Shanxi

Xi'an

Once known as Chang'an, Xi'an is the political, economic, cultural and transportation center of Shaanxi Province, with its jurisdiction over five counties including Chang'an County. Located in the middle of the Central Plains of the Yellow River Basin, Xi'an stands between Qinling Mountain to the north and the Weihe River to the south. It is an important birthplace of the Chinese nationality as well as one of the places of human origin and prehistoric cultural centers in Asia. Its long history and rich cultural heritage has covered the old city with a mysterious veil.

As a world-famous ancient capital, Xi'an has been designated as the capital of 13 ancient Chinese dynasties such as the Western Zhou, Qin, Xihan, Xinmang, Eastern Han, Western Jin, Former Zhao, pre-Qin, post-Qin, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui and Tang dynasties. Many important historical events took place here, such as the Red Eyebrow Peasant Rebellion at the end of the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-8AD), the Huangchao Peasant Rebellion at the end of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and Li Zicheng Peasant Rebellion at the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) all once established temporary political powers in Xi'an. it also witnessed the famous Xi'an Incident in modern history. All these have left with Xi'an a lot of cultural relics. In Xi'an there are altogether 314 key cultural relics sites under protection, of which 84 belong to state or provincial level. Unearthed cultural relics reach 120,000, many of which are rare treasures in the world, including the Stele Forest, the two Wild Goose Pagodas, the Clock Tower, the remains of Banpo Village and the city wall of the Ming Dynasty. In addition, there are ancient sites such as Han City, Tang City, Efang Palace, Weiyang Palace and Daming Palace, as well as the Huaqing Pond and pits of Qin Emperor Shihuang's Terra-Cotta Soldiers and Horses. Xi'an is a great place of revolution, and the Site of the Office of the Eighth Route Army can clearly demonstrate this. Located in Xi'an are also a number of universities and research institutions, including Xi'an Jiaotong University, Northwest University and Northwest Polytechnical University.

Xi'an is the biggest processing industrial base and the largest trade center in the central and western part of North China, as well as the starting point of the Silk Road. The Silk Road has become a wide road connecting China and other countries. It is a road of civilization, friendship, trade and cultural tourism.

Yan'an

Situated in the middle of the Loess Plateau in Northern Shanxi Province, Yan'an faces the Yellow River and adjoins Shanxi Province to the east and Gansu Province to the west. Rich tourism resources can be found in Yan'an, such as key historic site under national protection -- the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum, the key cultural relics site under national protection -- Zhongshan Grottoes of Zichang County, and scenic spot -- the Hukou Waterfall of the Yellow River, the China's largest group of wild peonies, and Wanhua Mountain and the hometown of the legendary Huamulan.

Holding a significant position in China's modern history, Yan'an is a place honored with revolution. There exist as many as 140 revolutionary sites, including Wangjiaping, which is the location of the headquarters of the CPC Central Military Committee and the Eighth Route Army, Fenghuang Mountain, which is the old site of CPC Central Committee, and other well-known places like Baotashan, Zaoyuan and Yangjialing.

Yan'an was proclaimed one of the first batch 24 cultural and historical cities by the State Council.

Hancheng

Some 230 kilometers away from Xi'an City, Hancheng City lies in the eastern part of Shaanxi Province and borders the Weinan area to the northeast, Heyang to the south, faces the Yellow River to the east, and adjoins to Huanglong and Yichuan counties to the northwest.

Hancheng is a cultural city with a long history. Legend has it that when the Great Yu opened up a path for the Yellow River, the ending point was just at Longmen, thus Hancheng was called Longmen in ancient times. In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century – 771BC), the son of King Wu was conferred the land of Han. He set up his kingdom as Han and designated Hancheng as the capital. The loess in the east of the city therefore got the name of the Han Plateau. The seat of Hancheng was Xiayang County in the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC) with its capital in the south of today's Hancheng City. In the 18th year (598) of the Kaihuang reign of the Sui Dynasty (581-618), Hancheng County was established in the site 2 kilometers away to the northwest of its present location. Hancheng enjoys its fame as the city of historical relics with lots of historic sites . The most famous ones are the Yumen Cave and the Memorial Temple for Sima Qian and the ancient city of Minimized Bejing and the Dangjia Village with primitive villages reputed as the Treasure of World Residential Houses and the Living Fossil of Human Civilization. Architectures of the Tang (618-907), Song (960-1279), Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties are kept almost intact here. The tourist ring route in the east of Shaanxi Province centered on Lintong, Huaxian and Hnacheng has come into shape.

