Terra Cotta Warriors Watch over National Geographic
TERRA
New Bedford Standard Times
Burcu Karakas
Boston University Washington News Service
11.18.2009
WASHINGTON—The greatest number of the famous Chinese terra cotta warriors ever to travel to the United States will be on display beginning Thursday at the National Geographic Museum in Washington.
Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor, includes 15 life-size terra cotta figures and 100 sets of objects from the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi.
In the media preview of the exhibition, Terry Garcia, National Geographic’s executive vice president for mission programs, said that 96,000 tickets had been sold and that he hopes to reach 100,000 by this weekend.
Garcia said this has been an important week for China-U.S. relations, highlighted by President Obama’s visit to China.
Feng Xie, the deputy chief of mission of the Chinese Embassy, who was at the preview, called Obama’s visit a “great success” and indicated that China-U.S. relations have reached a new historic starting point.
“Obama’s visit to China is historic, and so is the Terra Cotta Warriors” exhibition he said.
The terra cotta warriors have been described as the “eighth wonder of the world.” Discovered after being buried for more than 2,000 years, the warriors are said to reveal secrets of the Qin dynasty.
The exhibition began its U.S. tour in California last year and then visited Atlanta and Houston. Washington, where the warriors will on display through March 31, is the final stop.
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