Ancient site · Tomb
Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and the Terracotta Army
Also known as Terracotta Warriors
Near Xi'an lies the burial mound of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China. Work began in 246 BCE when he became king of Qin, and the historian Sima Qian wrote that 700,000 conscripts laboured on it.
In 1974 farmers digging a well found the Terracotta Army buried about 1.5 km away: three pits estimated to hold more than 8,000 life-size clay soldiers, 130 chariots and hundreds of horses, each face individually finished. They were buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE. The central tomb has never been opened. UNESCO listed the site in 1987.
- Dates
- 246–209 BCE
- Still standing
- Yes
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Yes
- Location
- 34.38° N, 109.27° E
How we know
The historian Sima Qian described the building of the tomb about a century later, and the army itself was found by excavation in 1974.