When you walk into the massive building containing Pit 1, you step back 2200 years. There, standing before you, are rank upon rank of soldiers—thousands and thousands of them lined up far into the distance. Maybe this is what General Custer felt when he realized the size of Sitting Bull’s army at the Little Big Horn—a stunned sense of awe.
Our guide had given us the background of the site. It was discovered by farmers who were digging a series of wells in 1974. They found pottery shards and some bronze. They were paid 32 RMB for their find. Today they sign books for 50 RMB a pop. Excavation began in the mid-70’s and will likely continue for hundreds of years. The site is massive and exploration has only just begun. The villages near the site have been replaced with a huge tourist area of shops of all kinds and the villagers have become the merchants.
Our guide explained that this find is extremely important to China’s identity. So much of China’s art and culture come from India via Buddhism. Here is a site that precedes the introduction of Buddhism and goes back to the very beginning of a unified China—the Qin (Chin) Dynasty. The Qin Dynasty was the very first and is “pure” in that it has no foreign influence. This is the very foundation of China.
We had heard that you couldn’t take pictures but our guide not only encouraged us to take pictures, he took the camera several times to take pictures of specific things he wanted us to notice. He would zoom in using the display screen to show us details and colors. Our guide was almost as impressive as the site itself. His English is very good and his knowledge is encyclopedic. He took us around for over two hours and asked 100 RMB. We gave him 200 and considered it one of the best bargains we’ve ever made. You can’t leave without buying a few soldiers for your own.
You can get everything from 4 inch replicas to life size statues in terra cotta or jade. The best replicas are from the museum store. These are made from the same clay as the originals. Cheaper reproductions are sold outside the gates but the quality and detail are much lower.
You can read the books and look at the pictures, but this is a place that must be experienced. If I were Chinese, I would be as proud of this place as I am of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. If there is only one thing you ever see in China, this is it.
