The government of Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province destroyed more than 40 fake terracotta warriors and vowed Wednesday to better regulate its tourism industry, following Net users' mockery of the city's "chaotic" tourism industry.

The city's Lintong district government held an urgent meeting on Wednesday to discuss the current tourism problems, news site thepaper.cn reported. The government said it will also crack down on unlicensed taxis and tourist guides.

An article, "Xi'an, an interesting city, where both tourist spots and liars are interesting," written by a netizen codenamed "vigormianmianxiong," went viral since being posted it on January 5.

The writer claimed that she was cheated by bogus policemen and unlicensed drivers, and visited the fake terracotta warriors when she visited Xi'an in 2016.

"The pit for the fake 'terracotta warriors' is really small. They (the swindlers) made some warriors themselves and let others visit," wrote the visitor.

Li Mingde, vice president of the Beijing Tourism Society, told the Global Times that fake terracotta warriors severely damaged the image of Xi'an and it also undermined the value of real terracotta warriors.

Zhenguan, a WeChat account run by a local citizen based in Xi'an, posted an article following the visitor's exposé, explaining how to find the real terracotta warriors. This article also attracted wide attention, including Wang Yongkang, Party chief of Xi'an.

The terracotta warriors are famous both in China and abroad. However, "I read an online article telling people how to find the real terracotta warriors, which is very disappointing……I feel sorry for Xi'an visitors," Wang was quoted as saying by thepaper.cn.

Another Xi'an resident surnamed Zheng told said Thursday that many tourists have been fooled in Xi'an by con artists in these tourist spots. "Many people refused to report to the police unless they suffered big losses, and some local governments have been turning a blind eye to this phenomenon for years," said Zheng.

An orderly tourist industry needs the efforts of both the government and tourists, said Liu Simin, vice president of the China Society for Futures Studies' tourism research institute.

Tourists should also be cautious and always trust official organizations, said Liu, warning that tourists should not be greedy.

The Museum of Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang said the terracotta army protects Emperor Qin Shihuang, founder of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), in the afterlife. The site was first discovered by Xiyang village residents in 1974.

Three pits have been unearthed, estimated to contain more than 7,000 figurines, 600 terracotta horses, 100 chariots and hundreds of thousands of weapons.