Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Rosamund Brennan

‘The eighth wonder of the world’: China’s terracotta warriors to march on Australia for blockbuster show

China's famous terracotta warriors, pictured in the northern Chinese city of Xian in 2018
‘There is nothing like it anywhere’ … China's famous terracotta warriors, pictured in the city of Xi’an in 2018, will be displayed at WA Museum Boola Bardip in Perth. Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

Two thousand years ago, in a bid to conquer death itself, China’s first emperor Qin Shi Huang commissioned a city of the dead: a 49 sq km mausoleum guarded by an army of clay warriors, built to defend his tomb for eternity.

When farmers near Xi’an unearthed the first clay head in 1974, they cracked open one of humanity’s greatest archaeological mysteries, with more than 8,000 Terracotta Warriors discovered over the last 50 years. Now, fragments of that dream of immortality rise again – this time in Perth, where the largest exhibition of the Terracotta Warriors ever staged in Australia will head later this year

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.