The mausoleum above ground level

The Burial Mound of Qinshihuang's Tomb

[Photo from itl.gov.cn]

The mausoleum covers 56.25 square km - 78 times the area of the Forbidden City. However, the hill-like grave mound is the only remaining part of the above ground structure. Years of weathering and damage have reduced its total area from the original 250,000 sq m to 120,000 sq m. and its height from 115 m to 87 m.

Contemporary archeologists have reproduced on canvas some of the grandeur of the mausoleum based on the site's ruins. It was designed in accordance with the layout of the emperor's capital, Xianyang, 25 km northwest of Xi'an. The tomb was enclosed by two walls; an inner city wall and an outer city wall, forming the shape of the Chinese character hui (meaning to return). Some palaces and homes of workers in charge of gardens and temples are among the above ground structures discovered so far.