Blockbuster show hailed as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Tickets on sale next week
THOUSANDS of people from across the UK and beyond are expected to snap up tickets for the Liverpool visit of the world famous Terracotta Warriors, when they go on sale next week.
The £14.50 price tag makes it the most expensive admission ever to see a show in the publicly funded National Museums Liverpool.
Nevertheless, NML is expecting sell-out crowds to flock to the city between February 9 and October 28 when the army from China is stationed in William Brown Street.
Details were released today of what will be one of the top cultural highlights in Britain in 2018.
China's First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors, at Liverpool’s World Museum , features more than 180 spectacular artefacts from museums across Shaanxi Province, more than half of which have never previously been on show in Britain.
The blockbuster show explores, in the words of its curator, "the fascinating pursuit of immortality". It tells the story of the formative years of the Chinese nation, from the pre-unification Qin Kings, to China’s First Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s rise to power and the legacy of his achievements in the succeeding Han Dynasty.
An NML spokesman said: "Remarkable new discoveries are continually coming to light, which indicate that Emperor Qin Shi Huang wished to take the entire universe into the afterlife. The scale and lavishness of his burial site and the mystery of the Emperor’s mausoleum forms a major component of the exhibition."
They added: "Visitors will come face to face with the extraordinary Terracotta Warriors, including a life-size terracotta horse, as well as other exquisite objects from the Emperor’s vast burial complex. Objects from the Han Dynasty will explore ancient Chinese lifestyle, the economic prosperity of the empire and beautifully crafted artefacts from royal burials.They will shed light on the Emperor's pursuit of immortality and show how he prepared for the afterlife, as well as help us to understand more about everyday life in China more than 2,000 years ago."
The event is the highlight of celebrations across Liverpool next year to mark the 10th anniversary of it being the European Capital of Culture in 2008.
NML boss Dr David Fleming said: “This is a tremendous coup, not just for Liverpool, but for the whole of the UK. As home to one of the oldest Chinese communities in Europe, Liverpool is absolutely the right place for this exhibition, and we are hugely excited to be working with our museum colleagues in China to bring a collection of Warriors, and many other significant historical discoveries to the UK."
Fleming described the forthcoming exhibition as a once in a lifetime opportunity to see them in Liverpool.
Dr James Lin, from the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, has been appointed by NML as the exhibition’s guest curator.
He said: “The tradition of burial practice was continued by the Emperor’s successors in the later Han Dynasty, who constructed vast underground chambers and passageways filled with food and drink, as well as animals and clay servants, examples of which will be included in the exhibition; everything the Emperors would need to ensure they enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle for eternity in their underground palaces.
“China's First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors promises to be an extraordinary exhibition, exploring the fascinating pursuit of immortality.”
The exhibition, which will also feature immersive technology, has been curated by leading scholars and designed by NML, working with the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau and Shaanxi History Museum.
Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said: "The Terracotta Warriors are one of the wonders of ancient China and a phenomenal sight to behold. Bringing a selection of the Warriors to Liverpool is a fantastic achievement that will benefit the whole country.
"This incredible exhibition will undoubtedly boost tourism to the city and attract visitors from across the UK and Europe to see China's greatest national treasure."
Tickets for the exhibition will cost £14.50 for adults and £5.50 for children aged between 6 and 17 years. They go one sale on Thursday November 9, here.
