Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor

The Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, located at the foot of Lishan Mountain in Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, is the tomb of Ying Zheng (259-210 B.C.), China's first emperor. The First Qin Emperor, originally the ruler of the Qin State during the Warring States period (475-221 B.C.), uni- fied the six states in 221 B.C. and founded a unified, central- ized multiethnic country. He introduced county-based admin- istrative divisions and a bureaucratic system, and standardized the Chinese writing system, laws, system of measurements, and carriage tracks. He was the first monarch in Chinese history to use the title of "emperor".

The mausoleum, built in 246 B.C., is one of the largest and most culturally significant imperial tombs in the world.  It was designed to mirror Xianyang, the capital of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.), in terms of its urban layout and the way imperial palaces there were positioned. The mausoleum is rectangular, longer from north to south and narrower from east to west, consisting of an inner part and an outer part, with the burial mound located in the south within the inner wall. Ac- cording to historical records, the mausoleum contains various palaces, with statues of civil and military officials, all kinds of treasures, and models of rivers and mountains filled with liquid mercury. The way that the First Qin Emperor built his mauso- leum had a profound influence on how later emperors had their own tombs built.

The Terracotta Army is in the northeastern part of the mausoleum. East-facing terracotta warriors with different postures and facial expressions, along with terracotta horses, bronze chariots and weapons, stand in imposing battle array, repre- senting the might and power of the emperor leading his troops to conquer his rivals and unify the country. The terracotta war- riors are masterpieces of pottery art with unmatched historical value. In 1987, the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor and the Terracotta Army were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

秦始皇陵

秦始皇陵是中國古代史上第一位皇帝嬴政的陵園，位于陜西省西安市臨潼區(qū)驪山腳下。秦始皇（前259-前210），原為戰(zhàn)國時秦國國君，于前221年統(tǒng)一六國，建立起一個中央集權的統(tǒng)一的多民族國家。他建立了郡縣制和官僚制，并統(tǒng)一了全國的文字、法律、度量衡、車軌，是中國歷史上第一個使用"皇帝"稱號的君主。

秦始皇陵建于前246年，是世界上規(guī)模最大、內(nèi)涵最豐富的帝王陵墓之一。陵園仿秦朝都城咸陽城和宮城建造，整體呈南北長、東西窄的長方形，有內(nèi)城和外城，墳丘坐落在內(nèi)城南部。據(jù)史書記載，地宮內(nèi)有各式宮殿、文武百官塑像、各種奇珍異寶，以及灌滿水銀的江河山川模型。秦始皇開創(chuàng)的陵園制度，對后代帝王產(chǎn)生了很大的影響。

陵園東北側(cè)有兵馬俑坑?？拥纼?nèi)兵馬俑共同組成一個坐西向東、排列有序、形態(tài)各異、氣勢磅礴的威嚴軍陣，這些陶俑連同他們的戰(zhàn)馬、戰(zhàn)車和武器，形象展示了秦始皇統(tǒng)率千軍萬馬、威震四海的雄武神威，堪稱泥塑藝術的杰作，具有極高的歷史價值。1987年，秦始皇陵和兵馬俑坑列入聯(lián)合國教科文組織世界遺產(chǎn)名錄。