Protection:

Mausoleum of the first Qin Emperor (Qin Shi Huang)

Qin Shi Huangdi (259 BC - 210 BC) united many of the individual kingdoms to become the first emperor of China. He began construction of his tomb, placing on the Lishan Mountain in the south and overlooking the Wei River north. The mountain landscape is shaped like a dragon, with the tomb at the "eye" of the dragon. The emperor's mausoleum is larger than Egypt's great pyramid, and looks like an ordinary hill. Historians believe that an interior and exterior city are part of it, and that the palace well-preserved in its underground spot. The emperor had killed all the construction workers, and the mausoleum's very site concealed it from the people and prevented it from destruction. In July 2007, using remote sensing technology, researchers saw that the mausoleum contains a 90-foot tall building above the tomb, with four stepped walls, each having nine steps, and theorized it was for "for the soul of the emperor to depart."

This is the ultimate preservation, as the mausoleum has been untouched by people and its very site prevents it from erosion. The hill has eroded away, from 100 meters to 47 meters, but it has not affected the interior. It is still in the same condition it was left in, minus the obvious deterioration after thousands of years. The area is now used as a park.

An illustration of Qin Shi Huang’s tomb based on a historical documentary written by Si Ma Qian