Terracotta Army, Xi'an

He wears a double-layered flat hat and square-toed shoes. A robe under the armour extends below his knees. The armour for the middle-ranking officers have two different styles: one is with chest armour only and another is with both chest and back armour.

This is probably the most famous of all the 8,000 warriors found so far. Cloaked in upper-body armour and kneeling in a state of preparation, this archer is alert although his wooden bow has disintegrated. His square-toed shoes are studded for extra grip.

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Pit 3 is just 27 yards from Pit 1 and is the smallest of the three, built in the shape of the Chinese character "?". Experts have pointed out that Pit 3 is the command centre or headquarters for all the groups in the other two pits. The unearthed artefacts include 68 terracotta warriors, four horses and one chariot all arranged in a layout that is quite unique. There is a slopping passageway in the east and upon entering it, you will face a chariot and horse chamber where there is a single war chariot. This chariot and horse chamber has two corridors on the two sides. A wing room is located to the west of the left corridor. To the west of the right corridor, there are ante hall and back room. All the 68 warrior figures stand orderly along the two sides of the passageways.

Open: 8am-6pm. Admission: RMB90.

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Current estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits. The army is made up of soldiers, kneeling archers, standing archers, cavalrymen with horses, junior officers, mid-ranking officers, high-ranking officers/generals (of which 7 have been found).

Open: 8am-6pm. Admission: RMB90.

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Current estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses. No two soldier’s faces are alike and it is said that they were modelled on real soldiers. Studies show that eight face moulds were most likely used, and then clay was added to provide individual facial features. Once assembled, intricate features such as facial expressions were added.

Open: 8am-6pm. Admission: RMB90.

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Pit No.1, the most famous of the three, was discovered by local villagers in March 1974 who were drilling for wells on a piece of barren land. They found fragments of terracotta warriors and many bronze weapons. These discoveries received much attention and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage sent a team of archaeologists and conservation experts to perform a site visit, and organised Shaanxi archaeologists to perform a full-scale excavation of the site.

In order to protect the find, a large arched hall with a steel frame was built above the pit in 1976. Covering an area of 19,136 square yards, the hall has provided the pit with good ventilation and daylight conditions. Inside the hall, Terra Cotta Pit No.1 is an east-west rectangular pit, measuring 252 yards long, 68 yards wide and 16 feet deep. There are five sloping entrances on both the eastern and western sides. Two side doors are installed on the northern and southern sides. Every three yards, there is a puddle wall, which separates the underground army into different columns. The walls, the earliest discovered in China, were fortified with wooden columns, earth and reeds while the floor was covered with black bricks.

There are over 8,000 terracotta warriors and horses in Pit 1, of which 1,000 have been unearthed. They are marshalled into a well-organized battle array composed of the infantry and cavalry. The vanguard includes 210 foot soldiers divided equally into three lines. The cavalry and war chariot follow close in line, forming the main body of the battle formation. The foot soldiers are alternated with the chariots drawn by horses, lined into 38 columns. On both the northern and southern sides of the war formation stand 180 warriors which serve as flank guards. The rear guards are on the western end, with two lines facing east and another facing west. Some soldiers are armed with battle robes, and some are equipped with armour.

Open: 8am-6pm. Admission: RMB90.

All of the wooden chariots were either burnt or just rotted away over the centuries. However, you can still just make out the remains of the wheel and chariot body in the pit.

Open: 8am-6pm. Admission: RMB90.

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Few places in the world can compare to this. The site of the Terracotta Army Warriors is one of the most significant archaeological excavations of the 20th century. Work is ongoing at this site, which is around 1.5 km east of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum, which itself is around 28km (17 miles) east of Xian. Local farmers drilling for water stumbled upon this huge site in 1974 and the rest, and what they discovered for that matter, was history.

The Terracotta Army is a form of funerary art buried with the First Emperor of Qin (Qin Shi Huang, Shi Huang means the first emperor) in 210-209 BC (he declared himself the first emperor of China in 221 BC to the end of his life in 210 BC). Their purpose was to help rule another empire with Shi Huang Di in the afterlife. Consequently, they are also sometimes referred to as "Qin's Armies." Construction of the mausoleum began in 246 BC and involved 700,000 workers. Qin Shi Huang was just thirteen when construction began.

Current estimates are that, in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army, there are over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits. The figures vary in height (183–195 cm - 6ft–6ft 5in), according to their role, the tallest being the generals. The figures include strong warriors, chariots, horses, officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians. It's all hard to imagine bearing in mind that all of it was buried for over two millennia, but an absolute must-see even if you're not into this kind of thing.

Open: 8am-6pm. Admission: RMB90.