In 1974 a group of farmers digging a well near the town of Lintong in Shaanxi struck something hard, and so began one of the great archaeological finds of the twentieth century. Below the farmland lay the Terracotta Army, thousands of life-size clay soldiers, horses and chariots, buried to guard the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the man who unified China in 221 BC and became its first emperor. He ordered the burial complex to be started when he came to the throne, and tens of thousands of workers laboured on it for decades.
Three main pits have been opened. The largest holds an army in battle formation, with infantry, archers, cavalry and chariots, and each figure has distinct features, hairstyles and expressions, as if drawn from real soldiers. Originally they were painted in bright colours, and traces of pigment fade quickly on exposure to air, which is why excavation is slow and careful. Estimates suggest that there may be around eight thousand figures in total. The emperor's tomb mound itself, a short distance away, has not been opened, and ancient historians wrote that it contains rivers of mercury, which modern soil tests have partly supported.
Lintong is a small city set among pomegranate and persimmon orchards, and the nearby hot springs at Huaqing, where Tang emperors bathed, make a good extra stop. The ride from Xi'an is about forty kilometres, on busy roads that run through a flat plain with the Qin Mountains on the horizon. Go as early as you can, as tour buses fill the car park by mid-morning, and summer heat is fierce. Spring and autumn are the best seasons. Chinese motorbike rules for foreigners are strict, so confirm permits ahead of time.
Lintong has fuel stations, restaurants and hotels, and Weinan, further east, is larger. Try roujiamo, a spiced pork sandwich, and biangbiang noodles, wide hand-pulled noodles from Shaanxi, and buy pomegranates in season. Allow at least half a day at the site, plus time for the museum, and bring water.