Terracotta army members find temporary barracks in Budapest

Budapest is now home to one of China's most prized ancient treasures, as ten original terracotta warriors go on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in the largest exhibition of its kind in the region in decades. 

The life-size figures once stood guard over China's First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, and date back more than 2,000 years to the founding of the Qin Dynasty. The warriors were buried near the ancient capital of Xi'an with a single mission in the afterlife: to protect the emperor in death.

Among the first visitors is Alex Kong, who arrived from China earlier this year to begin his studies in Hungary and now finds himself face to face with figures he once only knew from books. Kong stood quietly before the warriors, taking in their faces and details with care.

"I think it's not only a very unique experience, but I think it's also a very good sign of the two countries having more ties and more relationships with each other."

Kong said he never imagined seeing the warriors in Europe after growing up learning about the empire they served and the world they once defended. Now, the figures stand thousands of kilometers from their original burial site.

"I think the message is that China has a longer and more complex history than many people think. And it would be very nice for Hungarian people to discover it and learn more about it."

The warriors form only part of the wider exhibition, which features more than 150 artifacts that trace the rise of early Chinese dynasties through weapons, tools and daily objects used more than two millennia ago. Museum director László Baán described the project as a major international effort that aims to do more than showcase rare objects.

"It's very important for us not only to show works of art and artifacts, but also to provide knowledge to visitors. And this exhibition it's a very special one, (with) a lot of layers of information."

The journey of the warriors to Budapest took years of planning and coordination, with eight Chinese museums taking part in the loan and each statue transported under strict conservation controls due to its fragile condition.

Visitors move through a sequence of galleries shaped by the exhibition's curator, Györgyi Fajcsák, who designed the layout to mirror the atmosphere and structure of the original burial complex in Xi'an.

"If the visitors follow the various parts of the exhibition, he or she can realize that we try to imitate the real circumstances, the real sites here in the museum, and we try to add as much information as we can with diagrams, with charts, texts."

A digital gallery uses projected color to show how the warriors once looked when freshly painted, restoring their armor, rank and formation as they would have appeared in tightly ordered battle rows.

For Baán, the aim is that visitors leave with a deeper understanding of an era that reshaped Chinese history.

"I think the visitors will go out with a lot of information, a lot of experience, and then they will be richer in knowledge and also about this era."

Kong returned for one final look before leaving the gallery, standing beside a single warrior in quiet reflection. For him, the statues carry more than ancient history, standing as symbols of distance and connection at the same time.