From Beijing we flew to the city of Xian, the place where. in 1974 some farmers digging a well, discovered some clay figures and other relics buried in the ground. Soon the area was partly excavated and turned into a living museum. It is truly amazing that these Terra Cotta Warriors had been forgotten for nearly 2200 years.
Along with Tom, we were met by our local tour guide Rose who took us to the museum and would tell us a lot about the history of this huge forgotten army. Shown below is Sharon with one of the farmers who discovered this monumental place. He autographed the book we bought that has a complete description.

The complex consists of several buildings and three pits where the clay figures and two bronze chariots were unearthed. The largest contained hundreds of clay warriors each sculpted with a different face and features. They were larger than life size as if to instill more power for this army of the deceased emperor. It was Qinshihuang, the first emperor of China; his tomb is nearby in a large earthen mound that as yet remains to be excavated. It was also during his reign that the various states were conquered and unified into the China as we now know it. The large number of prisoners and other laborers were put to work to create not only this huge burial place but also the Great Wall of China.
Following are some of the pictures we took of the Terra Cotta Warriors and horses found in Pit 1.

The details of the faces and armor is amazing. Each had his own face and position. The horses were the only ones that seemed to have been made from the same mold. Most were foot soldiers who had carried wooden spears and bow-and-arrows that have deteriorated with centuries of exposure. Likewise the figures all had been painted in brilliant colors. In fact, some had been unearthed with some color remaining, but it faded fast with exposure to air. Fear of rapid deterioration is also the reason that the main tomb has not yet been uncovered.

The building also has several display cases where the better examples can be seen close up. A second building has a more recently discovered pit that is deeper and apparently served as the command post.