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Panorama of Pit 1 of the Terra Cotta Museum. Besides the Great Wall, the Terra Cotta Warriors are probably the next most well-known part of China. Hailed by the Chinese as the "Eighth Wonder of the World", this huge army of terra cotta soldiers dates from the third century BCE (around 200 BCE). Discovered accidentally by a farmer digging a well in 1974, this is the tomb of Emperor Qinshihuang's (259 to 210 BCE) secret army that was to guard his mausoleum about a kilometer and a half away. The farmer who discovered the tomb now spends his days at the museum's gift shop and autographed our museum book.

The pit measures 230 meters longs from east to west, 62 meters wide from north to south and 5 meters deep. The warriors are arranged in battle formation.

At the time we visited in July, it was over 90 deg F outside with over 50% humidity but the enclosed Pit 1 was even hotter and more humid (around 110 to 120 deg F according to our guide). We had only about 20-25 minutes available to us in Pit 1 so I rapidly snapped off pictures and even then I didn't have enough time to go all the around the pit. That will be the next visit!

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