With a lot of famous persons, Hancheng was also called the hometown of literary and history. It turned out celebrities like Zhao Wu in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC), Wang Jie, the prime minister of the Qing Dynasty, and Du Pengcheng, the well known writer in modern times.

Endowed with a rich reserve of natural resources, Hancheng is the Bright Pearl in the Weibei area. It is the biggest pepper producer of China. The representative Red Robe wins its fame for its red color, rich flesh and pleasant fragrance.

Based on the development of the time-honored culture, Hancheng also witnessed its fast economic development. Since the exploitation of the coalfield in a large scale in the 1970s, Hancheng has become a new industrialized city in the northeast of the Guanzhong Plain.

Yulin

Also known as Tuocheng, Yulin lies in the northernmost on Shaanxi Province and the junction of the Loess Plateau and the Mu Us Desert. It has a vast land with various forms, such as mountains, rivers and deserts. Areas along the Great Wall have green grasses, a network of terraced fields, plenty of fruit and groups of oxen and goats, thus got the fame of the South Beauty Beyond the Great Wall. With sounds of the waves of the Yellow River, the Shanxi-Shaanxi Valley forms colorful but unique scenes.

Yulin enjoys a long history and a rich reserve of tourist resources. The relics of the Yangshao and Longshan Cultures that date back to 6,000 years ago are located along the two banks of the Wuding River. The Yulin section of the Great Wall zigzags over 700 kilometers. The Zhenbei Tower on the north of the city is the biggest beacon tower on the Great Wall. Yangjia Town in Shenmu County was Gulin Prefecture in ancient times, which was garrisoned by the warriors of the Yang Family. Panlong Mountain in Mizhi County was once the temporary residence for Li Zicheng, the great uprising leader. In Yulin, one can also find Tongwan City, the Baiyunshan Temple in Jiaxian County, Erlang Mountain in Shenmu County, the relics of the Ancient Yulin City, the stone carving in the Hongshi Valley and the Alkaline Land in Shenmu County.

Yulin is an indispensable component of the Shaangxi, Gansu and Ningxia Revolutionary Base. A lot of revolutionists, such as Mao Zedong, Zhou, Enlai, Peng Dehuai, Liu Zhidan and Xie Zichang, have worked and fought here.

Hanzhong

Hanzhou City, the pearl on the upper reaches of the Hanshui River, is located on the southwest of Shaanxi Province. It is a beautiful historical city backs against on to Qinling Mountain in the north and leans against Bashan Mountain in the south. It does not have hot summer and chilly winter, and boasts plenty of water and fertile land. It has been a city of military importance in the bordering area of Shaanxi, Gansu, Sichuan and Hubei provinces, and a famous historical and cultural city in China since ancient times.

The time-honored Hanzhou City was the territory of the Shang Dynasty as early as in the mid 11th century BC. In 325BC, the Qin State set up Hanzhong Prefacture. In 206BC, Liu Bang took Hanzhong as his base to build the world famous Western Han Dynasty (206BC-8AD). In the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280), Zhu Geliang, prime minister of the Shu Kingdom, dispatched troops to Qishan Mountain six times, and launched northern expedition to the Wei Kingdom with Hanzhong as the base. From the Western Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), numerous politicians, strategists, scientists, poets and scholars left their footprints here. The Baoxie Plank Road, the Stone Gate, the Cliffside Stone Carvings, the Ancient Han Dynasty Terrace, and many other historic sites add glister of historical culture to the ancient city, and make it become a tourist destination home and abroad.

As a national level historical and cultural city, Hanzhou abounds in tourist resources. In the city there are 2 key cultural relics sites under the national protection, 18 under the provincial protection, and 93 under the county and district level protection; 2 national level nature reserves, 7 provincial level tourist resorts; and 5 provincial level forest parks. The most attractive sites include the Tomb of Zhang Qian -- the Pioneer of the Silk Road, the Tomb of Cai Lun -- the Inventor of Paper, Ancient Han Altar -- the Old Palace of Liu Bang, who was the King of Han Regime, the Altar of the Inaugural Ceremony of Han Xin, the chief general of Han army, the Temple of Zhang Liang, the first Han Dynasty Minister, the Wu Hou Temple, the Relic of Dingjun Mountain Battlefield, the Baohe Cliff Bridge, the Stone Gate, and Stone-carving South Lake, etc.

