Celebrate Chinese New Year With These Life-Size Warrior Lanterns

January 31 marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year—2014 is the Year of the Horse—and in honor of the occasion, the University of Edinburgh will be lit with colorful lanterns made in the image of life-size Chinese warriors.

The lanterns were inspired by the famous army of terracotta soldiers uncovered in 1974 in the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor. In the tomb, archaeologists found more than 8,000 terracotta soldiers and horses, thought to have been created to protect the emperor in the afterlife.

Originally created by Chinese artist Xia Nan for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, the lanterns have been part of a traveling exhibition that has toured China and Europe, from Sweden to the United Kingdom. This is the exhibition's first visit to Scotland.

As many as 90 Chinese warrior lanterns, measuring over eight feet tall, illuminate the University of Edinburgh's quadrangle, and children, women and horses also stand among the traditional male figures. The lanterns will be on display—free and open to the public—everyday, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., through February 7, 2014.

Natasha Geiling | | READ MORE

Natasha Geiling is an online reporter for Smithsonian magazine.