Ten life-sized Terracotta Warriors from China will be a central part of an exhibition in San Francisco that opens on Friday.

The exhibition, China's Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor's Legacy, commemorates the 10th anniversary of the Asian Art Museum. It is the first exhibition held in the United States that focuses on the historical relics of China's Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC).

In a bid to achieve immortality, China's first emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty built himself a tomb - a vast underground city guarded by a life-sized terracotta army including warriors, infantrymen, horses, chariots and all their attendant armor and weaponry, said He Li, curator of the exhibition.