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Yangling Emperor Mausoleum of the Han Dynasty

Yangling Emperor Mausoleum of the Han Dynasty is a joint tomb of Liu Qi, a notable emperor of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24AD), and his empress, Empress Wang. Constructed in the year 153 AD, the whole Mausoleum covers an area of 20 square kilometers (4,942 acres). Inside the mausoleum, there are the emperor's tomb, empress' tomb, the south and north burial pits, ceremonial site, human sacrifice graveyard and criminals' cemetery.


The excavated relics amount to over 3,000, the number of which surpasses the Museum of Qin Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses. Relics include the painted pottery figures, weapons and utensils, which fully represent the army life in the Han Dynasty. Research reveals that the small figurines were first modeled as nude bodies, then painted with hair and skin, fitted with movable wooded arms and hands, and finally covered with beautiful clothes before being buried. Over the centuries, the clothing was damaged and the wooden arms rotted. But the colors remain as bright as when they were first painted.


What makes the Museum unique is the underground exhibition hall, where visitors can see how the workers do their jobs without doing any harm to the relics on the large glass floor, which will make the visiting quite an experience.


Three hundred meters southeast of the mausoleum stands a piece of stone shaped like a mill stone and topped with a cross. The local people call it Luopanshi, while others hold that the stone was a sundial showing the time for the tomb-keeper to offer sacrifices to the deceased Emperor.

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