Xi’an is the one place you do need to visit when in China. It is the home of the Terracotta Warriors, and once you experience this amazing wonder of the world, you will be awestruck. Its discovery is even more interesting when you consider it was quite accidental. Local farmers were drilling for water when large pottery fragments were discovered, and so the beginning of the unearthing of the terracotta warriors began.

The Museum is located about an hour drive from Xi’an, and then it is a 15 minute walk to get to the Museum entrance. Within the Museum area there are 3 different pits to view the warriors. Each pit is still an active archealogical site, so you are able to see some of the work that is going on within the pits to preserve the warriors. Just to give you some idea of the size of the pits:

  • Pit 1 = 16,000 square metres
  • Pit 2 = 7,100 square metres
  • Pit 3 = 4,282 square metres

Each pit is about 5-7 metres below current ground level with the terracotta warriors placed in corridors. These corridors are paved with pottery bricks on which the warriors stand. The earth walls dividing the corridors sustained a wood roof which was used to conceal the army.

There are currently about 8000 warriors, 100 chariots and 400 horses on display, housed in the pavilions. Each warrior is unique and there were more than 700,000 artisans who worked on them. You are not able to touch them, or stand near them, as they are below ground level and access is forbidden.

Did you know that there are more sites to be dug up, but because the preservation of the warriors is compromised once they are unearthed, the archaelogical experts have had to invent two mediums that they use on the warriors to preserve their colour before they could continue with their excavation.

Behind the Museum is a hill where the tomb of Emperor Qinshihuang is said to be floating on a Sea of Mercury. There is no real evidence of the sea of mercury, but it does make a good story. The tomb is said to consist of an interior city and an exterior city and it is believed that there are great treasures still to be discovered. The history of the whole area is fascinating and too much to share here, so we recommend buying a book in the souvenir shop so that you can explore its history at your own leisure.

As much as we are not fans of being forced into tourist shops catering for overseas tourists, on this occasion we loved the shopping and the amazing array of souvenirs on offer. You can buy anything from a full sized warrior down to an ornament sized one. We actually purchased 2 warriors about 1 metre in height. Don’t worry….you do not have to carry them on the plane! They have all the postage organised back to your country, and when we returned home they arrived safe and sound without a scratch or chip on them. We did not have any trouble getting them through customs, but we think it is wise to check what restrictions apply in your own country to save you any added expense.

You will definitely not be disappointed in this tourist attraction. There is plenty to see and do around the warriors and you can easily spend a good half a day here. It is a hugely popular destination and so it is quite crowded. But patience will allow you to get some great shots of the warriors once the crowd moves around the pavilion.

There is still quite a lot to do in Xi’an so if you have time make sure you visit:

  1. The City Wall – quite magnificent being the most preserved wall in China. You can walk the wall, ride bikes around it, and enter and exit as you wish. The length of it is about 13 kms so give yourself plenty of time to appreciate its history and its scale.
  2. The Muslim Quarter – this is a great food and souvenir market, but strangely our guide was not that keen for us to spend much time here. But what time we did have we enjoyed wandering through some great shops. We could easily have spent more time here.
  3. Shaanxi History Museum – if you have time we think museum visits are a must. They give a rich history and offer so many wonderful artefacts to admire.
  4. Little Wild Goose Pagoda – built during the Tang Dynasty the 13 storey pagoda reaches a height of 43 metres. Its unusual curved shape was designed to help it withstand earthquakes, which occur in this region.

Travel Tips

  • If you do wish to purchase products relating to the terracotta warriors, then make sure you do it at the designated tourist shop. The range and quality of the products far exceeds those found elsewhere in Xi’an.
  • The warriors are an enormously popular tourist attraction, so they will be busy all year round. You do have to have a lot of patience to wait to take photos, and some tourists can take an extraordinary amount of time to view them, rather than being conscious of others around them.

Travel Alerts

  • Air quality around Xi’an can be quite poor, so please ensure you have a mask for protection, and medication if it is required.

Travel Adventures

  • There is plenty to do in Xi’an if you have the time. Unfortunately many tourist companies will only give you a short time here, but if you do have any extra time visit Xi’an Tourism to see what is on offer.