Underground City Qin unified his new kingdom. Yet he also had another goal. He wanted to be remembered forever. Ancient stories say he built an amazing tomb. More than 700,000 workers created a city under the ground. T ey built palaces filled with treasures. T ey used jewels to make the ceiling look like the stars, sun, and moon. To protect the treasure, the stories say,


workers hid weapons in the walls. Flying arrows would kill any robbers. A river of deadly mercury flowed through and around the city. T e workers also built the clay army. T ey placed the army in deep pits outside the city.


End of a Dynasty


T e clay warriors faced east toward Qin’s enemies. T ey carried real weapons. T ey had a more important treasure than gold or jewels to protect. T ey had to protect Qin’s body. When he died, Qin was buried in his special


city. Workers sealed his tomb closed, then buried the city under tons of dirt. Aſt er Qin’s death, one of his sons became


emperor. Unlike Qin, he was not a strong leader. Enemies attacked. T ey looted the clay army, smashing many statues and stealing weapons. T ey conquered the kingdom. T e Qin dynasty quickly came to an end.


Thousands of clay warriors stand ready for battle in pits like these.


14 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXTREME EXPLORER


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