Chinese treasures described as the eighth wonder of the ancient world will go on display for the first time at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
The exhibition features 120 artefacts discovered in the mausoleum of China's first emperor Qin Shihuang, including ten full-sized warriors, and bronze and jade ornaments that have never before travelled outside of Xi'an.
Included in the display are a pair of bronze birds that were only recently discovered at the massive archaeological site.
Emperor Qin's mausoleum was first discovered by farmers in 1974, after being buried for nearly 2,200 years.
The site, which is bigger than most ancient cities, is estimated to contain over 8,000 life-sized statues of warriors, and thousands of other relics that reflect life in the Qin Dynasty.
Australia was chosen as the first international location for the original exhibition of the warriors, in 1983.
That was largely due to the efforts of the Director of the Art Gallery of NSW, Edmund Capon, who was one of the first Westerners to see the site in Xi'an shortly after it was discovered.
His life-long love affair with Chinese art and culture has resulted in a push for the relics to return to Australia, to be enjoyed by a new generation of history buffs.
