Shaanxi

Map

Key data

Items shown in Chinese are kept from the original Chinese source; no English name is available yet.

Highlights

Introduction

• The Terracotta Army, ancient Xi'an and the starting point of the Silk Road.

History

• Shaanxi is one of the important birthplaces of Chinese civilization. The Lantian Man site shows that humans lived and multiplied here a million years ago. According to legend, the Yellow Emperor, the cultural ancestor, was buried at Qiaoshan, and the Yellow Emperor Mausoleum is therefore honored as "the First Mausoleum under Heaven." The Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties successively established their capitals in the Guanzhong region, and Chang'an (present-day Xi'an) was long a world-famous metropolis. The Silk Road extended westward from here, where Eastern and Western civilizations blended. Historical chapters such as Qin's unification of the six states and Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions in the Han dynasty are closely tied to this land. After the Tang dynasty, although the capital moved eastward, the land of Sanqin has continued to this day as a major cultural center.

Culture

• Shaanxi has a profound cultural heritage. Qinqiang, vigorous and bold, is the most representative local opera on the Loess Plateau, while folk arts such as Huayin Laoqiang are rugged and stirring. The local cuisine is known for its wheat-based dishes, with roujiamo, liangpi, and yangrou paomo widely renowned. Folk crafts such as paper-cutting, shadow puppetry, and Fengxiang woodblock New Year prints are exquisite and rustic. Tang dynasty poetry and prose left countless classics here, and ancient sites such as the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, the Bell and Drum Towers, and the Xi'an City Wall carry a thousand years of cultural heritage. The grandeur and bustling street life of the Tang dynasty at the Grand Tang Mall make the ancient and the modern shine together.

Science & Technology

• Shaanxi is a major hub for science and education in China, with strong universities such as Xi'an Jiaotong University, Northwestern Polytechnical University, and Xidian University, and a dense concentration of research institutions. It is an important R&D base for China's aerospace, electronic information, and heavy equipment sectors, and key achievements such as launch vehicle engines and BeiDou navigation are closely tied to Shaanxi. Xi'an's national-level high-tech industrial development zone hosts a large number of innovative enterprises, with aerospace, new materials, and semiconductor industry clusters developing rapidly, while the Yangling Agricultural High-tech Industry Demonstration Zone leads in agricultural science and technology.

Economy

• In 2025, Shaanxi's regional GDP reached 3,655.11 billion yuan. Energy and chemicals are important pillars, with northern Shaanxi rich in coal, oil, and natural gas resources; equipment manufacturing, aerospace, and electronic information industries are developing rapidly. Xi'an is the economic, financial, and commercial center of the northwest region, with the High-tech Zone and Xixian New Area driving industrial upgrading, and the new energy vehicle industry growing quickly. Cultural tourism remains booming, with the Terracotta Army, Mount Hua, and the Grand Tang Mall attracting huge numbers of visitors. The China-Europe Railway Express Chang'an departs from Xi'an, bringing new openness and vitality to the starting point of the ancient Silk Road.