Can we see the Terracotta Warriors today?
Yes, we can see the Terracotta Warriors today because in 1975, the State Council of the People's Republic of China authorised the construction of a museum called The Museum of Qin Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses on the site of the Terracotta Warriors. Vault One, the largest of all of the vaults of terracotta warriors and containing the most amount of statues was opened to the public in 1979 on China's National day, the 1st of October. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization chose the Emperor's tomb and the Museum to become a World Cultural Heritage SIte. On China's National day in 2010, the museum was combined with Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum to create a single large attraction called Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum.
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What do they look like today?In the past, the Terracotta Warriors were painted with bright, vivid colours but unfortunately due 2,000 years of erosion, humidity and many other environmental and manmade factors, the statues have lost their colours. Many of the Terracotta warriors we see today are an earthy colour or black because of the layer of coal applied. Some of the Terracotta warriors still retain some of their colour in patches and there have been several attempts at replicating and restoring the former colours of the Terracotta Warriors. Many Terracotta Warriors are also unfortunately broken and have deteriorated over time leaving us with loose heads and limbs. However, these broken parts have been useful for analysis and research of the Terracotta warriors without the disassemblance of other statues letting us study these ancient wonders while still preserving them for future generations.
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