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One of the great archaeological treasures of the world is Xi’an’s famous Terracotta Army. More than 2,000 years old, it is composed of thousands of incredibly detailed life-size soldiers, no two of which are alike. They were buried here along with terracotta horses and chariots to protect the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, who died in 210 BC, and were only discovered by chance in 1974. I had seen some of them when they came over to the British Museum in 2007 and I was impressed then. We went to pit number one first.

I was so lucky to get this shot. There is no organisation and people are pushing and shoving each over. I just waited and waited until I got the shot I wanted. I then got one of our group in my spot and we shared it each time. There are thousands of them here and they are still digging them up. It was absolutely amazing to be somewhere I have only ever dreamed about. We then went into the second pit.

And then we went in the last pit numbered three. They keep the best preserved warriors behind glass. It is a shame that so many of the warriors are broken but then when you think of the age of them.

This exhibition to see the Terracotta Army was a dream come true. In fact the whole China trip was.