The ancient army That's still growing

As China celebrates 40 years since the Terracotta Warriors were unearthed, recent developments have deepened the mystique, as Zhao Xu and Lu Hongyan report from Xi'an.

In the eyes of Gang Gang, a 13-year-old with autism from the northwestern Chinese city of Xi'an, his hometown's most recognized symbols, the Terracotta Warriors of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) army, aren't just the monochrome sandy yellow figures visible to most observers.

"He stared at what lay in front of his eyes in a way a 3-year-old would at a new toy. That lasted a few seconds, before he ran forward, pressed himself against the railing that separated him from the soldiers in the pit and stretched out an arm," said Ma Lingzhi, a museum guide who watched the youngster's first encounter with the 2,000-year-old clay-based figures.