RSSThe Yunnan Stone Forest – The First Wonder Of The World
Feb 13
China China, destinations, Terracota Warriors, Yangtze River, Yunnan Stone Forest No Comments
The Yunnan Stone Forest – also named Shilin – is located in the capital of the Yunnan province – Kunming. It has been recognized in China as one of the wonders of the world since the Ming Dynasty. It was created by natural erosion processes that have been occuring since pre-history.
After some initial research it was determined that the Terra Cotta Army were from the Qin Dynasty, 211 – 206 BC and they represented a funerary art and were buried along with the Emperor of the time. They belonged to the Emperor Qin Shi Huang who ruled during this period and was actually the first emperor of China. The figures vary in height according to their role within the army. The generals are the tallest.
Among the artifacts to be found besides the actual army figures were horses, chariots, acrobats, musicians and strongmen. In all there were found to be over 8,000 soldiers in the collection, 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, many of which are still buried in the pits.
According to a historian who lived at a slightly later period than the making of the Terra Cotta Army (145 – 190 BC) the mausoleum began to be constructed in 246 BC and involved some 700,000 workers. The emperor was only 13 when construction started. His instructions were that no two soldiers were to be made alike.
The Yangtze has long been the backbone of China’s inland water transportation system, which remained particularly important for almost two thousand years, until the construction of the national railway network during the 20th century.
The Grand Canal connects the lower Yangtze with the major cities of the Jiangnan region south of the river (Wuxi, Suzhou, Hangzhou) and with northern China (all the way to Beijing). The less well known ancient Lingqu Canal, connecting the upper Xiang River with the headwaters of the Guijiang, allowed a direct water connection from the Yangtze Basin to the Pearl River Delta.
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