Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, is located about 36 kilometers (22.4 miles) east of Xian. It is known to many as the Eighth Wonder of the World and features life-sized sculptures of warriors and horses all with different facial expressions and postures. It is affiliated to the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC) and the first unifier of China. The underground corps guards the mausoleum for over 2000 years and displays the powerful army of the Qin Dynasty.

The terracotta warriors and horses were discovered accidentally when some local farmers sank a well at the foot of Mt Lishan in 1974. Excavation was later carried on the site and unearthed were more than 7,000 clay soldiers, over 100 chariots, more than 400 clay horses and over 100,000 pieces of weaponry. In 1980, another major dig revealed two sets of big painted bronze chariots and four horses—the most delicate, the largest and oldest bronzes of its kind in China. The Terracotta Army was listed as a World Cultural Heritage site in 1987.

The museum mainly consists of three pits marked numerically in order of their excavation. It was supported by massive timbers and was covered with reed mats and earth. The clay figures are mostly 1.75-1.85 meters (5.74-6.07 feet) tall and represent all levels of an army-officers, armed warriors and ordinary soldiers. They are arrayed in battle formation, looking like imperial guards protecting a subterranean palace. When the original clay sculptures were first unearthed they were painted different colors, but because of their exposure to the atmosphere, they have gradually faded over time.

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