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China Travel Guide » Places in China » Shaanxi Province
Places in China: Shaanxi Province
Not to be confused with a neighbouring province with a similar name, Shanxi Province, Shaanxi is sometimes considered to be a natural museum of the history of China. Cultural relics and historic ruins abound in the province, creating a natural attraction for visitors. Some of these finds, including the Terra Cotta Warriors, have been dug up from underground.
Around the capital of the province are so many tourist attractions. Xian is near to museums, temples, the Drum Tower, pagodas, mosques and so many more items of great interest to visitors to the province. The sacred mountain of Huashan and the Hukuo Waterfalls on the Huang He (Yellow River) are high among the list of popular venues in Shaanxi Province.
The popular Buddha Sutra is in the Da Yan (Great Goose) Pagoda, a religious attraction in the province. Natural attractions include wildlife found in Shaanxi, such as pandas, tigers, takins and snub-nosed monkeys. There are nearly one thousand wildlife species in the province. There are also around 4800 types of valuable plants there.
Xian was the beginning of the Silk Road and was the capital of China for eleven dynasties. It was first made capital of the Zhou Dynasty more than three thousand years ago. Natural as well as man-made elements make this a great city to visit. It is the present capital of the province. Although Xian is not the capital of China any longer, it did serve in that capacity for eleven hundred years.
Many hotels have sprung up to cater to the needs of outsiders who come into the province. There is also an airport in the province to link it with many cities in China.
The small town of Yanan in Shaanxi was important during the 1930s and 40s when it was the site of the headquarters of the Chinese Communist party. In 1936, the Chinese Communists and the Kuomintang united against the Japanese invaders in the Xian Incident.
Shaanxi is an energy-producing province with the largest natural gas fields on the country. The coal reserves in Shaanxi are the third largest in China.
The people are almost entirely Han Chinese at more than ninety-nine percent. The other less than one percent are Hui, Manchurian and Mongolian people. The 206,000 square kilometres of land area is occupied by thirty-five million people.
Summers tend to be quite warm and winters quite cold. Therefore, the best time to visit the province is during the more moderate seasons of spring and fall.
Major cities in Shaanxi:
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