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Maosoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang
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 Maosoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang is located in Xi'an,wherd in the northwest of Shaanxi Province China, the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum is the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221BC-207BC) and also of China. Covering 2.13 square kilometers, the four-layered mausoleum, like a well-structured city, includes an underground palace, which is the center of the mausoleum, an inner city, outer city and grounds. Emperor Qin Shihuang conscripted more than 700,000 convicts to build his mausoleum, immediately after he came to the throne, so as to ensure his peaceful, eternal sleep. It took 38 years to finish this project. Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum is located in Lintong County, 35 kilometers east of Xi'an. Surveys show that the necropolis had two enclosures, an inner one and an outer one. The circumference of the inner one was four kilometers and the outer one six kilometers. The tumulus was originally 120 metres high. Although it has undergone 2,000 years of erosion by wind and rain and human destruction, it still stands 46 metres high.The Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shihuang was built with the sweat and blood and the bones of thousands of labouring people. In the time when science and technology were backward and transportation was difficult, the building materials had to be transported from sichuan, Hubei and other faraway places. The river near Lishan:Mountain originally ran from south to north. To avoid the danger of flooding and to guarantee the safety of the tomb's construction, a lot of manpower was needed to change the river course, so that it would flow from east to west. Additionally, Lishan Mountain was a mountain lacking stones. Large amounts of stones had to be cut and carried from other mountains to the north of Weihe River. This and other work had to be done by hand. We can well imagine how hard it would be. According to The Historical Records written by Si Maqian, inside the tomb was a hall where a hundred seats were placed for high-ranking officials. Buried inside were rare and valuable stones and jewellery. Rivers and lakes of mercury were constructed to symbolize the earth. The sun, the moon, and stars of pearls and gems were made to symbolize the celestial body. |
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