China's terracotta warriors in Colchester

Colchester's castle museum is hosting a collection of terracotta figures from China in a new exhibition - Guardians to the King - which opened this week.

These are not the famed warriors of Xi'an recently seen at the British Museum but were discovered in a no less spectacular tomb complex in the Chinese province of Jiangsu, to the north-east of Shanghai.

The cheerful-looking horses, thousands of soldiers and elegantly dressed officials with hands clasped before them inside voluminous sleeves guarded the tomb of the third king of Chu.

Liu Wu was also accompanied into the afterlife by figures representing his court entertainers - exquisite dancing figures performing a long-sleeved dance imitating the movement of water and air. Musicians with coiled hair and long gowns kneel over their zithers around the dancers.

A number of the figurines were discovered in such an undamaged state they still have their original colourful paintwork – sinister officials have thin black moustaches and scarlet-trimmed robes.

Created during the early years of the Han dynasty (206BC to AD8), the figures have been loaned by Xuzhou Museum and were excavated from a huge complex of royal tombs cut into the rocky hillsides near the site of the ancient city of Pengcheng.

Liu Wu was the great nephew of the first Han emperor, Liu Bang, who stepped into the power vacuum and civil war that followed the death of the 'first emperor' who ruled from Xi'an.

Archaeologist Miriam Stead, head of heritage and arts for Essex County Council, was one of the key movers in bringing these exquisite figurines to Colchester.

She has made several trips to China and met with the man who made the first discoveries on Shizishan Hill back in 1984. When a local man reported digging up some strange figures, Professor Lu headed out to the site straight away on his bicycle.

As Ms Stead said, this is the sort of discovery "you would cut off your right arm for" as an archaeologist.

During the following years, they have discovered 12 kings buried here, and thousands of terracotta figurines, along with objects of gold bronze and jade.

She hopes this exhibition will be the beginning of further cultural exchanges, including lending some of Colchester's precious Roman remains to Xuzhou and bringing more treasures from the royal tombs to Essex.

The exhibit's curators have drawn parallels between the Han dynasty figures and Colchester's Roman heritage.

There is a tiny fragment of Chinese silk in the museum's collection, which was found in a grave from the late Roman period in Colchester. A connection between two great empires that had only the vaguest awareness of each other's existence.

The Guardians to the King exhibition is on at the Colchester Castle Museum until November 2nd 2008.

The exhibition is part of a festival celebrating 20 years of friendship between Jiangsu province and the county of Essex, which will feature many performance artists visit from China from June through to March 2009.

Tickets to the Guardians of the King exhibition are available online from the East of England Tourist Board.

Currently, tickets can still be purchased when you visit Colchester Castle. Adult tickets cost £5.20, children are £3.40 and concession tickets are also available at £3.40.

Rail operator National Express is offering special packages, including travel to Colchester and entrance to the exhibition. For details of this offer see the National Express website and click on Essex, then Go Colchester. Guardians to the King can be selected at the bottom of this page.

Natasha von Geldern