Xianyang

Lying in the hinterland of Shaanxi Province, Xianyang City has the Weishui River cutting through its south, leans on Zongshan Mountain, and borders the provincial capital city, Xi'an, to the south, and Gansu Province to the north. It is the first stop of the ancient Silk Road. With one city, two districts and ten counties under its jurisdiction, Xianyang is a national level historical and cultural city.

Xianyang is one of the famous Chinese ancient capitals. As early as in the late Shang Dynasty (17th-11th century BC), the people of the Zhou moved about Xianyang area. In 250BC, Emperor Xiaogong of the Qin State moved the capital to Xianyang. Yingzheng unified the six states and built up the first multi-national feudal regime. Eleven dynasties, including the Zhou (11th – 17th century BC), Han (206BC-220AD) and Tang (618-907), once established Xianyang as their capitals or the environs of capital cities, making it a political, economic and cultural center of then China.

Xianyang has a long history, splendid culture, rich cultural relics and historic sites, marvelous healthcare and unsophisticated folk customs, forming unique tourism resources.

Ancient towers and related architectures can be found here and there in Xianyang. Ancient towers here include the North Tower in Xingping, the Yongping Tower in Yongshou, the Botaihou Tower in Liquan, and the Tower in the Baoben Temple in Wugong built in the Tang Dynasty, the Binxian Tower, and the Xunyitai Tower built in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the Beidu Iron Tower, the Chongwen Tower in Jingyang, and the Zhongwangbao Wooden Tower in Sanyuan built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and the Tower in the Jingui Temple in Qiquan built in the Qing Dynasty, etc. Among them, the Chongwen Tower in Jingyang is preserved intact and is the tallest brick tower in China, the Beidu Iron Tower is the tallest iron tower in China, and the Wooden Tower in Sanyuan is the tallest wooden tower in China.

Ancient temples and related architectures in Xianyang include the site of Qin Dynasty (221-206BC) palaces, the Great Buddha Temple in Binxian and the Zhaoren Temple in Changwu built in the Tang Dynasty, the City God Temple in Sanyuan, the Temple of Literature in Xingping, the Taihu Temple in Jingyang, the Wu's Fazenda, the Temple of Literature, the Temple of Literature in Xianyang, the Phoenix Terrace, the Dragon Bridge in Sanyuan and the City God Temple in Wugong built in the Ming Dynasty, the Jingui Temple in Liquan, the Jing Kingdom Park in Sanyuan, the Zhou's Great Mansion, the Tang's Fazenda in Xunyi built in the Qing Dynasty. Among them, the Great Buddha Temple in Binxian and the Zhaoren Temple in Changwu are cultural relics sites under the national level protection, and the City God Temple in Sanyuan is the best-preserved ancient building complex of the Ming Dynasty in the province.

Xianyang also has several imperial mausoleums. The Qianling Mausoleum is the joint-burial tomb of the first empress, Wu Zetian, and Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The funeral objects in the tomb are well preserved. The Zhaoling Mausoleum, the mausoleum of Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, is an imperial mausoleum with a large space and a large number of satellite tombs. The Maoling Mausoleum, the mausoleum of Liu Che, Emperor Wudi, is grand in scale, and it is the biggest mausoleum among the imperial mausoleums of the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-8AD). Around the Maoling Mausoleum scatter the satellite tombs of the emperor's concubines, maids-in-waiting, ministers and royal relatives. There are still more than 20 tombs extant, including the tombs of Wei Qing, Huo Guang, Quo Qubing and Jin Ribei.

Xianyang has numerous stone carvings. The Horse Treading on the Huns and other stone carvings in the Maoling Mausoleum are proclaimed national treasures; the statues of red birds, winged horses and 61 human figures stand in the mausoleum between the second and the third gate. The walking lions and unicorns in the Shunling Mausoleum are marvelous. The Six Coursers in the Zhaoling Mausoleum is famous far and wide.

The cultural relics kept in Xianyang museums are rare in the world. The murals unearthed in the site of the Qin Dynasty palaces are relatively early murals unearthed in China, the murals that reflect the imperial life of the Tang Dynasty excavated from the Zholing and Qianling mausoleums are treasures of murals, and the brick carvings unearthed in Feng Yun's tomb of the Five Dynasties Period (907-960) are rarely seen in the world. Besides, there are many other precious cultural relics in the museums.

Xianyang boasts numerous revolutionary cultural relics and unique folk customs, and was proclaimed as a historical and cultural city by the State Council in January 4, 1994.

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