The Terracotta Army is a collection of life-sized figures buried with Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, in Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi. Work on the mausoleum began in 246 BCE, and the army was buried around 210 to 209 BCE. Farmers found the figures on March 29, 1974 while digging a well.
Workshops of government laborers and local craftsmen made the figures, and each workshop stamped its name on its products. The soldiers stand about 5.7 to 6.6 feet (1.75 to 2 meters) tall and were painted with mineral pigments under lacquer.
Pit 1 is 755 feet (230 meters) long and 203 feet (62 meters) wide, with eleven corridors. Pit 2 holds cavalry, infantry and chariots, Pit 3 is the command post, and Pit 4 is empty. A 2007 estimate put the contents at more than 8,000 soldiers. A museum complex covers the site, and UNESCO inscribed it in 1987.
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