Emirates Airline hosted a private viewing of the prestigious exhibition The Silent Warriors – Chinese Terracotta Soldiers for its distinguished guests. The exhibition, supported by Emirates, one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, is currently on show at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta.

In his short address, Emirates’ manager for Malta and Cyprus Paul Fleri Soler said: “The terracotta warriors and horses are the most sensational archeological find of our times. We are proud that Heritage Malta has asked Emirates to support the Silent Warriors exhibition. Malta is one of the first few countries within the Emirates network that has made possible the visit of these masterpieces of art for the Maltese public to admire and enjoy.”

The guests were thoroughly impressed by the priceless collection and the high levels of workmanship achieved by the ancient Chinese people. Heritage Malta exhibitions executive Pierre Bonello gave a historical account of the archaeological discovery in China. He described each piece of the collection on show, consisting of over 80 original artefacts, including 10 terracotta soldiers, two horses and a number of bronze and pottery pieces excavated in the last 30 years.

Until a few decades ago, an army of 7,000 Chinese terracotta soldiers were secretly guarding the tomb of the emperor Qin Shi Huang. After having guarded the emperor for 2,200 years, unbeknown to the rest of the world, the terracotta army was discovered accidentally by a group of peasants in 1974 while they were digging for a well near the royal tomb in Shaanxi province in China.

The magnitude of the findings immediately caught the attention of archaeologists, who have been working on the site ever since. Work is ongoing at the site, which is around 1.5 kilometres east of Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum, Lintong County, Shaanxi province in China.

It is a sight not to be missed by any visitor to China and every year nearly two million people visit the site.

The exhibition is open every day until 31 July at The National Museum of Archaeology, Republic Street, Valletta, from 9am to 7pm.