Bronze chariots take visitors on epic historical ride

The exhibition covers 6,000 square meters, with a visitor route of approximately 2 kilometers. There are around 3,500 cultural relics on display, about 80 percent of which are being shown to the public for the first time, Li says.

Right next to the Zi Chariot is the Yao Chariot, which is also from the Eastern Han Dynasty and which was unearthed in Xingren city in 1987.

Also cast in bronze, it was made using a variety of techniques including inlay work and interlocking joints.

Most scholars believe that the chariot was used by ordinary officials, and was usually pulled by a single horse.

The chariots speak to the flourishing of Han Dynasty transportation in Guizhou and enable museumgoers to see the diversity in form and function of bronze carriages and horses in ancient times, Li says.