Shocking moment tourist jumps into Terracotta Army clay warriors and damages statues before being overpowered by security guards
By Taryn Pedler
Daily Mail
Jun 2, 2025
Terracotta Army standing in line in Pit 1 of the exhibition in Xi'an A tourist has sparked outrage in China after jumping into a section of the world-famous Terracotta Army, damaging two of the ancient clay statues in the process.
The
30-year-old man, identified only by his surname Sun, launched himself
over guardrails and a protective netting at the museum housing the clay
warriors in the city of Xi'an on Friday.
But
the man did not stop there. Once inside the protected enclosure, he
reportedly began pushing and pulling the priceless statues, resulting in
visible damage to two of the figures.
Museum security quickly intervened and subdued the intruder.
Authorities
say Sun suffers from a mental illness and confirmed that an
investigation is currently underway following the incident.
The pit he leapt into is an eye-watering 18ft deep - raising serious concerns about how he managed to breach safety measures.
The
Terracotta Army is a breathtaking collection of more than 8,000
life-sized soldiers created 2,000 years ago to guard the tomb of China's
first emperor, Qin Shi Huang.
It is regarded as one of the country's greatest archaeological treasures.
The
30-year-old man, identified only by his surname Sun, launched himself
over guardrails and a protective netting at the museum housing the clay
warriors in the city of Xi'an on Friday
Authorities
say Sun suffers from a mental illness and confirmed that an
investigation is currently underway following the incident
The Terracotta Army site has held UNESCO World Heritage status since 1987 and draws millions of visitors each year.
The
figures, dating from approximately the late 200s BCE, were discovered
on March 29, 1974, by local farmers in Lintong County, outside Xi'an,
Shaanxi, China.
They vary in height
according to their rank, the tallest being the generals. The figures
include warriors, chariots, and horses.
Estimates
from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army hold
more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry
horses, the majority of which remain in the pits near Qin Shi mausoleum.
Other,
non-military terracotta figures have since been found in other pits,
including those of officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians.
Over the past 50 years, archaeologists have located some 600 pits, a complex of underground vaults, across a 22sq mile area.
In one it, long columns of warriors,
reassembled from broken pieces, stand in formation, dressed in tunics or
armoured vests and wearing their hair in buns.
Another
pit within the museum demonstrated how they appeared when they were
found. Some stand upright, buried shoulder-deep in soil, while others
lie toppled on their backs alongside cracked clay horses.
The site ranks with the Great Wall and Beijing's forbidden City, as one of China's most popular tourist attractions.
Despite
the shocking incident, a museum staff member revealed that the exhibit
remains open to the public as normal, with officials working swiftly to
assess and repair the damage.
It comes after Vietnamese police last month detained a man over damage to an ancient throne which is considered one of the nation's most precious artefacts.
The
man, named locally as Ho Van Phuong Tam, 42, broke into a history
exhibit and damaged the antique throne, conservation officials said on
May 25.
The ornate red-and-gold Nguyen
dynasty throne was the royal seat of the last feudal family to rule
Vietnam between 1802 and 1945 and has been preserved for posterity in
Hue city's Thai Hoa Palace.
Tam 'snuck
into the Nguyen dynasty display area, screamed and then broke the front
left armrest', a statement from the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre
(HMCC) said.
In footage circulating on
social media and Vietnam news sites purporting to show the incident, the
man can be seen sitting cross-legged on the two-century-old throne that
is adorned with dragon motifs.
Once
inside the protected enclosure, he reportedly began pushing and pulling
the priceless statues, resulting in visible damage to two of the
figures
Local reports claimed the
man had purchased an entry ticket before approaching the roped-off
area. He then climbed on to the throne while 'exhibiting signs of severe
intoxication,' as per Vietnam News.
Tam
was quickly arrested but showed 'signs of psychosis, screaming, talking
nonsense and could not answer the investigator's questions', the HMCC
said.
And also last month, a vandal sparked outrage after being filmed spray a penis onto a wall at an ancient Peruvian UNESCO site.
In
footage, the man was seen spraying the crude graffiti on one of the
original walls of Chan Chan, a pre-Columbian city 300 miles north of
Lima that is flooded with thousands of visitors each month.
