Terracotta Warriors: Secrets of the First Emperor’s Mausoleum

In July 2025, Terracotta Warriors: Secrets of the First Emperor’s Mausoleum debuted in Xi’an, home to Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum Site Museum which features over 8,000 unique terracotta warriors discovered in 1974. The experience allows visitors to explore the sealed chambers of Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s legendary mausoleum through the first immersive virtual reality (VR) experience of this renowned archaeological site. Developed through an unprecedented collaboration between VIVE Arts and leading interactive studio Wevr, this cutting-edge location-based experience (LBE) transports visitors 2,200 years back in time to witness the eve of China’s first emperor’s burial.

Designed and built entirely in Unreal Engine and running on HTC VIVE Focus Vision headsets made possible by support from HTC VIVE, Terracotta Warriors presents a new model for cultural preservation and accessibility, offering experiences impossible in the physical world while protecting the integrity of archaeological sites. Unlike traditional museum visits, this immersive journey allows visitors to virtually enter and explore previously sealed areas of the mausoleum that have remained untouched for over two millennia. The 40-minute VR experience represents an extensive collaboration with archaeological experts to ensure complete historical accuracy. Every element of the virtual mausoleum has been recreated with meticulous attention to detail, from nine-story towers to intricate bronze chariots with golden incrustations.

The experience unfolds as visitors join a companion from the future to explore the tomb’s hidden chambers, complete with ancient traps and defensive mechanisms. The second act transforms into a magical realm where archaeological artifacts come to life, terracotta warriors march in formation, and visitors witness the workshops where these eternal guardians were originally created.

VIVE Arts’ partnership with Xi'an-based immersive experience company Horizon Technology and Wevr builds on its wide-ranging program of commissions and collaborations with leading cultural institutions around the globe to create innovative immersive projects that expand the ways culture can be experienced.

Terracotta Warriors: Secrets of the First Emperor’s Mausoleum is open in Xi’an from July 29, 2025

Credit

Executive Producer	王雪紅
Co-Executive Producer	黃勇・黃昭穎
Creative Consultant	王勇・金鐵木・張衛星
Supervising Editor	孫昌博
Producer	王媛
Co-Producer	葉心宇・華曉楓
Associate Producers	Neville Spiteri・Anthony Batt
Writer	金鐵木
Creative Director	Luis Blackaller
Production Design	霍廷霄
Art Design	孫立堯
Script Writer	於新玲
Voice Actor	白宇帆
Project Lead	李京・白一喆・浦澤心
Line-Producer	Nina Weng・趙洋・Peter Ariet
Exhibition Management	賈劍珩
Marketing & Sales	王巧萍・朱穎琦・賀文雪・王顥霖
Deployment Technologists	HTC技術團隊・盧釗
Technologists	袁野・Marcel Samek・Jack Ehrbar・Andrew Weidenhammer
Production Management	Kate Leo・Jessica Weiss・Ashley Davis・Jelani Hylton・William Harrison Avery・Erika Feldstein・Lucas Sampson・Parke Russell
VFX	Sem Schreuder・Kelcey Steele
3D Artists	Austin Tyler・Erik Paynter・Valerian Ortmann・Zack Willis・John Curtis Parker ・Robert Paraguassu・Tristan Gieler
Animation	Lance Darden・Trent Fortune・Paul Flores・Eric Leidenroth・Nate Smith
Character Artist	Angelo Gazzia ・Haiting Fu・Tim Fleur・Nick Fess
Audio Designer	Jason Shannon
English VO Actor	Morris Seng
Engineers	Sopisey Robinson・Dave Lejeune・Chris Kitchen・Joanna Anthony・Isabelle Barnett・Nate Snow

Special Thanks	中共陝西省委宣傳部・陝西省文物局・陝西省文化和旅遊廳・秦始皇帝陵博物院
In Partnership With	中影集團・《國家寶藏》節目組
Production	VIVE Arts・Wevr
Technical Partner	HTC
Produced by	西安宏文數字科技有限公司・陝文投集團・HTC VIVE・秦始皇帝陵博物院