China sends terracotta army to London 57 minutes ago

China sends terracotta army to London 57 minutes ago



BEIJING - The largest ever loan of artifacts from China's famed terracotta army started on its way to London on Thursday, official Chinese media reported.

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The 120 items include 20 life-sized clay statues of warriors, acrobats and musicians, along with weapons, and decorative items in jade and copper. They departed their home museum in the western city of Xi'an by truck for Beijing where they were to fly to London to be displayed at the British Museum from Sept. 13 to April 6, 2008. "It's going to be the largest exhibition of the terracotta army ever to be seen outside China," Zhao Kun, a specialist at the Xi'an museum, was quoted as saying. The warriors were buried 2,200 years ago to guard the tomb of Qin Shihuang, who created China's first unitary state by conquering rival kingdoms. Qin established a single written language, unified measurements, the currency and legal system, and built an extensive system of roads, canals and levies. After his death in 210 B.C., he was buried in the city-size mausoleum outside Xi'an, which was not discovered until 1974 by peasants excavating a well.