Han Terracotta Army Museum (Xuzhou)

The Han Terracotta Army Museum stands on Shizishan Hillside in Yunlong District, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, and displays a smaller but distinctive counterpart to the famous Qin army at Xi'an. Xuzhou was the homeland of the Han dynasty founder Liu Bang and later the seat of the Chu kingdom, and Shizishan is the location of the tomb of a Western Han Chu king, dated to the 2nd century BC. Excavations from 1984 uncovered pits of terracotta warriors and horses buried in the vicinity of the tomb. Unlike the life-size Qin figures, the Han figures are about 50 cm tall, and they were made in moulds and painted, with faces that show individual expressions. Thousands of soldiers, cavalry and horses were found in the pits, arranged in formations that suggest an army guarding the royal tomb. The museum is built over the excavated pits, allowing visitors to see the figures in position in their earth-walled trenches. Its galleries also present artefacts from the tomb, including jade objects, bronzes and coins, and explain the Han dynasty's burial customs. The tomb itself, a rock-cut structure with long passages and chambers, can be visited, and its cut stone shows the workmanship of Han engineers. The curatorial approach is archaeological, with an emphasis on displaying the finds in the setting of their discovery, supported by explanatory panels and models. Conservation work continues on the fragile painted surfaces, which are sensitive to light and humidity, so lighting and environmental controls are managed carefully. A visit generally takes one and a half to two hours, and the museum lies in a hillside park in the city. It is a good stop for visitors interested in Han archaeology who wish to avoid the crowds of Xi'an.