to a factory to see how the terra cotta replicas are made and then to a replica of Emperor Qin Shihuang's Tomb, as the original is not viable to see.Although excavations on the burial site have been going on for more than 2 decades, the official entrance to the tomb has yet to be found. There were no records regarding the entrances or exits of the tomb.
The actual tomb, dated from 221 BC., is at the foot of the Mountain Li and 2 km west of the Terracotta army that the warriors were built to protect. Qin Shi Huangdi (259 BC - 210 BC) was the first emperor of China, ascended the throne at the age of 13, when construction of his tomb began.
The tomb of Qin Shi Huang is located in the eastern suburbs of Lintong County, 35 kilometers (22 miles) east of Xian: on the Lishan Mountain in the south and overlooking the Wei River towards north. The lay of the land from Lishan to Mount Hua is shaped dragon-like according to traditional Chinese geomancy. The imperial tomb is at the eye of the dragon. The emperor had chosen well. http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shaanxi/xian/terra_cotta_army/mausoleum_1.htm 
The outside of the building looks like a typical old style one, but once inside, one had to go way down underground until one came to a corridor, as if one was travelling to the actual tomb site.
The Chinese are great for making replicas, (like the Pyramid, which happened to be right next door to this building and a photo of which is on one of my other blog pages). I think the replica thing is an ancient 'tradition' as the interior of the real tomb replicated a three dimensional map of Emperor Qin's domain, surrounding his tomb and the amazing terra cotta army sculpted to guard him after death. All of this in turn was replicated in the museum I visited.
The whole thing was an elaborate, detailed
amazing array of miniature buildings, with significance for each direction. For instance, on one side the nobles and high ranking officials were depicted watching over him. Each direction had the next lower ranking group, and include his family members as well (also his
concubines). 
The whole thing was an elaborate, detailed
amazing array of miniature buildings, with significance for each direction. For instance, on one side the nobles and high ranking officials were depicted watching over him. Each direction had the next lower ranking group, and include his family members as well (also his
concubines). 
The various levels were as they might have been in the tomb. Every detail is immaculate, right down to the location of the rivers (lit by a string of lights with the Great Wall in between them), the walled city of 
Xi'an, surrounding countryside, etc.
Xi'an, surrounding countryside, etc. In short, the tomb was a replica of Qin Shi Huang's world. It was filled with models of palaces, pavilions, ships, precious stones and rare objects. Images of the Yellow River and Yangtze were reproduced using mercury. Indeed, excavations at the tomb site have revealed high contents of mercury in the soil. It is said that the ceiling is studded with jewels, replicating the serene sky.
Archaeologists believe that the tomb was originally decorated with gold, silver and pearl.
The museum has taken the liberty of adding replicas of bodies (depicting the bones they found) in the passageways and other places in the actual mausoleum. These show the 'grave sites' of the workers who died on the project and were left where they fell (although for preservation purposes, the museum has covered the bodies in glass, but in the actual tomb the bones are left where they were.)
Everything was made to look like the interior of the tomb, so it was also very dark and almost impossible to take any photos, as it was difficult to even see anything with the naked eye. I tried to enhance the photos, but that didn't work that well either.
The place was also full of school groups while I was there, so it was very noisy and lots of pushing and shoving going on.
There were some interesting dioramas around the top that depicted the creation of the terra 
cotta warriors and the building of the site. The warriors themselves were hollow and molded by hand. The head and arms were done last and 'patched' into place. Each face had a different expression; each warrior a different way of holding their hands to fit the various weapons they would have held. Once completed, they were also painted in bright colours.
cotta warriors and the building of the site. The warriors themselves were hollow and molded by hand. The head and arms were done last and 'patched' into place. Each face had a different expression; each warrior a different way of holding their hands to fit the various weapons they would have held. Once completed, they were also painted in bright colours.
The whole idea was to understand who the Emperor was and what he did in history, so we would have a better understanding of the terra cotta museum (the actual site of his life-sized army).
Yi Zheng ascended the throne after his father's (Yi Ren) death in 221 B.C. At that time he was only 13 years old. Hence the power went to his mother the Empress Dowager and Lü Buwei, the prime minister. When he turned 22, he took away the Empress Dowager and prime minister's power and assumed full control of state affairs.
Emperor Qin's reign is widely interpreted as being one dominated by centralized rule and tyranny. He was known as the 'Dragon Emperor.'
The terracotta army face eastwards, a reflection of the Emperor's fear of eastern invasion.
Although the Emperor did bring peace to the eastern states and unified China, he also ordered that all books be destroyed (except those concerning the Qin Dynasty) and implemented high taxes to fund the Great Wall. Although he did other good things like mapping out a union of weights, measures and currency, and produced the unification of the Chinese written language, he was brutal. He imposed a rule that should one person commit an offense, five households or ten individuals of his relatives be subjected to punishment as well. He buried more than 460 Confucians alive and whoever dared disregard the law or express their opinions on state affairs was killed along with their entire families.
When he unified the whole country and completed his many conquests, he ordered 720,000 conscript laborers (many who were convicts) to hurry to build his royal tomb.
"In his final years, Shi Huangdi became quite withdrawn and mystical. He surrounded himself with magicians and alchemists, providing them only one task: to find or create an immortality formula. He also sent thousands of male and female teenagers on dangerous voyages in search for immortals.
Shi Huangdi became increasingly more maniacal near his death, and wanted a potion that would allow him to rule as a divine emperor (convinced of his deification) forever. He soon died-- broken, insane, and alone--after a trip to Japan in search of his essential elixir of life in 210 BCE."
The tomb was finished just in time for his use, 36 years after it began. His son, Er Shih, the second Qin Emperor, saw to his entombment. He also followed his father's instructions. Crossbows were installed, which would automatically discharge to prevent tomb plunderers." http://www.sinohotelguide.com/xian/tour/sight/sighte.html#Emperor
But the worst was that the artisans, architects, construction workers and palace guards who knew 'too much' about the mausoleum and its secrets were also buried alive within the tomb.
The whole mausoleum covers 56.25 square km.
