The Terracotta Army It was while digging wells on the outskirts of Xi'an in the 1970s that farmers stumbled across what was to be China's most important archeological find: the Terracotta Army. Distributed over three large underground pits and built to guard the First Emperor's tomb were more than 8,000 life-size warriors, some 520 horses, and more than 100 chariots, along with numerous other non-military characters dating from around 280 BC. Although some were severely damaged due to the passing of time, many of the statues unearthed have been painstakingly re-assembled and stand as testament to the importance bestowed upon the emperor and the afterlife. The site — part of the Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum Site Park — is one of China's most important tourist destinations and offers the unforgettable experience of standing in front of this assembly of soldiers and horses as if inspecting a centuries-old parade. #BeautifulViewsInTheWorld