The British Museum in London will launch a major loan exhibition tomorrow (13 September) as the First Emperor: China’s Terracotta Army will open its doors to the public.

The exhibition includes 120 artefacts on loan from the Museum of the Terracotta Army and the Shaanxi Cultural Relics Bureau in Xi’an, China. It is 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 also be on display.

The temporary exhibition will be the first to be housed in the museum’s famous 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.

Jane Portal, exhibition curator, said: “The chance discovery of the terracotta army astounded the world. This exhibition will

The exhibition will run until to 6 April 2008.