Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor

Located at the foot of Lishan Mountain, the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor is the mausoleum of Yingzheng, known as the First Qin Emperor, who is the first emperor in the Chinese history. It was built during 246~208 B.C. The mausoleum is very large and covers an area of 56 square kilometers. The mausoleum was built modelling on the capital of Qin Dynasty. There are inner wall and outer wall of 8-10 meters’ high. The inner wall is 3870 meters’ long and the outer wall is 6210 meters’ long.  There are large scale of buildings and palaces in the mausoleum. It was inscribed as a world cultural heritage in 1987.

It was a tradition that a new emperor began to build his mausoleum when he was alive. The project of the Mausoleum of First Qin Emperor was started when Yingzheng was only 13 years ago soon after he became an emperor. After Yingzheng united the other 6 nations, he decided to extend his mausoleum to show his sovereign power. Many treasures and jewelries buried in the tomb to show his power and honor. In order to prevent grave robbing, there is an arrow shot hiding in secret. This is the leading edge technology at that era. The jewelry set on the ceiling of the tomb symbolizes the shining moons and stars and the mercury filled in the bottom symbolizes the nonstop flow of the rivers. The tomb is surrounded by Terra-cotta warriors and horses. The emperor wanted to have everything in his life remains when he was dead. It took 37 years to finish it until Yingzheng was dead when he was 50. If the Pyramids of Egypt is the biggest mausoleum on the ground, then the Mausoleum of First Qin Emperor is the biggest underground.

 

 

Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor