Located approximately 30 km outside of the present-day capital, X'ian (called Chang'an in ancient times), of the Shensi province of modern China, the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi remains a symbol of the infinite power and ego of China's first Emperor.

Ascending to the throne of his clan, the Qin, at the age of 13 in 246 BCE, Shi Huangdi immediately began construction of his extraordinary mausoleum which was completed soon after his death in 210 BCE, 36 years after the work commenced. Remembered as the ruler who united the seven warring clans of ancient China in 221 BCE, Qin Shi Huangdi's reign was marked with great advances in all sections of society: he ordered the construction of a vast infrastructure of roads and canals and the connection of the various border walls of his kingdom into one Great Wall; he standardized the systems of writing, of weights and measures, and of currency in order to simply communication and record-keeping; and he abolished feudalism, forced the nobles to reside under his thumb in the capital city and divided the rest of China into 36 separately governed states, each with its own bureaucracy and defensive military force to increase the efficiency of his nation's administration. He also fostered religion, sacrificing to the gods in thanks for his military and diplomatic successes, announcing that he had finally united China, in a series of extant sacred tablets. These achievements alone would compare easily with the accomplishments of Augustus or Alexander; however, Shi Huangdi was also a tyrannical despot and ruled with an iron hand for many years, handing down draconian laws, and levying large tax rates to oppress the commoners of ancient China and maintain and solidify his tenuous grasp on the monarchy. Under advisement from council in 213 BCE, he ordered that all books of a non-technical nature be burned, in an attempt to eliminate the teachings of Confucius, and the education system that accompanied Confucism. In his final years, Shi Huangdi became quite withdrawn and mystical, much like Russia's Rasputin. He surrounded himself with magicians and alchemists, providing them only one task: to find or create an immortality formula. Shi Huangdi was becoming increasingly more maniacal near his death, and wanted an 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.

Recently discovered in 1974 by Chinese peasants who were drilling a well, the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi proved to be one of the greatest archaeological finds in both historical importance and in sheer physical bulk. Archaeologists were uncertain when the excavations began of the great magnitude of this site. The although the tomb itself is, according to legend, very elaborate and beautiful, the center piece of Shi Huangdi's mausoleum is the terra-cotta army of approximately 8,000 life-sized men and horses. Individually sculpted of 3 inch thick terra-cotta clay, each soldier and horse is unique, each with its own style of dress (the mineral paints used to cover the figures in bright, gay colors have since dissolved), weaponry, and facial expressions. Grouped into a specific military formation with crouching crossbowmen and bowmen at the point, archers at the flanks, large groups of infantry, chariots and cavalry, and a final guard of heavily armored infantry pulling up the rear, all are arranged according to the proper military procedures of the day. All 8,000 troops are housed in three separate chambers for each section of the army: active duty troops in the largest chamber, reserves in another smaller chamber, and a small group of 68 commanders and elite officers in the third. The army faces the east guarding Shi Huangdi's tomb from the enemies he vanquished who supposedly came from that direction. The three chambers are themselves part of a much larger burial complex located approximately 3/4 mile from Qin Shi Huangdi's pyramidal, still unexcavated, tomb. The complex is designed much as a city: with protecting walls, a palace, and even a cemetery, to be Shi Huangdi's capital during his adventures through the afterlife. Built mainly underground, carved out of low mountain top (according to legend), the construction itself took 700,000 prisoners of war and slaves over 36 years to construct and covers approximately four square miles. The as-yet-unearthed palace is reputedly of legendary grandeur. Much like Egyptian pharaohs, Shi Huangdi's tomb provided for all his needs and replicated his style of life on earth, complete with many amenities: various precious stones and metals; objects d'art; a small, scaled model of his capital city, Chang'an; a small river system in which mercury was mechanically circulated, showing the Yangtze, Yellow and all other major rivers of China; and a planetarium with constellations made of pearls. The burial chamber was dug out of an aquifer which required all of the interior surface to be waterproofed with a thin layer of bronze.

When the first terra-cotta soldiers were found in 1974, the first archaeologist dispatched to the scene was Yuan Zhongyi, now leader of the excavations and director of the on-site museum. He originally thought his work would take about one week. He was shocked when he later found the largest chamber of the army, with nearly 6,400 men, horses, and chariots. Unearthing the first chamber took three years. The second and third chambers were found soon after digging in the first concluded. When the Chinese made the first announcements about the statues in 1974, many archaeologists, intellectuals and especially tourists wanted to visit the site. The Chinese were surprisingly open about visitation (although they do all the digging) and even lead tours to watch the actual excavation as it takes place. Originally covered with a shabbily constructed tin roof, but soon after, the Chinese enclosed the entire area in a reinforced steel building which can only be described as an airplane hanger, completely sealed off from the elements. They also built adjacent to the site a museum, housing many of the valuables recovered from around all of the tomb site and welcoming over two million visitors each year. You can still tour the dig site and the fully excavated first chamber, if you wish.