A Han Tomb in Xian

On the way into Xian from the airport, we stopped for a quick visit to Hanyanglin Museum, the site of the tomb of the 4th Emperor of the Han Dynasty.

The Chinese found a number of burial pits around the main tomb, but these were of a more modest scale than Emperor Qin's tomb with all the terracotta warriors (that we were scheduled to visit the next day).  The Hans typically created their retainers and soldiers for the afterlife at one-third scale and with molds, so they weren't all individually featured like the more famous terracotta warriors (who were created at a scale larger than the average male 2,000 years ago)

This was a fairly new museum, so everything was displayed very well.  We walked on a glass corridor that was above the burial pits, so we could look down and see all the figures.  Each pit had a specific function - the kitchen and pantry pits were the largest ones, reflecting the importance of food in Chinese culture.  That's where I get it from!