Warriors of Heaven

Xi’an was one of the ancient capitals of early China. It was the eastern terminus of the Silk Road and many travellers went back and forth as far as the Black Sea long before the time of Marco Polo.

Today it is a bustling city of about 8.5 million people boasting over 75 colleges and universities. As we started our tour by driving through the city it was easy to see the importance of the early history here. New buildings are styled to look like those in the traditional fashion. The ancient structure are well maintained and repaired as needed.

We were on our way to see one of the great treasurers of China and indeed the whole world. On the edge of this city is the army of Terra Cotta Warriors.

The discovery was made in 1974 by a farmer digging a well. He crashed through the remnants of an ancient roof deep underground and there they were. Thousands of warriors were lined up in battle array ready to defend the Emperor Qin Shi Huang. They are deployed facing east because that is where the expected attack would come from.

Interestingly enough, the Silk Road and the way to the rest of the world lies to the west. There was no fear of anything from that direction. On the eastern side lay the other principalities of China and it causes one to wonder just what the Emperor did. This army was to defend him in the afterlife so he must have been terrified about what would happen to him there. We were told that each face is the face of an actual guard.

They were built over two thousand years ago and are now enclosed by three building covering the location. They serve as a viewing area for the public and the archaeologists work in this area as well as.

When we entered the first building and it was mind boggling. They stand there in their ranks. Each was armed in the beginning but the years have caused almost total deterioration of the weapons. Gone are the crossbows, swords, pikes and chariots. But you can see the General and the officers each ready for action.

Many of the figures are broken and archaeologists have been working for years to restore them. Since they were discovered they have become a major tourist attraction as well as a very important cultural find. The buildings were filled with people and there were tour buses all over the place.

The Chinese are deeply interested in preserving and restoring their past and a lot of money is spent on this. Clearly the investment is paying off.