Museum of the Han Terracotta Army in Xuzhou

Museum of the Han Terracotta Army in Xuzhou

The Tomb of King Chu on Lion Mountain is the burial site of Liu Wu, the third-generation King of Chu enfeoffed in Xuzhou during the early Western Han Dynasty. Over four thousand terracotta warriors served as important funerary objects for the king’s tomb. They were discovered in 1984, and a decade later, the main tomb—the Tomb of King Chu—was unearthed. The Tomb of King Chu is located at the southern foot of Lion Mountain in the eastern suburbs of Xuzhou. It was carved out of the living rock, with chambers hewn through the mountain, and the burial chambers extend over a hundred meters deep into the mountain. Its grand scale, magnificent presence, and unique architectural structure are truly breathtaking, causing a sensation both domestically and internationally. More than two thousand pieces (sets) of precious cultural relics were unearthed from the tomb, made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, jade, stone, pottery, and more. Among them are exquisite artworks such as the dragon-carved jade huang, ring-patterned jade ring, carved jade pendant, rhinoceros-patterned bronze ornament, jade-inlaid lacquered coffin, and bronze flat pot—all of which were first discoveries in Chinese archaeology. Particularly valuable is the fact that scientists successfully reconstructed the image of the King of Chu from 2,100 years ago based on the skeletal remains found in the tomb.

The excavation of the terracotta warriors and the Tomb of King Chu holds significant importance for archaeological research. To a large extent, it reflects the social, political, economic, military, and cultural conditions of the early Western Han Dynasty, objectively presenting the historical appearance of the Kingdom of Chu at the time. It not only enriches the cultural heritage of the Han Dynasty in Xuzhou but also fills a major gap in the study of early Western Han culture. From the start of the excavation, it was ranked first among the “Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries in China in 1995,” and in 1996, it was designated by the State Council as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit and a Provincial Patriotic Education Base.

Address: No. 1 Terracotta Army Road, Yunlong District, Xuzhou City

Type: Museum

Recommended visiting time: 2–3 hours

Phone: 0516-83566263

Opening hours:

8:30–17:00 (summer); 8:30–16:30 (winter)

Ticket information:

No separate ticket required. The admission fee is included in the Han Culture Scenic Area combo ticket (Tomb of King Chu on Lion Mountain & Museum of the Han Terracotta Army) at 90 RMB.

Further reading:

· National Second-Class Museum of China