Terracotta Army

It's been a year since we were last in China, and on that trip, in addition to seeing family in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and friends in Shanghai, we went to Xi'an for a couple of days.

The city was interesting, but the highlight was the Terrocotta Soldiers. Created around 220BC, there are over 8000 soldiers, each modelled on a real person, built to guard the first Emperor of China - Qin Shi Huang.

Of the 8000, 2000 have been uncovered, but within weeks of their exposure to the air, all the paint faded from them. Therefore, the remaining army remain buried, until such time as a solution to prevent the paint fading is found.