The British Museum's Reading Room has been temporarily transformed into a gallery to host the show which is the biggest exhibition of the First Emperor treasures ever held overseas. A stage has been built over the desks of the historic Reading Room which is a Grade I listed structure and will be returned to normal use after the exhibition.
CREATION The warriors were commissioned by Ying Zheng, who became the King of Qin (pronounced "chin" - from which the word China is derived) when he was aged 13 in 246BC.
He was one of the greatest military leaders of all time and went on to become the first emperor of China by unifying what came to be known as the warring states.
During his reign he formalised his nation's language, law, monetary system and weights and measures, created a central bureaucracy and began construction of the Great Wall of China.
He ruled as emperor from 221BC to 210BC and his empire lasted until the beginning of the 20th century.
After several assassination attempts, the emperor became obsessed with finding the elixir of life.
As a back-up plan he made an attempt to control the world after his death by creating models of all the subjects he would need to serve him in the afterlife. There was no tradition of making such figures before this.
An estimated 700,000 men, probably forced labour summoned from all over the empire, were involved in the construction of the complex. A thousand are believed to have produced the estimated 8,000 terracotta figures.
The whole project took 36 years but was left unfinished when the emperor died suddenly aged 49, despite all the potions he had taken to guarantee him eternal life.
The terracotta army was buried immediately and remained hidden for more than 2,000 years.
DISCOVERY Located on the outskirts of Xi'an, the entire site covers 35 square miles. The city, in Shaanxi province, is the eastern terminus of the historic Silk Road and was one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.
The flattened pyramid-shaped mound of the First Emperor's tomb was documented 2,000 years ago in the writings of ancient historian Sima Qian. But the chance discovery of the terracotta army in 1974 was a complete surprise.
It was uncovered by peasants sinking a well more than half a mile from the tomb. They found fragments of terracotta then hit an underground chamber containing some of the warriors.
Archaeologists called in to examine the site realised the find was connected to the tomb of the First Emperor because of inscriptions on the figures' weapons. Eventually they found 600 related pits. There were four designated for warriors, covering 16 square miles.
So far more than 1,000 figures have been excavated and conserved, but there are believed to be 8,000 in total.
The terracotta army was built to guard the emperor in the afterlife, but recent finds have proved he was as concerned with his civilian administration.
In 1999, 11 terracotta acrobats and strong men were found near the tomb mound.
Terracotta officials and scribes were found in October 2000, and a year later a bird pit was discovered featuring life-size bronzes depicting geese, swans and cranes.
Work will continue for years, but the tomb itself has never been excavated for fear of disturbing the emperor.
THE EXHIBITION The exhibition is the biggest of its kind seen in Britain and the most important for the British Museum since its Tutankhamun blockbuster in the Seventies.
A record 50,000 advance tickets have been booked.
Displays will feature 120 objects on loan from China, including 12 life-sized complete warrior figures of different ranks and eight figures from a collection of new finds including acrobats, musicians, bureaucrats, bronze birds and horses.
While the mausoleum in Xi'an is breathtaking in its scale, the London exhibit is a chance to get close to individual figures.
The show runs from 13 September to 6 April. Opening times: 10am-5.30pm.
Admission is £12 for adults, with concessions available. Children under 16 can enter free of charge.
Catalogue: £40 for hardback or £25 for paperback.
To book phone 020 7323 8181 or visit www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/ firstemperor
The exhibition is being held in the British Museum Reading Room. It is the first time the room has been used as a temporary exhibition space.
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