An inland Chinese province located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, Shaanxi, or “Shan” or “Qin” for short, is the province sharing borders with the largest number of provinces or prefecture-level cities in China.
Shaanxi is one of the few places where China’s agriculture originated. The discovery of millet and vegetable seed husk at the site of Banpo has proven that the civilization tied to Banpo already began agricultural production and the planting of vegetables many thousands of years ago. Shaanxi is one of the few birthplaces of human ancestors. It has been proved by archaeological evidence that the Lantian Man lived on earth about 650,000 to 800,000 years ago in Shaanxi.
Shaanxi is also one of the cradles of ancient Chinese culture. The recording of events in letters began at least as early as the emergence of Zhouyuan as a center of human activity during the Zhou Dynasty. The Bronze Age culture, which had Feng and Gao as its centers, spread far and wide across China. The Emperor Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum Terracotta Army pits currently on display are truly a huge underground treasure house of works of sculptural art created by the working people back then.
The province is one of the earliest regions in China to engage in exchanges with the outside world. Starting in the Western Han Dynasty, Xi’an (called Chang’an back then), had had frequent exchanges with many countries. In fact, the famed ancient “Silk Road” starts from Chang’an. Xi’an played a vital role in promoting China’s economic and cultural exchanges with Southern and Western Asian countries and European countries during the Han Dynasty. During the Tang Dynasty, Chang’an’s exchanges with neighboring countries in eastern and southern China and with Middle Eastern, Near Eastern, and European countries became more active.
Featured city/destination: Xi’an