The Long March.(The World According to Alan Greenspan)(Art)(The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army exhibit)

Byline: Ginanne Brownell

China's terra-cotta warriors invade London.

It's no easy feat to move an army. getting the armored transport, resources, munitions and soldiers ready for invasion is a spectacular achievement of logistics, effort and manpower. But the incursion last week of a Chinese army into London was especially heroic: the troops and all their kit are 2,200 years old and made of terra cotta. On loan to the British Museum from China, the 20 figures and their horses, chariots, bows, bowls and bells, which have protected the tomb of the first Qin emperor since his death in 210 B.C., began their journey in Shaanxi province. After museum officials signed documents and got the proper insurance -- each figure is estimated to be worth [pounds sterling]750,000 to [pounds sterling]1.5 million -- the soldiers were packed securely into crates at the beginning of August. Transported by truck from Xian to Beijing, the ancient warriors flew on four different planes to Amsterdam and then were driven to London. Though the horses barely fit through the doors of the Reading Room, all the priceless objects arrived intact.

The idea for "The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army" (through April 6) arose two years ago when the then Prime Minister Tony Blair went to China in part to improve cultural ties between the two nations. British Museum curator Jane Portal, who accompanied Blair, had studied in Xian when she was an archeology student in the 1970s, and used many of her connections there to help the museum get permission for the 120 objects on loan.

The exhibition explores the life and reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di, as well as the excavation of the warriors. It features the largest number of terra-cotta figures ever loaned by China at once -- including two kneeling archers, two generals and one charioteer -- and allows visitors the unusual experience of standing face to face with the warriors. At the excavated site in Xian, visitors look down on a pit holding 7,000 amassed warriors. "It's a much different experience than you get in China," Portal says. "Here you can walk among them and really see things like the incredible detail that went into making figures like ...