Xi'an Half-Day: Make Your Own Terracotta Warrior in Lintong

The Terracotta Army was found in March 1974 by farmers sinking a well at Xiyang village, and the village has been making warriors ever since - first as souvenirs for the trickle of visitors, now as close copies for museums and collectors, cast from moulds taken off the originals. This is not a hotel craft corner. It is a working kiln yard where the clay comes out of the same loess and the same families have been at it for forty years.

You work from a two-part mould: press the clay in by hand, join the halves, smooth the seam, then finish the surface with a wooden tool. The face is the slow part, and deliberately so - the Qin figures were modelled individually, and the point of the exercise is to notice that. While the piece dries you walk the yard where full-size replicas stand in rows, and you can add the excavation pits themselves in the same morning if you want the archaeology attached to the craft.

• A bench in Xiyang village, a kilometre from the pits, working with the local loess clay
• Two-part moulds taken from the originals, the same ones the replica families use for museums
• Face finishing by hand, because no two Qin soldiers share the same mouth or set of eyes
• The drying yard, where full-size replicas stand in rows waiting for patina
• Your warrior fired, packed and shipped home in about six weeks, or packed for the flight
• Optional 40 minutes in the pits afterwards, before the afternoon coaches arrive
• Suitable for ages 7 and up; children work a smaller figure with a simpler mould

• Meals as listed in the daily itinerary (no meals; tea and bottled water at the workshop)
• Private air-conditioned vehicle with professional driver throughout
• English-speaking local guide (Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian or Japanese on request)
• All entrance fees for the sites listed, including shuttle buses, eco-buses and cable cars where the site requires them
• Local handling and coordination service throughout the programme
• Bottled water (2 bottles per person per day) and audio headsets where group size requires them
• Travel accident insurance for the duration of the tour

• International air tickets and any domestic flights not listed in the itinerary
• China visa or visa-free entry documentation fees
• Meals not specified in the daily itinerary and all beverages/alcohol
• Tips for guides, drivers and hotel staff (suggested USD 8-12 per person per day)
• Personal expenses: laundry, telephone, minibar, shopping
• Optional activities and any item not listed under Price Includes
• Single-room supplement if a traveller requires a room alone
• International shipping of the finished warrior (from about USD 40, weight dependent)
• The Terracotta Army pits, if added (entrance and shuttle charged at cost)

Published: October 2026 — prices and itinerary reviewed on this date; later updates are shown in the revision note below.

Please read the notes below before you book. The workshop is in a village yard with uneven ground; apron and tools are provided, and clay dust washes out of most clothing.

Q: Do we actually get to keep what we make?
A: Yes. Your warrior is dried slowly, fired in the workshop kiln and shipped to your home address, usually within six weeks; international shipping is quoted separately and runs from about USD 40 depending on weight. If you would rather carry it, we pack it in a foam case that survives checked baggage - the piece is about 25 cm tall and weighs roughly a kilo before packing.

Q: Is this suitable for children?
A: It is, from about seven years old. Children work a smaller figure with a simpler two-part mould and get more help from the bench technician, and the session takes about the same time. The clay is non-toxic and the tools are wooden. We have run this for school groups of thirty and for families with a four-year-old watching from a stool.

Q: How is this different from the replica shops at the museum exit?
A: The shops sell cast copies made in bulk and painted by a team. Here you make one piece yourself, from the mould through the finishing, in a yard where the same families produce museum-grade replicas to order. You also see the difference between a souvenir and a copy: the face, the hands and the stance are what the conservators look at first.

Q: Can we combine this with the Terracotta Army pits?
A: Easily - they are a kilometre apart. The usual shape is the workshop first thing, then the pits at eleven, which gets you into Pit 1 before the afternoon coaches. Allow five hours in total plus the drive from the city, and note that the pits need a separate ticket, which we charge at cost rather than folding into the workshop price.

Q: What clay is used, and will the piece survive the flight?
A: Local loess clay, the same soil the Qin potters worked, fired to about 900 degrees so it is hard but still porous. It survives checked baggage in the foam case we supply; we ship dozens a year and the breakage rate is under two per cent, and we replace anything that arrives broken. Carry-on is not realistic for the larger figures.

Q: Is the workshop heated or air-conditioned?
A: It is a covered yard with a workroom, heated in winter and fan-cooled in summer, but the drying yard is open air. December to February is cold on the hands; July and August are hot by eleven in the morning. We schedule the session for the morning in summer for exactly this reason.

Q: Do I need a visa for this?
A: Most visitors do not. China's unilateral visa-free scheme covers 50 countries for stays up to 30 days, and 240-hour visa-free transit applies to travellers from 57 countries through 65 ports, including Xi'an Xianyang. Rules are reviewed periodically, so confirm your nationality against the National Immigration Administration list before you book flights.