Sydney has won the exclusive rights to display the world-renowned Terracotta Army of China-one of the world¡¦s greatest archaeological finds.

Premier Kristina Keneally today announced that The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army will be on display at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from December 4 2010 until the 13 March 2011.

Premier Keneally made the announcement at the launch of the 2010 Vivid Sydney Festival today.

The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army explores one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20thcentury.
The life-size terracotta army was discovered in 1974. The army is a form of funerary art and was buried with the First Emperor of China in 210 BC. Their purpose was to help rule another empire with Shi Huang Di in the afterlife.

The warriors protect the tomb of the First Emperor (221-210 BCE). The tomb has become one of the most famous archaeological sites on earth, and the most important ongoing excavation in China.

The exhibition, organised by the Art Gallery of New South Wales will bring more than 17 of these stunning life-size pottery figures of soldiers and horses to Sydney. No two terracotta figures are the same and each character was hand-crafted by skilled tradesmen of the era.

Three pits containing the terracotta warriors have been discovered.

Current estimates are that that the three pits contain over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses. Archaeologists believe there are several pits still waiting to be discovered.