These school holidays and for a limited time only, Sydney Aquarium will be transformed into a thrilling shark adventure. Face your fears, get up close and learn about the most feared and misunderstood animals of the sea! Check out our amazing new Unlimited Adventure Pass and discover the best value entertainment in Sydney .
Step into Shark HQ with world-first exhibitory including the largest animatronic shark the world has ever seen. Shark HQ will be the home of the most cutting-edge Great White research to date. Featuring interactive displays and projection screens, visitors will be able to track individual Great Whites up and down the coast of Australia , following their movements and their histories. Great White sharks will be revealed like never before… find out where they’ve been and where they are most likely going.
Visit the shark hatchery placing rarely seen baby sharks from a variety of species on display alongside their eggs and revealing the fascinating and varied world of shark reproduction. Sydney Aquarium and sister aquarium, Oceanworld Manly is the only place in the world to captive breed sharks and then tag and release them into the wild. For the first time, this important conservation work is being brought into the public forum.
Sydney Aquarium will also play home to exclusive premiere footage from the highly anticipated feature film ‘Oceans’ – showcasing the best underwater footage ever seen.
Walk underwater amongst the shark tunnels coming face to face with one of the largest collections of sharks in the world. See Grey Nurse, Port Jackson, Wobbegong, Bamboo, Lemon and Reef sharks – some over three metres long! In the Sydney Shark Tunnel each day you get the opportunity to witness our aquarists hand feeding these majestic and feared animals.
Take a trip through shark history from the 1960s through the decades as we showcase the public perception of sharks through time featuring TV news reports, posters, movies, rare footage, and science, amongst more.
From the Reef Theatre, don’t miss the daily schedule of entertaining and informative talks including Q&A sessions with the world’s most famous shark experts including Ron and Valerie Taylor, Sydney Aquarium aquarists sorting the fact from the fiction, shark diving and conservation talks highlighting the plight of these fascinating and incredible animals.
Sydney Aquarium is revealing sharks like never before. This is one experience you can’t miss…
Sydney Attractions Group is now offering the best value entertainment deal in Sydney – The Unlimited Adventure Pass. For $39.99 for kids & $59.99 for adults you get unlimited access to Sydney Aquarium, Sydney Wildlife World, Sydney Tower and Oceanworld Manly until June 30, 2011.
The First Emperor: China’s entombed warriors – SYDNEY ONLY
I have always been intrigued by world historical figures and history itself for that matter so when I discovered that the Art Gallery of NSW was hosting The First Emperor : China’s Entombed Warriors exhibition I was very keen to visit and witness to the sight of these amazing unearthed artifacts .
These Chinese national treasures can normally only be viewed at a distance, in the vast earthen pits where they were first discovered. This is a rare opportunity to see the legendary warriors up close, examine the details and intricacies of individual pieces, and glimpse into the world of Qin Shihuang. Drawn from 13 institutions in Shaanxi province, including the Qin Shihuang Museum of Terracotta Warriors and Horses.
On arrival during my attendance on the day I had been most keen to get as close as possible to the much-anticipated feature the incredible life-size terracotta warriors and Horses, I can regail to you that I was not disappointed at all as the display was literally within hands reach It was quite thrilling to be in a position of such intimate proximity to these incredible and overpowering ancient archeological treasures It is no wonder they have captivated audiences around the world.
I was also most keen to learn about this incredible individual ( somewhat sociopathic to say the least ) who at the tender age of thirteen took the throne and commenced to command such a monumental undertaking
Ying Zheng took the throne in 246 B.C. at the age of 13. By 221 B.C. he had unified a collection of warring kingdoms and took the name of Qin Shi Huang Di—the First Emperor of Qin.
During his rule, Qin standardized coins, weights, and measures; interlinked the states with canals and roads; and is credited for building the first version of the Great Wall.
According to writings of court historian Siam Qian during the following Han dynasty, Qin ordered the mausoleum’s construction shortly after taking the throne. More than 700,000 laborers worked on the project, which was halted in 209 B.C. amid uprisings a year after Qin’s death.
To date, four pits have been partially excavated. Three are filled with the terra-cotta soldiers, horse-drawn chariots, and weapons. The fourth pit is empty, a testament to the original unfinished construction.
Archaeologists estimate the pits may contain as many as 8,000 figures, but the total may never be known.
The First Emperor : China’s Entombed Warriors exhibition contains a first class collection of artifacts which indeed shocked the world and is one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century to this day.
Included in the wealth of Artifacts on display at The First Emperor: China’s Entombed Warriors exhibition are many zoo animals that were created by the first emperor for the purpose of “the features of the earth.” in which he recreated all the elements of this life that he would take to serve him into the next life 
BACKROUND
The Terracotta Army was discovered in the spring of 1974 in the eastern suburbs of Xi’an, ShaanxiProvince by a group of farmers who were digging a water well 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Mount Li. The region around the mountain was riddled with underground springs and watercourses. In 195 B.C., Liu Bang — The first emperor of the dynasty that followed the Qin — had ordered that ‘twenty households’ should move to the site of the mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin (Qin Shi Huang, “shi huang” means the first emperor) to watch over the tomb. To this day, twenty villages sit in the immediate vicinity of the mausoleum, one of them the hamlet where the Yang family lived; the terracotta army may have been rediscovered by the direct descendants of the people left to guard it. For centuries, there were reports of pieces of terracotta figures and fragments of the Qin necropolis — roofing tiles, bricks, and chunks of masonry — having been occasionally dug up in the area.
