Shaanxi

Shaanxi Province is located in the middle reaches if the Yellow River and has Shanxi,Inner Mongolia,Ningxia,Gansu,Sichuan,Hubei, and Henan, as its neighbors.As it is situated to the west of Shanyuan Highland (a plateau in the present-day Shanxian County,Henan Province), hence the name of the province.Again, as Shananxi was the domain of the Kingdom of Qin in the Spring and Autumn Period, it was thereafter called Qin for short.Ir covers an area of 205,600 square kilometers and has a population of 40,000,000 with Xi'an as its capital. It consists of four cities,Xi'an ,Baoji,Tingchuan and Xianyang directly under the jurisdiction of the provincial government and seven districts including Weinan,Hanzhong,Ankang,Shangluo,Yan'an and Yulin.There are altogether 106 cities and counties inhabited by the Han, the Hui,Manchurians,Mongolians and many other nationalities. As regards the physical feature,Shananxi is long and narrow,higher in the northwestern part,lower in the southeast region.The province is divided into three natural regions; Northern Shananxi Plateau,Guanzhong Plain and Hanzhong Basin. The Qinling Mount is the highest whose range stretches from east to west in Shananxi.Mt.Taibai's chief peak is 3,767 meters high.The subtropical climate to the south of Qinling Mountains os good for wheat,rice,cotton,and corn production.This area is rich in such produce as tea,silkworm cocoon,walnut,Chinese chestnut,and chinese medical herbs,The climate acroos the Plain is mild.The average temperature is about 24c in summer and -1 to -3c in the coldest month,wuth an average annual rainfall of 550-700mm. With its fertile soil and a faverable climate, the plain has gained the fame of "800-mile grain basin" and it is one of major grain,cotton and oil bearing crops producing areas in China. The loess Plateau in Northern Shananxi yields millet,buckwheat and potatoes, and it also counts as a land suitable for forestry,grass and animal husbandry.

Shananxi is fairly rich in natural resources. Up till now, about 90 kinds of mineral deposits have been discovered,including coal,oil,natural gas, oil shale,and Uranium.

Since ancient time,Xi'an has been vital communication center.It is key point which links Eastern China and Northwest,southwest and West Asian countries. It is also the starting point of the Silk Road. Now a network of railways,highways,airlines and river transportation has been built and reaches out in all directions. Consequently,Shananxi is connected with the rest of the country by a relatively efficient transportation system.

Educational and cultural developments in Shananxi have enjoyed a constant boom over the past years. There spread out in the province 2,383 gigh school,and the number of institutions higher learning has reached 50,which comes the third in china.

Shananxi is one of the cradles of Chinese civilization,with a concentration of historical relics. Our ancesters lived and worked deligently on the Guanzhong Plain from a very early age.Archaeological workers have uncovered an 8,000-year-old Lantian-man fossils, the 6,000-year -old Banpo village , a matriarchal clan community of the neothlic age and the most remarkable of all so far,Emperor Qin Shihuang's Terra-cotta Army which enjoys the fameas the eighth wonder of the world. Starting form the 11th century B.C, the Western Zhou Dynasty with a slavery system, the Qin,the Western Han,etc.....all together 13 dynasties had their capital established in Shananxi ,which lasted for more than 1,100 years. And two important peasant uprisings; the Huang Chao Regime in late Tang Dynasty and the Li Zicheng Regime in the last days of Ming Dynasty had their political powers established there. Therefore,Shananxi is very rich in human resources. There are 800 tourist attractions,with about 10 tourist zones,which bear diffrent subject matters and diffrent styles. They are as follows:

1,Xi'an ------ancient capital,

2,Lishan------- mountains

3,Chang,an -----------old temples

4,Xianyang-------mausoleums of emperors

5,The yellow river

6,Famen Temple

Xi'an is now one of the major tourist cities in China and tourism has become mainstay in Shananxi's economy. I am your guide in China silk road. Xi'an is the start of silk road and I have visited all the places there. Please write to me if you wanna go there. I can guide and accompany there with you and with my guide books.

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