Standing among thousands of clay soldiers buried for over two thousand years, a Nigerian columnist on a press trip to Xi'an was struck less by the ancient spectacle than by what it had become in modern hands. The Terracotta Warriors, raised by an emperor who sought to rule beyond death, were later protected, studied and presented with patient investment, and today draw millions who carry the story away with them. Turning homeward, he sees in Nigeria's own Nok sculptures, Benin bronzes, Kano and Zaria walls and Sukur landscape a similar inheritance waiting for the same careful stewardship. His
Emperor's Terracotta Army Offers Nigeria a Lesson in Heritage Tourism
A country does not need to invent an extraordinary past to attract the world.
Mark
Why does a travel column about clay soldiers belong in a conversation about Nigeria?
Mimi
Because the writer uses Xi'an as a yardstick. The soldiers were found by farmers in 1974, and the point is what China built around them afterward: research, conservation, museums, visitor facilities.
Mark
And the numbers back that up?
Luke
Partly. The museum drew over 10 million visitors in 2025, which is a clear figure. But the 376 billion yuan is for Xi'an's whole tourism economy in 2024, and the columnist himself says it isn't the museum's earnings.
Mimi
That caveat matters. He doesn't pretend the warriors alone produced it.
Mark
Which Nigerian sites does he name?
Mimi
Nok, Benin, the Kano and Zaria walls, Sukur, and Osun-Osogbo. He pairs a few with concrete ideas, like a Nok museum in Kaduna.
Luke
Those are proposals, though, not plans. The column doesn't say what they would cost, who would pay, or what the current state of those sites is. His questions about how well they're preserved go unanswered.
Mark
So it's an argument, not an audit.
Luke
Right. It's an opinion piece, and the trip was hosted by People's Daily under a Belt and Road media program. He discloses that, and readers can weigh it.
Mimi
His conditions are worth noting too: professional conservators, authenticity, and local communities involved, so tourism doesn't hollow out the sites.
Il Polso
- A treasure buried for more than two thousand years now draws over ten million visitors a year, and a Nigerian columnist sees a mirror for his own neglected heritage.
- Fragile painted clay warriors are exposed to air and losing their color, so experts must race to protect what survives.
- Nigeria's Nok sculptures, Benin bronzes, Kano and Zaria walls and Sukur landscape sit underused while their stories remain largely unknown to Nigerians.
- The columnist urges professional conservators, communities, private investors and filmmakers to act together, but the outcome depends on whether Nigerian policy follows through with sustained funding.
Standing among thousands of clay soldiers buried for over two thousand years, a Nigerian columnist on a press trip to Xi'an was struck less by the ancient spectacle than by what it had become in modern hands. The Terracotta Warriors, raised by an emperor who sought to rule beyond death, were later protected, studied and presented with patient investment, and today draw millions who carry the story away with them. Turning homeward, he sees in Nigeria's own Nok sculptures, Benin bronzes, Kano and Zaria walls and Sukur landscape a similar inheritance waiting for the same careful stewardship. His question is quiet but pointed: whether a nation's past will be merely kept, or truly cared for and shared.
A Daily Trust columnist, travelling in China, walked into the exhibition halls at Xi'an and found himself standing before thousands of life-sized clay soldiers, horses and chariots. They were built more than 2,000 years ago for Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor to unify China, who wanted an army to guard him in the afterlife. No two figures are alike; each has its own face, rank and expression. Hidden until local farmers stumbled on fragments in 1974, they became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
What moved the columnist most was what came after the discovery. China has kept investing in research, conservation, museums and visitor facilities, and the rewards are visible: the museum drew more than 10 million visitors in 2025, feeding hotels, restaurants, guides and traders. Xi'an's wider tourism economy, built on its walls, museums and food, reported about 376 billion yuan in revenue in 2024.
