Man who takes photos for the Terracotta Warriors

In the eyes of Zhao Zhen, the cultural relic photographer of Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum, the most beautiful moment in the Terracotta Warriors pit is around the Winter Solstice every year, when the sunlight shoots into the pit at a low angle. At that moment, the Terracotta Army comes "alive", reflecting the glory of the Qin Empire.

It is strictly forbidden to use flashing lights in the Terracotta Warriors pits. At the end of December each year, the natural light spills onto the faces of the figurines at unique angles, bringing colors and vitality.

Since 1997, Zhao Zhen has been working in the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum for more than 20 years. He took most of the "ID photos" of the Terracotta Army, and each warrior and horse have their own archives. The preservation, restoration, outbound exhibition, and new excavation records must be constantly updated for each figurine. The relevant information should also be refreshed for black and white photos with low picture pixels or even with a long history.

Zhao Zhen was once invited to participate in China's well-known cultural relic exploration TV show "National Treasure". While the show was filmed, there were scenes in the pit. Zhao Zhen would make comprehensive preparations before heading to the pit. He usually took a shower, changed clothes, stopped eating an hour before, and put on the softest shoes and his working apron, then he stepped into the pit carefully.

The distance between the figurines in Pit No. 1 is extremely close, only 30-40 cm. In order to protect the cultural relics, even in the severe cold of winter, Zhao Zhen would wear thin clothes and attach heating pads to his waist, just to avoid scratching. A bloated photographic vest has long been a "taboo" for the dress code in the pit.

The ID photos of the Terracotta Warriors shall cover not only the front but also the side, hair bun, shoes...all the details must be taken in place. In order to capture the comprehensive angles of a figurine, Zhao Zhen has to squat, get down, stand up again, and walk all the time... It takes at least one hour to photograph one figurine. During an interview, Zhao Zhen emphasized that he is very lucky to have the "best job in the world".

At the beginning of this job, Zhao Zhen took these figurines as cold objects. However, now he treated them as live figures. While taking photos for the Terracotta Army, Zhaozhen looked at them deeply and he could even feel the breath from the figurines.

Zhao Zhen engages in some cartoon creation in his spare time. For Zhao Zhen loves his job so much, the cultural relic is the eternal theme of his cartoon works. This way, he comes up with a refreshing story of Shaanxi cultural relics. Also, his work brought him thousands of fans online.

Due to Zhao Zhen's role in the museum, he also acquired support from the museum leader to create cartoon images around the Terracotta Warriors.

Though already harvesting widespread praise and wow online, Zhao Zhen stays calm and peaceful for what he has been doing. He takes this job as a daily routine, but his work is extraordinary.