When some of the Terracotta Warriors were put on display at the British Museum in 2007, it was the biggest exhibition of its kind that Britain had ever seen, and the most important since artifacts from Tutankhamun's tomb were shown in 1972.

The Terracotta Warriors exhibition of 2007 drew 850,000 visitors to the museum, making it the second-most-visited exhibition in the museum's history.

Some of the Terracotta Warriors were displayed in the UK in 1985, at a much smaller exhibition at the City Art Centre in Edinburgh.

In London, at the British Museum, 20 Terracotta Warriors and horses, and 100 other relics from the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), were displayed in the Reading Room, which was transformed into a gallery for what was then the largest exhibition of Terracotta Warriors ever held overseas.

At the time, The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army, broke records for advance tickets sales.

More than 48,900 tickets had been sold with around a month to go before the exhibition opened.

Liverpool is hoping for the same sort of success as London had.

The World Museum says more than 140,000 advance tickets have been sold for China's First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors.

The museum is expecting more than 400,000 visitors between now and the close of the show on Oct 28.

Sharon Granville, executive director of collections and estate at National Museums Liverpool, says: "The team has been working very closely with our museum colleagues in China to bring this collection of Warriors and many other significant discoveries to the UK ... I urge everyone to attend this 'must see' show - the highlight of Liverpool's 10th anniversary celebrations as European Capital of Culture in 2018."