On the 11th May 2007, Ambassador Chai Xi  accompanied the Honourable Speaker, Mr. & Mrs. Anton Tabone to the exhibition of the Chinese terracotta warriors at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta. Dr Mario Tabone, Chairman of Heritage Malta, gave a lucid and vivid explanation of the artefacts from the Chinese terracotta army.

Ambassador Chai with the Honourable Speaker, Mr. & Mrs. Anton and Dr Mario Tabone

The exhibition 'Silent Warriors -- The Chinese Terracotta Soldiers', held from 1 March to 31 July 2007, is organised by Heritage Malta and Shanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau in collaboration with the Malta Ministry of Tourism and Culture, the Embassy of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Cultural Centre in Malta.

The exhibition consists of 81 original artefacts, including 10 terracotta soldiers, 2 horses and a number of bronze and pottery cooking utensils, personal ornaments, weapons, coins, terracotta animals and other artefacts excavated in the last 30 years.

the Vivid Chinese Terracotta Warriors

The army of 7,000 Chinese terracotta soldiers are one of most sensational archaeological finds of all times and one of the great wonders of the world. Like the Megalithic Temples of Malta, Hal Saflieni Hypogeum and Valletta, the Mausoleum of the First Chinese Emperor is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

The collection of life-size terracotta figures of warriors and horses located near the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor were meant to accompany their emperor after death. The life-size soldiers stand ready for battle, complete with armour and chariots. After having guarded their emperor for 2,200 years, the terracotta army was discovered accidentally by some farmers in 1974 while digging for a new well. Completely unaware as to the magnitude of their discovery, the find immediately caught the attention of archaeologists, who have been working on the site ever since. Today nearly two million people visit the site annually.

The Chinese Terracotta Soldiers have created enormous interest. While they are attracting many Maltese visitors, most tourists passing through are also grasping the golden opportunity to see something they may never be able to visit unless they travel to the other side of the earth. Excitement is also understandable- since the museum's opening over 100 years ago, it never enjoyed an exhibition of such high calibre. Now the exhibition is attracting an average 500 visitors per day.