excavations.

That feeling in itself justifies a Trip to china, in addition to being one of the essential visits in said country.

The enormous excavations of terracotta warrior army Currently they are configured as a large museum divided into different naves.

These ships are distributed from the different graves excavated over time by archaeologists after their discovery in 1974.

Visit Terracotta Warriors

Therefore, when you start your visit and access the main building of the Terracotta Warriors Museum de Xian, In reality you will find yourself in what is considered the Pit 1 of the excavations.

When you enter the ship it is difficult not to be impressed by the grandeur of the scene before your eyes.

When I visited the excavations I remained ecstatic for many minutes before this scene, not wanting time to pass so I could continue enjoying such grandeur.

La Pit 1 It is a large covered nave 200 meters long and 60 meters wide.

It is the first one that was discovered in 1974, and it contains more than 6.000 warriors placed in rows, emulating the parade of a large army.

In these photos of the Terracotta Warriors of Xian You can see the rows of soldiers lined up in channels dug into the ground, and separated by land. This is due to the way in which the large terracotta figures were placed.

From the fixed ground, each figure was placed in its position, and once they were all placed, tree trunks were crossed above them, which were subsequently covered with earth, until over the centuries these trunks ended up fossilizing.

After the eleven years it took to create the terracotta warrior army, the ground was completely covered.

Over the centuries, reference to its location was lost, similar to what happened with the tomb of the Chinese emperor who ordered the creation of this army.

But a few decades ago the terracotta army was discovered by chance by a farmer, and during subsequent excavations, unearthing the soldiers was not always easy without collapsing the already fossilized trees.

In the excavation of pit 1 you can clearly see areas of collapse, with the ground fallen on top of shattered terracotta figures.

What are the terracotta warriors like?

During the time you stay absorbed in seeing this impressive army, you will be able to see that each figure is different.

Indeed, each of them has the features of their face personalized as if it were a sculpture sculpted in the image and likeness of each soldier.

In this way the figures are differentiated, for example, by mustaches, hairstyles, older or younger age, and even ethnic features.

The figures have a average height of 1,8 meters, and the uniforms reflect different military ranks, from private soldiers, with the simplest uniform, to generals, with much more elaborate uniforms.

In the central part of the armyTogether with the soldiers, they stand horses and carts.

Originally all soldiers had their weapons, but after the fall of the dynasty qin, the peasants of the area, who at that time knew of the existence of this terracotta army, entered through tunnels and looted it to steal the weapons.

Some of the bows and spears can still be seen in the Xian excavations museum.

Terracotta Warriors Museum

After visit of the main excavation, that is, of the Pit 1, you will access the ship where the Pit 2, which extends 124 meters from east to west, and 98 meters from north to south. The depth of the pit is almost five meters.

It is estimated that there are about 1.300 figures of warriors and horses, as well as 80 war chariots and thousands of bronze weapons.

The visit to pit 2 is not as spectacular as that of pit 1 since many of its areas are still unexcavated and a large part of the warriors have not been restored.

In this same pavilion we find a part of the Terracotta Warriors Museum, with several figures of warriors fully restored, exposed so that we can see each of their details up close.

Three of the most important figures that have been discovered in this grave stand out: the impressive terracotta general, the kneeling archer and the warrior with the saddle in his hands.

By getting close to one of these figures you will be able to see something that we did not know before visiting the Terracotta warriors of Xian, that originally all warriors were colored figures, compared to the earthy color with which we see them today.

This fact increases, if possible, the enormous dimension of the challenge that the construction of the army of terracotta warriors represented more than two thousand years ago.

The reason why terracotta warriors today are not colored is that, within a few hours of the figures being unearthed, they lose color due to oxidation.

Since the early 90s, a team of German scientists have been working together with the Chinese government to find a scientific solution that would allow more warriors to be unearthed without losing their original color.

Likewise, among the thousands of weapons discovered in grave 2, the 86-centimeter-long bronze swords modeled with eight symmetrical sides stand out.

Terracotta Warriors Bronze Chariots

In this area of ​​the museum you can see the two impressive bronze chariots which were also found in the excavations.

In the museum, the first thing you will see of them is a large photo showing the state in which one of the bronze chariots appeared as soon as it was unearthed.

This allows us to assess the restoration effort carried out by Chinese archaeologists.

The two cars, which have an intermediate scale size, were found in 1980 inside a wooden box that measured 7 meters long, 2 meters wide and another 2 meters high.

The Bronze Chariots of the Terracotta Warriors They had been hidden in this box for over two thousand years.

