The pits, early
Before the crowd, with someone who can explain what you are looking at.
Terracotta Warrior Clay Workshop in Xi'an
Eight thousand figures, no two faces alike, made by workshops that signed their work because the penalty for a bad one was severe. Understanding how they were made is more interesting than counting them.
- Duration
- One day, roughly 08:30 to 20:00
- Party
- Private, or a small group by arrangement
- From
- Enquire for pricing
- Best months
- March to May, September to November
Wet clay being shaped on a wooden bench
The workshop
The same clay, the same tools, and your hands on both.
Bowls of noodles and small dishes on a wooden table
The evening
Shaanxi food, then the performance, if you want it.
The figures were not carved. They were built — assembled from moulded components, then finished by hand, which is why the bodies repeat and the faces do not.
The workshop session works with the same local clay and the same basic tools. You will not produce anything good. What you will get is a sudden and physical sense of how much labour eight thousand of these represented, and what it meant that a workshop foreman signed his name into the wet clay knowing what would happen if the piece failed.
A modelling tool resting against wet clay
Hand-pulled noodles coiled in a bowl
The day
- Enter the excavation early with a specialist guide
- Learn how the figures were mass-produced yet individually finished
- Shape and fire your own figure in a working studio
- Eat Shaanxi food where the wheat, not rice, is the point
- Optional evening performance
Included
- Private specialist guide and interpreter
- Site admission and reservation
- Studio session, materials, firing and shipping of your figure
- Lunch and dinner
- Private vehicle and driver
- Not included: Accommodation
- Not included: Flights and intercity transport
- Not included: Evening performance ticket, if taken
- Not included: Personal spending
Questions
Why does every warrior have a different face?
The bodies were assembled from standard parts — legs, torsos, arms — and the heads finished individually by hand. It was an early production line with a bespoke final step, and that is what the workshop session teaches.
Can I take my figure home?
It has to be fired and cooled, so it ships to you afterwards. Shipping is included and usually takes three to four weeks.
Is the site very crowded?
Extremely, from mid-morning. Going at opening is the single biggest improvement you can make to the day.
Is the evening performance worth it?
It is theatrical rather than scholarly — enjoyable, not essential. We leave it optional and you can decide on the day.
Will there be other guests?
Only if you want them. The day is normally private to your party; we also run it as a small group when travellers ask to share, and we will tell you which applies to your dates.