Shaanxi

Xian - Yan'an

Basic Information
Area: 205,600 sq. kilometer
Capital: Xian
Population: 36 Million

Shaanxi Province is located in the very heart of China. It includes most of the middle stretch of the Yellow River and borders Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan, Gansu and Ningxia.

Shaanxi Province is one of the most important cradles of ancient Chinese civilization. As far back as one million years ago, some of China's earliest inhabitants lived in this region, and began spreading their culture along the life-sustaining Yellow River.

Throughout the province's long history, there are 13 dynasties who established capitals here, including the Zhou, the Qin, the Han, and the Tang. Because of this rich history, cultural relics and ruins are plentiful, and may be found preserved both above- and underground. So Shaanxi is called the 'authentic history museum' in China.

Shaanxi is also abundant in natural beauty beyond its rich historical legacy. As one of the 5 best-known mountains in China, Mt. Huashan, 120 kilometer east of Xian, is famous for its breath-taking cliffs and awe-inspiring landscape.

The Hukou waterfalls on Yellow River, the second biggest one in China, is very overbearing and magnificent. And Mt. Lishan and the nearby Huaqing Hot Springs are very attractive. Their beautiful legends will bring you into a moving love story between emperor Xuanyuan and a beauty named Yang Guifei.

Shaanxi is both a base area of Chinese new-democratic revolution and a place with unique folk customs.