The British Museum in London will host a loan exhibition from the Museum of the Terracotta Army and the Shaanxi Cultural Relics Bureau in Xi’an, China, in September.

The First Emperor: China’s Terracotta Army exhibit will comprise the largest group of objects from the tomb of the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shihuangdi, to be loaned abroad.

In addition to the life-sized terracotta warriors, more recently discovered figures – bureaucrats, acrobats, musicians and lifelike bronze birds – will be on display.

The temporary exhibition will be the first to be housed in the Reading Room at the heart of the museum. A temporary floor will be built above the desks to create a 1,100sq m (11,840sq ft) venue.

The alterations will be completely reversible and the Paul Hamlyn Library currently housed in the Reading Room will be accessible in a temporary space beyond the Enlightenment Gallery from the end of March.

The exhibition aims to inform visitors of the First Emperor’s achievements, including construction of the Great Wall and standardisation of coinage, weights and measures as well as script.

The exhibition will run from 13 September to 6 April 2008.

Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, said: “The loan agreement is part of a series of collaborations with museums in China, which has already seen the British Museum send three successful temporary exhibitions to several venues in China.” Details: www.britishmuseum.co.uk