This most recent discovery prompted archaeologists to investigate. The Terracotta Army is a form of funerary art buried with the First Emperor of Qin in 210-209 BC. The Army’s purpose was to help rule another empire with Qin Shi Huang in the afterlife. Consequently, they are also sometimes referred to as “Qin’s Armies.” The material to make the terracotta warriors originated on Mount Lishan. In addition to the warriors, an entire man-made necropolis for the emperor has been excavated. Up to 5 metres (16 feet) of reddish, sandy soil had accumulated over the site in the centuries following its construction, but archaeologists also found evidence of earlier, impromptu discoveries. During the digs at Mount Li, archaeologists found several graves from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, whose diggers had obviously struck terracotta fragments, only to discard them as worthless with the rest of the back-filled soil.
According to historian Sima Qian(145-90 BC), construction of this mausoleum began in 246 BC and involved 700,000 workers. Geographer Li Daoyuan six centuries after the death of the First Emperor, explained that Mount Li had been chosen as a site for its auspicious geology: it once had a gold mine on its north face and a jade mine on its south face, demonstrating not only its sacred value, but also perhaps how the tunnels had come to be dug in the first place. Qin Shi Huang was 13 when construction began. He specifically stated that no two soldiers were to be made alike, which is most likely why he had construction started at that young age. Sima Qian, in his most famous work, Shiji, completed a century after the mausoleum completion, wrote that the First Emperor was buried with palaces, scenic towers, officials, valuable utensils and “wonderful objects,” with 100 rivers fashioned in mercury and above this heavenly bodies below which he wrote were “the features of the earth.” Some translations of this passage refer to “models” or “imitations,” but he does not use those words.
Recent scientific work at the site has shown high levels of mercury in the soil on and around Mount Lishan, appearing to add credence to Sima Qian’s writings. The tomb of Shi Huang Di is under an earthen pyramid 76 metres tall and nearly 350 square metres. The tomb remains unopened, in the hope that it will remain intact. Archeologists are afraid that if they do excavate the tomb, they might damage some of the valuables buried with emperor Qin Shi Huang. Only a portion of the site is presently excavated, and photos and video recordings are prohibited in some areas of the viewing. Only few foreigners, such as Queen Elizabeth II, have been permitted to walk through the pits, side by side to the army.
CONSTRUCTION
The terracotta army figures were manufactured in workshops by government laborers and by local craftsmen. The head, arms, legs and torsos were created separately and then assembled. Studies show that eight face moulds were most likely used, and then clay was added to provide individual facial features. Once assembled, intricate features such as facial expressions were added. It is believed that their legs were made in much the same way that terracotta drainage pipes were manufactured at the time. This would make it an assembly line production, with specific parts manufactured and assembled after being fired, as opposed to crafting one solid piece and subsequently firing it. In those times of tight imperial control, each workshop was required to inscribe its name on items produced to ensure quality control. This has aided modern historians in verifying that workshops that once made tiles and other mundane items were commandeered to work on the terracotta army. Upon completion, the terracotta figures were placed in the pits in precise military formation according to rank and duty.
The terracotta figures are life-like and life-sized. They vary in height, uniform and hairstyle in accordance with rank. The coloured lacquer finish, individual facial features, and actual weapons and armor from battle used in manufacturing these figures created a realistic appearance. The original weapons were stolen by robbers shortly after the creation of the army and the colouring has faded greatly. However, their existence serves as a testament to the amount of labor and skill involved in their construction. It also reveals the power the First Emperor possessed, enabling him to command such a monumental undertaking.
PITS
The four pits associated with the dig are about 1.5 km east of the burial ground and are about 7 metres deep. The outside walls of the tomb complex are as if placed there to protect the tomb from the east, where all the conquered states lay. They are solidly built with rammed earth walls and ground layers as hard as concrete. In addition to delineating the site, these served to protect the ground beneath the site from springs in the area, as also mentioned in the Shiji. Pit one, 230 metres long, contains the main army, estimated at 8,000 figures. Pit one has 11 corridors, most of which are over 3 metres wide, and paved with small bricks with a wooden ceiling supported by large beams and posts. This design was also used for the tombs of noblemen and would have resembled palace hallways. The wooden ceilings were covered with reed mats and layers of clay for waterproofing, and then mounded with more soil making them, when built, about 2 to 3 metres higher than ground level. Pit two has cavalry and infantry units as well as war chariots and is thought to represent a military guard. Pit three is the command post, with high-ranking officers and a war chariot. Pit four is empty, seemingly left unfinished by its builders
FINDINGS
At the tomb of the first Qin Emperor and multiple Warring States period tombs, extremely sharp swords and other weapons were found which were coated with chromium oxide, which made the weapons rust resistant. Chromium only came to the attention of westerners in the 18th century. The alloys of tin and copper enabled weapons such as bronze knives and swords to avoid rust and remain sharp in spite of 2000 years of degrading conditions. The layer of chromium oxide used on steel swords was 10 millimetres and left them in pristine condition to this day. A Qin crossbow arrow had a range of 800 metres.
First Emperor: China’s Entombed Warriors exhibition
Season – 2 Dec – 13 Mar 2011
Location
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery Rd, The Domain 2000
Sydney, Australia
Prices
$20.00 adults
$15.00 members/concession
$55.00 family (2 adults + up to 3 children)
$5.00 student in booked school group
$15.00 children 5-15 and full-time students. Under 5 free
Open daily 10am-5pm Wed until 9pm
Special opening hours Dec-Mar
Info line 1800 679 278
Extended opening hours
5 Jan – 13 Mar
Wed until 9pm, Sat until 8pm
