One day in 1974, near Xi'an, some farmers accidentally stumbled upon this site of the terracotta soldier built to guard the Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. They are over 2,200 years old and still stand just as proudly today.
These life-sized figures are located in Jiangzhai xichang village. It is around one mile from Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum. There are about 6,000 of these warriors covering a massive area. Later, a second and third pit was discovered also full of soldiers and horses. Each of the pits are called #1, #2 and #3 in order of when they were discovered. Together, there are 20,000 sq meters covered with around 8,000 figures.
To protect and preserve this historical treasure, a building with a bow-shaped steel framework was constructed over the #1 pit forming a vast exhibition hall. The building is 230 meters long, 72 meters wide, and 22 meters high, larger than two football fields. The Qin Shi Huang Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum was officially opened to the public in 1979.
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