“Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor,” now at the National Geographic Museum
Terra Cotta Warriors. Photo by Christine.
Tickets are available for "Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China's First Emperor," a traveling exhibition featuring the largest number of terra cotta figures ever to travel to the United States, on view at the National Geographic Museum from Nov. 19, 2009, through March 31, 2010. The museum will be the final venue of the exhibition's four-city U.S. tour.
The exhibition includes 15 terra cotta figures from the tomb of China's First Emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, who ruled from 221-210 B.C.Tickets are timed and dated and can be purchased online at the Buy Tickets page of the exhibition Web site www.warriorsdc.org, by phone at (202) 857-7700 and at the National Geographic Museum ticket office, 1600 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. Ticket prices are $12 for adults; $10 for seniors, students, military personnel and National Geographic members; and $6 for children ages 2-12. A companion audio tour will be available for $5. The exhibition will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with extended hours on Wednesdays until 9 p.m. It will be closed on Dec. 25. For more information, visit www.warriorsdc.org.
Prices for groups of 10 or more are $8 per ticket, and K-12 school groups are $6 per person with one free adult ticket for each group of 10 students. For more information on group sales, call (202) 857-7281.
"We're excited to offer our visitors the opportunity to stand face-to-face with the terra cotta warriors, one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century," said Susan Norton, director of the National Geographic Museum. "We'll be more than doubling our current gallery space in order to accommodate this incredible collection of artifacts."
The exhibition offers an in-depth look at the First Emperor's enormous tomb complex that contained thousands of terra cotta warriors intended to protect him in the afterlife. The exhibition showcases 15 life-size terra cotta figures representing soldiers, archers, acrobats and animals, and 100 sets of objects, including stone armor, weapons and bronze vessels.
The terra cotta warriors were discovered in 1974 by a group of farmers digging a well near Xi'an in Shaanxi province. When archaeologists began excavating the area, they uncovered a subterranean vault containing fragments of thousands of terra cotta figures in three large pits. More than 1,000 life-size figures have been restored as part of the site's ongoing excavation.
Emperor Qin Shihuangdi was one of the most important political leaders to rule China over the past 2,000 years. After defeating six neighboring warring states, he declared himself emperor of the unified territory in 221 B.C. and instituted new policies that paved the way for China's development as a nation.
Construction of his tomb took 36 years and began soon after he became ruler of the state of Qin at age 13. The tomb complex is estimated to extend more than 19 square miles. The terra cotta figures were created in an assembly-line fashion, and molds were used to mass-produce hands, heads and ears. Craftsmen sculpted individual armor details and facial features by hand. No two faces are alike.
The National Geographic Museum is working with Destination DC and Cultural Tourism DC to coordinate a city-wide celebration with hotel packages, themed promotions with area restaurants, including Mie N Yu and TenPenh, and related cultural programming.
In support of the exhibition, National Geographic has published a companion book, "Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China's First Emperor," by Jane Portal, and exhibit-related merchandise will be available online and in the National Geographic Museum store. A teacher's guide is available online via the For Teachers page at www.warriorsdc.org. Themed National Geographic Live! programs and free film screenings will be offered during the exhibition's run. An interactive game will be available for free at several stations in the museum. Additionally, in the fall a virtual-world "Terra Cotta Warriors" game will be available for free to support the exhibition.
Photo by Christine.
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