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As one of the Eight Wonders of the World, the Great Wall is known by the people from all around the world. However, when it comes to the person who built it, only a few people know the background story behind such a world of magic. Truth be told, the construction of the Great Wall wasn’t a happy story. It was built for protecting the people living at the borders but innocent lives were sacrificed for such a great cause.
Who is the person behind all this? The emperor of the Qin dynasty-Qin Shihuang. He was the very first emperor in the history of ancient China. He started to build his mausoleum at the age of 13 years old. After he conquered the six kingdoms, he collected 100,000 people from all over the country to continue the building till he died. The whole construction took 37 years. No wonder it is the largest emperor mausoleum on the ground in the world. In order to keep the grave from robbers, they designed touch-and-go secret arrow inside the grave. Maybe that explains why it can be preserved so well after thousands of years. The most famous part of the mausoleum of course if the Terracotta Army.
The Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor is located in the Lintong district of Xi’an, the capital city of Shanxi province. To build the best tomb ever, some building materials were even delivered from Hubei and Sichuan province.The Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor is formed with two parts, mausoleum park and grave area. Mausoleum park covers an area of nearly 8 square kilometers, with two layers from inside and outside, in the shape of quartet cone.
According to the literature, there are all kinds palaces inside the mausoleum, as well as numerous treasures and jewelry. Every small detail in the tomb is implying the sovereign authority and majesty of the emperor Qin.The arch at the top is decorated with gems and pearls, standing for the stars in the sky; down below there is scenery sets made with mercury, symbolizing the river, the sea and the mountains. The lamp is interesting too, it is called “Ever-lasting light”, made from whale oil. Around the grave, there are huge formations of terracotta warriors, protecting the soul of the Emperor Qin.
In the year of 1980, some archaeologists excavated two huge bronze horse cart with colored patterned on it, which were also the most complicated, the largest ancient bronze ware in the archaeological history of the 20th century. Looking at the two horse carts give modern people a vivid look of how the life of emperor Qin was back then. The underground palace inside the mausoleum covers an area of 180000 square meters, with 30 meters deep in the center. Everyone is astonished by such great scene, terracotta warrior standing in lines, fresh as new. Thanks to the multimedia device, tourists can have a better experience of how it feels like to be a emperor. One thing is for sure, this is a trip you will never forget.
Related Xian Tours:
Xian One Day Tour of Terracotta Warriors
Panda Watching and Terracotta Warriors Tour