Evidence of this harebrained mission has now been discovered on the shore of Gyaring Lake on the Tibetan Plateau, where researchers came across a stone inscription bearing details of the group’s journey. Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China and founder of the Qin Dynasty, is widely reported to have been obsessed with immortality and is thought to have commissioned numerous expeditions to find the elixir of life during his reign. However, direct traces of these wild goose chases are hard to come by, which is why this new discovery is so valuable. According to the text, the group reached their destination in the third month of that Chinese year – which probably corresponds to 221 BCE. According to the Administration, the outcome of these analyses confirms that the discovery is genuine, and therefore provides reliable proof that Qin Shi Huang did indeed order the expedition.