A tourist sparked indignation in China after jumping in a protected area of the famous terracotta army, deteriorating two of the ancient clay statues.
The man jumped the protective fence photo capture video
The 30 -year -old man, identified only by the Sun last name, has climbed the railings and the museum's protective net that houses the clay warriors in the XI'AN city, reports the Daily Mail.
Arriving in the protected premises, the man began to push and draw the invaluable statues, causing visible damage to two of them. The guard of the museum intervened quickly and immobilized on the intruder.
Authorities said Sun suffers from a mental illness and confirmed that an investigation was opened following the incident.
The pit in which he jumped has a depth of about 5.5 meters, which raises serious question marks on how he managed to go through the safety measures.
The terracotta army is an impressive collection of over 8,000 soldiers in natural size, created about 2,000 years ago to keep the grave of the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. It is considered one of China's greatest archaeological treasures.
The terracotta army site is included in the UNESCO World Heritage of 1987 and attracts millions of visitors annually. The statues, dating from the late 200 years BC, were discovered on March 29, 1974 by some local farmers in Lintong District, near Xi'an, Shaanxi province.
The site is in the top of China's tourist attractions, along with the Great Chinese Wall and the forbidden city of Beijing.
Despite the shocking incident, an employee of the museum said the exhibition remains open to the public, and the authorities work quickly to evaluate and remedy the damage.
The incident comes shortly after a similar case in Vietnam, where a man was detained by the police last month after damaging an ancient throne considered one of the most valuable artifacts of the country.
The man, locally identified as Ho Van Phuong Tam, 42 years old, entered a historical exhibition and destroyed part of the red-golden ornamental throne of the Nguyen dynasty-the last royal family that led Vietnam between 1802 and 1945-kept in the Thai Hoa Palace.
