Terracotta army

The Terracotta army was built by the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huang, more than 2000 years ago. Qin Shi Huang, who died in search of immortality, believed that the warriors would accompany him after death and protect him in afterlife. Their other purpose was to guard the mausoleum. [https://www.chinahighlights.com/xian/terracotta-army/who-and-why-built.htm]

Outside the metro station of Huaqingchi

Transport

We took a quick stop on our China-backpacking trip in Xi'an to visit the Terracotta Army. Xi'an is a growing city and we were pleasantly surprised by its atmosphere, street markets, muslim quarter, and the fact that is was quite clean. We stayed in a hotel close to its center, but it took us almost two hours to get to the Terracotta Army. But it was no problem - we took only two metro lines and got off at HUAQINGCHI, and then boarded a 613 bus (3 min walk from the metro station). Depending on where one stays in the city, it's also possible to board a bus from the Xi'an North Railway Station towards BingMaYong Zhan, which will stop 1.5 km away from the Museum of the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang.

Tickets

Tickets for the museum can be purchased up to 10 days before the visit and it is recommended to do so in peak season. However, when we tried to purchase the tickets from the official website (it redirected us to WeChat), we couldn't complete the transaction as it required a Chinese phone number. Luckily, we were visiting in early march and after checking the ticket availability, we figured it's not very busy and we can buy the tickets on-site. For two people they cost us 247.2 yuan (32.54 €). We tried to purchase the discounted ticket for students, however it was declined and we paid a full price. As part of the ticket we could also visit the Mausoleum of the Qin First Emperor with a "free" shuttle bus.

Map of the Terracotta Army museum

Map

To get to the museum, we first had to walk through a small park, which was peaceful and offered services as toilets, food and drinks from vending machines. The exhibition itself is divided into three buildings, 1st Pit, 2nd Pit and 3rd. 1.Pit showing the famous hundreds of terracotta warriors, 2.Pit, still under excavation, shows archers, chariot war array, troopers and a battle array. In the 3.Pit we could see different relics, as well as the warriors and the command post from much closer, standing eye-to-eye with them.

Building 1

In the 1. Pit, we could see the famous hundreds of terracotta warriors.

Building 2

2. Pit, still under excavation, shows archers, chariot war array, troopers and a battle array.

Building 3

In the 3. Pit we could see different relics, as well as the warriors and the command post from much closer, standing eye-to-eye with them.

Final thoughts

Justly so, the Terracotta army is considered the "eight wonder" of the world and one of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century. Looking at the soldiers in the First Pit, all I could think about was the history and the grandness of the warriors, with a hint of mystery thanks to the Qin Shi Huang's faith in afterlife. In the site, there are up to 8 000 figures, however most of them are not excavated and hence, cannot be seen. But the view of hundreds and hundreds of soldiers is breathtaking and cannot be experienced in many more places.