In the Shaanxi Province is where these farmers found the Terracotta Warriors and their horses, or so this legend is told.

Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi was chosen to be emperor at age 13, but came to power at about age 24 in 247 B.C.E.

From that point on 700,000 craftsmen worked 39 years to build his mausoleum until his death in 210 B.C.E. Consisting of an extensive underground bunker with four known pits, his own personal terracotta army was created to accompany him to the afterlife.

Said to have housed more than 8,000 figures total, each of the pits display unique soldiers that differ in fingernails, scars, or degree of ranking. There are two names carved into the warriors. One is the creator~{!/~}s name, and the other is the name of the warrior it was modeled after.

Maggie Attoe, visiting the site from Wisconsin, had been in China for about four days.

~{!0~}It is amazing to finally see it, and I was surprised about how many soldiers there actually were,~{!1~} said Attoe.

There are horse-drawn carriages, bronze weapons and the bones of the emperor's 300 concubines that range in age from 14 years old to 18 years old who were buried alive at the time of his death. The bones are not on display, but the bronze weapons and horses can be found either in the pits or encased in lighted displays.

More than 40 other subsequent emperors were buried in the mausoleum with Qin from the Hang and Tang dynasties. They also built themselves other terracotta warriors, but of a smaller size.

Of the four pits, only three are currently open to the public.

Pit 1 is the defense warriors and was opened in 1797, which was then followed by Pit 3 in 1989. Pit 3 houses defense formations and guards on duty. Pit 2 was opened most recently in 1994 and houses the offensive warriors.

Pit 4 is not open to the public and has not been completely excavated because it is now known that the paint on the warriors decays after being exposed to air.

Each warrior was completely hand-painted, but over the years most have suffered algae and coal-pollution damage from the air around them. All the unearthed soldiers now range from colors of beige to gray.

The Terracotta Warriors and Horses have suffered damage than just decay. Many are missing arms, heads and chunks of armor. A fire was set to the wood structures of the mausoleum about five years after Qin's death. The uprising of political unrest in the country caused the next emperor Xiang Yu to raid the tomb. Some of the warriors suffered damage, but most have been pieced together again.

In attempts to preserve the paint color of the warriors, archeologists have covered up Area 11 in Pit 2.

There have also been more recent attempts to harm the soldiers. Pit 2 was robbed of multiple soldiers, and the thieves attempted to sell them to a businessman for 300,000 RMB. The robbers were caught and sentenced to death.

On Sept. 16, 2006, a German art student hid from museum officials for several minutes after jumping into one of the pits. He was dressed in complete terracotta warrior attire and he looked so identical to the soldiers he was standing beside, they could not find him.

Upon fulfilling his life dream and by having no malicious intentions, Pablo Wendel was given no legal reprimand for his actions.

The Terracotta Warriors have about two million visitors annually with the most visitors in May and October for the Chinese national holidays. About one-fifth consists of foreign tourists.

Leslie Byatt, 21, is from Texas and is studying geology abroad this summer.

~{!0~}You see it so many times on television or in magazines, but to actually be here is really cool,~{!1~} she said.

Upon entering the area, visitors must purchase a ticket for 90 RMB. After walking down a long path filled with newly planted trees, each airplane hanger-looking pit is on either side of the open area courtyard.

All of the pits are very close to each other, and also adjacent to the museum that houses souvenirs. The museum also shows a historical panoramic movie about the soldiers.