Xi'an Terracotta Warriors (China)

Getting there

When arriving in Xi’an at the train station or airport, most people head right out to see the terracotta warriors. Make sure to research how to get there from the station before arriving. This way you know where you are going so you don’t wander around trying to find someone else who knows and speaks English.

I knew I wanted the 306 bus to the Terracotta Warriors. Finding it, I got in line. Moments later a woman with a red armband (which means some sort of civilian police force) told me to go to another bus that wasn’t the one I was told to take. I was warned there were other buses that people got on and were taken to see a fake terracotta army, so I was worried and went back to the line. But she had steered me right, that same bus line went nearly the same way to the Army. So it can be difficult to know what you are doing even with prior information.

Tip

Pro-tip: The Terracotta Army is interesting but the day I was there was overcast and the lighting is essentially only from the outside and it was quite dark in the main room.   Although the warrior pits and displays are all indoors, try to go a sunny day as most of the light in the pits is provided from the outdoors.

The Pits

Pit 1

The unimaginatively named “Pit 1” is what most people think of based on any pictures or articles they’ve seen about the Terracotta Warriors. It is the main pit that has the rows and rows of warriors in large columns receding into the distance. They have only excavated a small portion of it. When you are in that room you can see some workers sifting through dirt and cleaning up. Others are assembling more warriors. You can see the massive areas that haven’t been excavated yet, as well.

Other Pits and displays

There are 2 other pits nearby. One is quite small and has only had a few things reassembled. The other is a medium size and has had a fair number of things reassembled. There are also glass boxes on display with individual warriors so that you can get a better look. Some even have some paint residue still on them.  The workmanship is unbelievable at this scale.

In another area, they have 2 sets of 4 horses and chariots that they reassembled or made a replica of, that are very impressive.
You can’t go near any of the warriors.  So when you see pictures of people who look like they are right next to the statues, those are nearly always from the photo area upstairs where they have a mockup with a detailed background so it looks like you were down in the pit.

Information

Unlike many attractions in China, there were a few labels and explanations in English in each of the buildings. There is no brochure (which is the norm in China).  Generally, the most you’ll get is a mini-map and/or some pictures on your (sometimes fairly large) ticket. 

Pro-tip: Print out maps of the site and which things you want to see.

I am so glad I did that. I am sure I would have missed a lot of things if I hadn’t.

These were especially useful when I could point to a picture of something and people could point me in a direction. Even using pictures like that there were problems. A woman at the train station couldn’t tell me where to go for the Big Goose Pagoda, which is hard to imagine you could miss.

Pay attention to your entry point if you go to see the Warriors. I ended up going out a different exit than I had come in and found my way back to the front (which was where I knew how to find the bus back to the city).

Mausoleum

While out there, I also took the shuttle to the mausoleum portion which is about a mile away.  I went there because there were supposed to be recovered acrobat sculptures and other things like that, but despite my maps, I couldn’t find anything other than the mausoleum mound, so I got back on the shuttle and went back to catch my bus back to the city.

Learn more

If you want to know more about the Warriors and have Amazon Prime – this video is free, and it’s quite good.

 
For more info on Xi’an attractions – click here