Terracotta Warriors

Today I visited the Army of Terracotta Warriors outside Xi'an. They are a vast collection of thousands of life-size terracotta soliders and horses which Emperor Qin Shi Huang had made and placed outside his tomb. This was either because he was terrified of evil spirits and wanted to be protected in the afterlife, or because he wanted his rule to last well after his death. The soldiers are all equipped with real weapons (which have since been removed).

Suffice to say, not many of these warriors or their horses remain intact, now that the wooden roofs of the caves have given way. However, a lot of the warriors have been restored, and only one has remained entirely intact.

Quite a remarkable sight!