Since both cars were very damaged, the restoration took about two and a half years, and until 1983 the first of them was not exhibited to the public, while the second was not exhibited until 1988.

The chariots were built entirely of bronze, although they included 1.700 pieces of gold and silver.

Both chariots are drawn by four horses, and are supposed to represent the chariots used by the emperor for their field inspections.

The first of them, with only one seat for the driver, incorporates a large umbrella to protect from the sun, a custom that during your trip through China you will see is very common among the Chinese.

Generals' Grave

Finally you will access another ship with a much smaller surface area, with other pits: it is the so-called Generals' Grave, since figures of the highest-ranking officers were found in it.

This excavation occupies 520 square meters, and with a U shape it occupies 17,5 meters from east to west and 25 meters from north to south. Its depth is almost five meters.

En Pit 3 of the Terracotta Warriors of Xian 68 figures of warriors have been unearthed, as well as four horses and a chariot.

Numerous bronze weapons were also unearthed, as well as gold decorative elements.

Although among these figures there are numerous generals, an issue that intrigues archaeologists is that the figure of the commander in chief has not been found in any of the graves.

One theory in this regard is that the commander in chief would be the emperor himself.

One aspect that may surprise you when you see this grave, the smallest of all, but with the figures in very good condition, is that a large part of them do not have heads.

You must know that in the figures of the Terracotta warriors de Xian, the head and hands were made separately and then attached to the central figure.

But the reason for the lack of heads is thought to be due to some act of vandalism.

It is also known that in the past, some farmers digging in the area came to light and broke some heads.

Buy terracotta warrior figures in Xian as a souvenir

Without a doubt, Terracotta warriors They are the great attraction of our trip to Xian.

But once we have had the opportunity to visit the excavations and the Museum, most of us would like to take one of these impressive and enigmatic figures to decorate the living room of our house...

Obviously this is impossible, but the solution is buy some small figure of terracotta warriors which, as souvenirs, are continually offered to us during our visit to Xian.

If we consider buying any of these terracotta warrior figures as a souvenir, we must take into account that They are very delicate and very sensitive to any blow, so they must be well packaged to be able to transport it during the rest of the trip. In particular, the heads of terracotta warrior figures tend to break very easily.

Souvenir shops to buy terracotta warrior figures

To buy this souvenir we have several alternatives.

In the same Terracotta Warriors Museum there is a great souvenir shop with a wide variety of figures of various sizes and prices, from the smallest ones about 15 centimeters high, to figures similar in size to the originals. But it is also the store whose prices are significantly more expensive.

On the other hand, if our visit to Xian is made in the context of a trip organized by an agency, they will inevitably take us to visit a large store where they sell figures of terracotta warriors.

In this type of establishment focused on tourists, as in the museum store, in addition to a huge variety of pieces, in the case of purchasing a large figure, they offer the possibility of sending it directly to our home properly. packed.

This saves us from having to carry it for the rest of our trip through China. The prices in this type of establishment are similar, or somewhat cheaper, than in the museum's souvenir shop.

Buy souvenirs in the Muslim Quarter of Xian

Another alternative, in this case clearly cheaper, is buy these souvenirs in the Muslim Quarter of Xian. If on our trip to Xian we have the opportunity to visit this popular neighborhood, located in the center of the city of Xian, next to the Bell Tower, we will find many souvenir shops among which the great attraction is the figures of the terracotta warriors.

If we decide to buy these figures in the Muslim Quarter of Xian, we can get them much cheaper. Of course, haggling.

And if our interest in these figures is limited to having a small souvenir, throughout our visit to the Terracotta Warriors Museum, or by the Muslim Quarter, we will continually find people offering us small 15 centimeter figures, even in boxes with four or six of them. Regardless of the price they ask us, we will not have to pay more than 10 yuan per figure

Terracotta Warriors Xian Spanish Tour

If you prefer, to make this visit you can sign up for a Terracotta Warriors Excursion.

On this private tour you will be picked up at the hotel and with the company of a Spanish-speaking guide for five hours you will make the complete visit of the Terracotta Warriors excavations in Xian.

You can also sign up for private tour to visit the Terracotta Warriors and Xian.

This is a combined visit lasting 8 hours in which, together with a guide in Spanish, in addition to the famous excavations you will visit the most notable places in the city of Xian.

Specifically, you will also tour the Great Wild Goose Pagoda, the old one Xian wall, Bell tower and muslim neighborhood with its Grand mosque.

Finally, in order to plan your trip, here you have access to Booking.com to reserve hotels in Xi'an.