Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum Site Park (Lishan Garden)

The entrance ticket to the Terracotta warriors also include a free visit to the mausoleum of the Emperor Qin Shi Huang. So, please do not walk away once you exited the terracotta museum but instead proceed immediately to the free shuttle bus area and the bus will take you to the mausoleum site.

The mausoleum site area is quite big and it took us more than 2 hours to walk round the site but we found it relaxing to slowly wander and appreciate the peaceful atmosphere.

There is a tour guide included in the ticket, but they strictly speak Mandarin. The guides have said this place is 90% listening to history and 10% viewing, so it can be easily skipped if you can’t understand Chinese and have no interest in the emperor’s history. The grounds are quite beautiful though.

Firstly, it is serene and quiet. There is little crowd here. Every lane you enter, there is some stone inscriptions that best described what was buried below and you had a feel of how grand the mausoleum.

We was quite taken aback by the buried sites where the chariots and horses and the bodies of the concubines were found and excavated. The lives of his favorite horses, the wives and concubines belonged to the Emperor and when he died, they were sacrificed and buried alive with his dead body.

Emperor Qin Shi Huang (259 BC – 210 BC), the first emperor of China, ascended the throne at the age of 13, when construction of his tomb began. On completion of his many conquests, he ordered 720,000 conscript laborers to hurry up on building his royal tomb. It was finished just-in-time in 210 BC for his use. His son, the second Qin Emperor, saw his entombment.

The tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang is located in the eastern suburbs of Lintong County, 35 kilometers (22 miles) east of Xian: on the Lishan Mountain in the south and overlooking the Wei River towards north. The lay of the land from Lishan to Mount Hua is shaped dragon-like according to traditional Chinese geomancy. The imperial tomb is at the eye of the dragon. The emperor had chosen well.

But what more were buried in the mausoleum remained a mystery. The mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang has yet to be excavated. The current archaeological technology may not be sophisticated enough to open up the graveyard and preserved the artifacts in their original state such as to prevent oxidized damage. It may continue to remain a mystery for another few decades before technology catches up.

Links:-

Terracotta Warriors and Horses (兵马俑)

Terracotta Warrior Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang Pit 1

Admission Fee:

• CNY150 (March 1 – end of November)
• CNY120 (December 1 – end of Februay)
• The fare is for the Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum Site Park Through Ticket including the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses, Lishan Garden (Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum Site Park) and shuttle buses inside the scenic area.

Opening Hours:

• Sell ticket from 08:30 to 17:00 (March 16-Nov.15), stop check-in at 18:35
• Sell ticket from 08:30 to 16:30 (Nov.16-March 15), stop check-in at 18:05

Transportation:

Getting There:
From Xian,

• Take tourism bus no. 5 (306) from east square of Xian Railway Station and get off at Bing Ma Yong (Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses) stop. The whole journey takes about one hour. Fare: CNY7
• Take bus 307 from the south gate of Tang Paradise to Bing Ma Yong. Fare: CNY 8
  From Lintong,
• Take bus no.101 (5101 in Xian) to Qinling Station.

Getting Around:

• Battery-powered motor vehicles and ancient-style carriage are available for visitors to tour around the mausoleum
• 30 free shuttle buses are traveling between the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum and the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses for tourists’ convenience. One can take them by showing the entrance ticket.