Built for the first emperor in Chinese history, the mausoleum was listed as a world cultural heritage site in 1987. Qing Shihuang started building his own tomb on Lishan Mountain soon after he came to the throne. Construction expanded after he unified China in 221 B.C. and involved 700,000 laborers. It was completed 38 years later. The vaults of the terra cotta warriors and horses are 1.5 kilometers east of Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum. It was first discovered when local peasants were sinking wells in 1974. There are three vaults. The biggest one contains 6,000 life-like terra cotta warriors and horses. The figures epitomize soldiers of the Qin army.