Some of China’s most treasured artifacts have been damaged after a tourist jumped into a pit housing the 2,000-year-old Terracotta Army, severely destroying two ancient statues before being apprehended.
The incident occurred last Friday (May 30) at the Museum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the country’s Shaanxi Province.
According to local authorities, the man, a 30-year-old domestic tourist described as suffering from mental illness, leapt over a guardrail and plunged nearly 18 feet into an excavation zone.
Highlights
- A local tourist jumped over a guardrail and damaged two 2,000-year-old Terracotta Army statues in China.
- The Terracotta Army dates back to 209 BC and includes over 8,000 clay soldiers guarding China's first emperor's tomb.
- Security concerns rose after the man easily accessed the excavation pit.
Video footage of the incident went viral. “What are you doing?” an onlooker can be heard shouting.
“Mentally ill” tourist destroyed two millennia-old statues in China’s first emperor museum
Image credits: Jo Panuwat D/Adobe Stock (Not the actual photo)
“What an absolutely disgusting person. What is wrong with some people disrespecting the past? Hope they throw the book at him,” a netizen said.
After falling, the man started “pushing and pulling” the clay warriors, damaging two of them to “varying degrees,” as per local sources.
Image credits: BBC News
Footage of the aftermath sees the man surrounded by the destroyed statues, laying on the ground clutching his head in pain.
He was swiftly apprehended by the museum’s security personnel, who then closed the area and evacuated visitors.
According to local law enforcement, the perpetrator was a “domestic tourist,” who had a mental breakdown due to suffering from an unspecified mental illness.
“Thank God it’s not ‘The Ugly American’ striking again,” one user wrote.
“He should do at least 15 years,” another replied.
Image credits: Zossolino/Wikimedia
Built in 209 BC to guard the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, the Terracotta Army is a UNESCO World Heritage Site made up of more than 8,000 clay figures—soldiers, horses, and chariots—buried to serve the emperor in the afterlife.
It’s considered by scientists and historians to be one of the most important archeological discoveries of the 20th century.
A similar incident occurred last year in Israel, when a 5-year-old accidentally shattered a 3,500 jar
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Image credits: FloraHL6
“People are so disrespectful and entitled these days. Things like this are happening far too often lately,” a viewer wrote.
In fact, this is not the first time ancient artifacts have suffered due to public mishandling—and it likely won’t be the last.
Image credits: Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum site Museum
The Terracota Army incident echoes another episode from August 2024, when a 5-year-old visiting the Hecht Museum in Haifa, Israel, shattered a 3,500-year-old Bronze Age jar.
Footage of the child knocking over the jar went viral, sparking international outrage and a debate on whether the parents, children, or the museum were to blame.
Image credits: Lindy Buckley
“This is the kid’s fault, the parent’s fault, and the museum’s fault,” a netizen argued. “The kid shouldn’t touch things in a museum, the parents should have made sure he didn’t and the museum should have put that sh*t behind glass.”
Image credits: zachwhit39
Image credits: oec2025
Another person followed up with: “Museums should be child-proof safe. Like the way it’s displayed was a disaster waiting to happen anyways.”
“On the other hand, if it didn’t break, I would never have known of the existence of that particular vase, so who cares,” another added.
The museum reopened its doors the day after. It’s unclear if the man will face repercussions
Image credits: kevinmcgill/Wikimedia
Chinese authorities have not informed what punitive measures—if any—will be taken against the man who damaged the Terracotta Army. Some viewers believe he’ll end up getting off lightly because of his status as a mentally ill person.
“Please. He had ‘mental health issues.’ That seems to be the get-out clause for moronic actions nowadays,” a person wrote.
Image credits: David Castor/Wikimedia
But the bigger issue, as per critics, is how easily he was able to get into the pit in the first place.
For many, the fact that he could leap into an UNESCO World Heritage Site without anyone stopping him in time, raised serious questions about how well the site is protected.
Despite the 2,000-year-old statues being shattered to pieces, the museum swiftly reopened its doors, and by Saturday (May 31), citizens were able to access the premises and enjoy the display as if nothing had happened.
"Fine and jail." Netizens called for the man to be punished for his actions