He wore a backpack and drew a giant black penis on the stone which is more than 600 years old and a World Heritage Site.
Peru's
ministry of culture said the culprit showed 'a grave disrespect toward
our history and cultural heritage, as well as a violation of the
regulations that protect archaeological heritage sites.
A tourist has sparked outrage in China after jumping into a section of the world-famous Terracotta Army, damaging two of the ancient clay statues in the process.
The 30-year-old man, identified only by his surname Sun, launched himself over guardrails and a protective netting at the museum housing the clay warriors in the city of Xi'an on Friday.
But the man did not stop there. Once inside the protected enclosure, he reportedly began pushing and pulling the priceless statues, resulting in visible damage to two of the figures.
Museum security quickly intervened and subdued the intruder.
Authorities say Sun suffers from a mental illness and confirmed that an investigation is currently underway following the incident.
The pit he leapt into is an eye-watering 18ft deep - raising serious concerns about how he managed to breach safety measures.
The Terracotta Army is a breathtaking collection of more than 8,000 life-sized soldiers created 2,000 years ago to guard the tomb of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang.
It is regarded as one of the country's greatest archaeological treasures.
The 30-year-old man, identified only by his surname Sun, launched himself over guardrails and a protective netting at the museum housing the clay warriors in the city of Xi'an on Friday
Authorities say Sun suffers from a mental illness and confirmed that an investigation is currently underway following the incident
The Terracotta Army site has held UNESCO World Heritage status since 1987 and draws millions of visitors each year.
The figures, dating from approximately the late 200s BCE, were discovered on March 29, 1974, by local farmers in Lintong County, outside Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
They vary in height according to their rank, the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots, and horses.
Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army hold more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remain in the pits near Qin Shi mausoleum.
Other, non-military terracotta figures have since been found in other pits, including those of officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians.
Over the past 50 years, archaeologists have located some 600 pits, a complex of underground vaults, across a 22sq mile area.
In one it, long columns of warriors, reassembled from broken pieces, stand in formation, dressed in tunics or armoured vests and wearing their hair in buns.
Another pit within the museum demonstrated how they appeared when they were found. Some stand upright, buried shoulder-deep in soil, while others lie toppled on their backs alongside cracked clay horses.
The site ranks with the Great Wall and Beijing's forbidden City, as one of China's most popular tourist attractions.
Despite the shocking incident, a museum staff member revealed that the exhibit remains open to the public as normal, with officials working swiftly to assess and repair the damage.
It comes after Vietnamese police last month detained a man over damage to an ancient throne which is considered one of the nation's most precious artefacts.
The man, named locally as Ho Van Phuong Tam, 42, broke into a history exhibit and damaged the antique throne, conservation officials said on May 25.
The ornate red-and-gold Nguyen dynasty throne was the royal seat of the last feudal family to rule Vietnam between 1802 and 1945 and has been preserved for posterity in Hue city's Thai Hoa Palace.
Tam 'snuck into the Nguyen dynasty display area, screamed and then broke the front left armrest', a statement from the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre (HMCC) said.
In footage circulating on social media and Vietnam news sites purporting to show the incident, the man can be seen sitting cross-legged on the two-century-old throne that is adorned with dragon motifs.
Once inside the protected enclosure, he reportedly began pushing and pulling the priceless statues, resulting in visible damage to two of the figures
Local reports claimed the man had purchased an entry ticket before approaching the roped-off area. He then climbed on to the throne while 'exhibiting signs of severe intoxication,' as per Vietnam News.
Tam was quickly arrested but showed 'signs of psychosis, screaming, talking nonsense and could not answer the investigator's questions', the HMCC said.
And also last month, a vandal sparked outrage after being filmed spray a penis onto a wall at an ancient Peruvian UNESCO site.
In footage, the man was seen spraying the crude graffiti on one of the original walls of Chan Chan, a pre-Columbian city 300 miles north of Lima that is flooded with thousands of visitors each month.
He wore a backpack and drew a giant black penis on the stone which is more than 600 years old and a World Heritage Site.
Peru's ministry of culture said the culprit showed 'a grave disrespect toward our history and cultural heritage, as well as a violation of the regulations that protect archaeological heritage sites.
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