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Terracotta Warriors March South
The crowds have marched in their hoards to the Guangzhou Museum of Art for a rare display that includes some of the famed Terra Cotta Warriors.
The "Exhibition of Selected Cultural Relics from Shaanxi Province" features material from 10 museums in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, some of which have never before been shown to the public.
More than 80 cultural relics from the Qin (221-206 BC), Han (206 BC to AD 220) and Tang (AD 618-907) dynasties will remain on display in Guangzhou through November 5.
Shaanxi is regarded as a treasure trove of cultural relics. Its capital, Xi'an, was also capital of the Chinese empire during various dynasties for a cumulative 1,100 years.
Of most popular interest at the exhibition is the triangle earth pit in which eight Terracotta Warriors from the Qin Dynasty stand.
The Qin Dynasty is significant for its first emperor Qinshihuang (259-210 BC). He was known for many contradictory personas, including that of a conqueror, an enlightened leader, a merciless tyrant, a builder and a destroyer. During his 29-year rule, he united the country and transformed the land into what we now call China.
He ordered his workers to create thousands of Terracotta Warriors to guard his tomb after his death.
The warriors are dressed in armour, carry spears or other weaponry and stand on average at about 1.9 metres tall.
Each wears an army uniform that distinguishes the soldier's rank from bowmen to infantrymen to generals. An archer kneels in the front of the pit, ready to fire volleys to stop the enemy.
The accurately proportioned figurines seem so real-to-life, with each having a distinct facial expression. The bodies are said to have been mass produced, but the hands and heads were made individually, possibly to portray real soldiers of the time.
If the Terracotta Warriors are the showstopper, other items on display in Guangzhou have equal archaeological value from the same period, experts say.
Headless and broken here and there, they are the best-preserved of 15 varieties of such Terra Cotta statues unearthed.
They look comical and natural, adding a lively touch to the exhibition. The figures are dressed casually, doing hand tricks and acrobatics. One is masculine, one has a big belly and one is very slim.
These statues delighted archaeologists when discovered in 1999. It reflected to the scientists a sense of entertainment during the Qin period and dispelled the sense that all Qin Dynasty Terra Cotta artists focused on politics and military affairs.
Another newly discovered attention-grabber includes a series of Pottery Maid figurines dating to the Tang Dynasty that were dug up last year. They've never been on display before.
The figurines are intriguing for their full figures and round faces, which conform to the ideal of beauty during the Tang era.
The statues radiate purity and naivete. The charm lies in the manifestations of their inner feelings and their elegant and reserved postures.
They are dressed in gorgeous, fashionable costumes that emanate grace and refinement.
Experts say these figurines reflect the confidence and optimism of the women in the Tang Dynasty period, when women enjoyed respectable social status.
Tri-coloured glazed figurines used mainly for burial utensils also are on display in Guangzhou. They were made to represent various aspects of earthly life, including articles of daily use. The human and animal figures are notable for their excellence of workmanship.
A must-see item is one bronze tripod cauldron said to be more than 3,000 years old, claimed the largest and most exquisite one in China.
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