Visiting the Terracotta Warriors

It felt like a school trip to be getting onto a bus with 12 Audley staff and setting off for London. I had been looking forward to seeing the Terracotta Warriors for months and they didn’t disappoint. I was expecting to see rows of warriors made to protect their dead king, but I hadn’t expected to discover a whole world created for his after-life. The strong man and juggler were a surprise as well, but I was completely blown away by the fact that the 1st emperor even had a terracotta stable boy, musicians and birds. The exhibition took us through the years of preparation for the day when the emperor would finally depart the land of the living, the obsessive search for the elixir of life and his preparation for life after death. The most amazing thing was the fact that the terracotta figures that have been discovered are only a small proportion of the complex that was created to surround the emperors tomb.

If you are planning to visit the exhibition, make sure you book as most time slots are sold out. And pay the small extra charge for the audio tour – it’s well worth it – otherwise you miss out on all the sound and background detail which adds to the atmosphere.

Have you been yet? What did you think?