In Lintong, Xi’an, the verdant and dark green Lishan Mountain stretches east to west for a hundred miles. On the vast plain that gently slopes northward from the foot of the mountain, a colossal pyramid-shaped earthen mound stands prominently, solitary and imposing. This is the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng, the founder of China’s more than two-thousand-year centralized imperial system. Amidst the rapid urban development in contemporary China, the area surrounding the mausoleum has fortunately maintained its spatial structure dating back to before the Common Era, exuding the unyielding aura of the first emperor who unified the six kingdoms.
Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum was one of the first sites in China to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987. In the new century, the Xi’an municipal government planned to build a museum dedicated to protecting, displaying, and interpreting two national treasures unearthed from the mausoleum—the “Painted Bronze Chariots and Horses”—while also aiming to divert some of the massive tourist flow from the Terracotta Army site. These two painted bronze chariots were discovered at the western edge of the mausoleum mound, buried about eight meters underground. Compared to the grand array of the world-renowned Terracotta Army, the bronze chariots are only half the size of real ones, but what astounds modern people is that these hyper-realistic bronze artifacts are composed of thousands of intricate metal components, showcasing exquisite craftsmanship that represents the pinnacle of human manufacturing skills over two millennia ago.
Between the inner and outer walls of the mausoleum complex, a deep ravine (Yue Gou) formed historically (likely during the Ming Dynasty) provides the only feasible site for constructing the museum. The ravine eliminates any possibility of buried artifacts underground, which became a crucial factor in the Chinese National Cultural Heritage Administration’s decision to build the museum here after careful consideration. After forty years since their excavation, the “Painted Bronze Chariots and Horses” have now returned to the foot of the mausoleum mound, once again accompanying one of the world’s most mysterious emperors—an extraordinary turn of events.