He then turned to Nigeria, which he says is rich in history but poor in celebration. He names the Nok terracottas, the Benin Kingdom's bronzes, the Kano and Zaria walls, Sukur and the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, and asks how many have been properly preserved and how many Nigerians know their stories. He proposes a world-class Nok museum in Kaduna, living heritage in Benin, guided tours of the Kano walls, and international promotion for Sukur, with documentaries and digital exhibitions to draw young audiences.
His conditions are firm: restoration must be led by professional archaeologists and conservators, authenticity must be guarded, and the communities who live beside these sites must have a voice. Tourism, he insists, should protect these places rather than sell them short. The trip was organised by People's Daily of China under the Belt and Road media framework, and the piece is a personal column rather than a policy study. The question now is whether Nigeria's government will turn such arguments into lasting investment.
A Daily Trust columnist traveling in China walked into the exhibition halls at Xi'an to see the Terracotta Warriors, and came out writing about Nigeria. The visit, he says, put him in front of thousands of life-sized clay soldiers, horses and chariots arranged in military formation, all of them buried for more than 2,000 years. He had read about them and seen the pictures. None of that, he writes, prepared him for the scale.
The history he recounts starts in 221 BC, when Qin Shi Huang became the first emperor to unify China. Obsessed with immortality and with continuing his rule after death, the emperor had an underground army built to protect him in the afterlife. The figures are not copies of one another. They have different faces, hairstyles, uniforms and expressions, and each reads as an individual with a distinct rank.
The army stayed hidden until 1974, when local farmers digging a well found fragments of what became one of the great archaeological discoveries of the modern era. UNESCO designated the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor a World Heritage Site in 1987. The site is widely called the Eighth Wonder of the World.
What struck the columnist most was what China did next. It did not simply uncover the treasure and leave it. He describes investment in archaeological research, conservation, restoration, museum infrastructure, visitor facilities and tourism development. The conservation work is delicate: some warriors were once brightly painted, and exposure to the air caused much of that color to deteriorate, so experts must work carefully to protect what remains.
The payoff is measurable. The Terracotta Warriors Museum drew more than 10 million visitors in 2025, feeding flights, hotels, restaurants, taxis, tour operators, souvenir sellers and jobs. Xi'an has built a wider tourism economy around its ancient city walls, museums, cultural performances, traditional architecture and food. The city reported tourism revenue of about 376 billion Chinese yuan in 2024. The columnist is careful to note that this figure covers the whole city, not the museum alone.
He then turns home. Nigeria, he argues, is not short of history: the Nok civilisation and its terracotta sculptures, the Benin Kingdom and its bronze and brass work, the ancient Kano and Zaria city walls, the Sukur Cultural Landscape, the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, and many other settlements and monuments. He asks how much of this has been properly preserved, how many sites have become world-class destinations, and how many Nigerians know the stories behind them.
His proposals are specific. He imagines a world-class Nok museum in Kaduna backed by archaeological research, Benin heritage preserved and presented through its art, architecture and institutions, the Kano walls turned into a tourism attraction with guided tours, performances, museums and markets, and Sukur given investment, access and international promotion. Government has a major role, he says, but should not carry it alone; private investors, universities, historians, architects, tourism operators, filmmakers and local communities all have a part. He also sees room for documentaries, films, television and digital exhibitions to make this history appealing to young Nigerians and foreign audiences.
He attaches conditions. Restoration should be led by professional archaeologists and conservation experts, authenticity must be protected, and the communities that live with these sites should be involved. Tourism, he writes, should preserve these places rather than commercialise them at the cost of their cultural value.
The columnist discloses that the trip came through a media exchange organised by People's Daily of China under the Belt and Road Initiative's media cooperation framework, with a delegation of journalists from several countries. The piece is a personal column, not a policy study. What to watch is whether Nigerian policy turns this kind of argument into sustained heritage investment grounded in professional conservation and community involvement.
Citazioni salienti
We cannot expect the world to appreciate what we have not taken the trouble to preserve, interpret and present properly.— Daily Trust columnist, China Diaries series
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