Terracotta Warriors heading to Liverpool... Again!

Opening February 9 to October 28 of next year, China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors features more than 180 spectacular artifacts from museums across Shaanxi Province, more than half of which have never been on show in the UK before.

Terracotta Warriors [File Photo: sohu.com]

David Fleming, Director of National Museums Liverpool, said, “This is a tremendous coup, not just for Liverpool, but for the whole of the UK. As home to one of the oldest Chinese communities in Europe, Liverpool is absolutely the right place for this exhibition, and we are hugely excited to be working with our museum colleagues in China to bring a collection of Warriors, and many other significant historical discoveries to the UK”.

This landmark exhibition tells the story of the formative years of the Chinese nation, from the pre-unification Qin Kings, to China’s First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang’s rise to power and the legacy of his achievements in the succeeding Han Dynasty.

For over 2,000 years, an underground army of life-sized terracotta warriors secretly guarded the tomb of China’s First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, until a chance discovery in 1974 unlocked the mysteries of a vanished empire.

Showcasing objects from one of the world’s greatest archaeological discoveries, this unmissable exhibition spans almost 1,000 years of Chinese history, from the conflicts and chaos of the Warring States period, to the achievements and legacy of the Qin and Han dynasties. 

The exhibition will include a number of objects that have never been on show in the UK before including material from museums and institutes from across Shaanxi Province, excavated over the last 40 years from the Imperial Mausoleum and selected tombs. These spectacular artifacts will shed light on the Emperor's pursuit of immortality and show how he prepared for the afterlife, as well as help us to understand more about everyday life in China more than 2,000 years ago.

This exhibition was organized by National Museums Liverpool, United Kingdom and the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau and Shaanxi History Museum (Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Centre).