Cradle of Chinese civilization and ancient seat of imperial power, Shaanxi has witnessed the rise and fall of dynasties, countless Silk Road caravans, and, in the 20th century, Mao Zedong and his cohorts running a revolution from their headquarters in the caves of Ya'nan.
Today, with millions flocking to Shaanxi to see the Terracotta Warriors, the province is on the itinerary of increasing numbers of visitors. Unearthed in 1974 in one of the 20th century's greatest archeological discoveries, the army of 2,000-year-old, life-sized soldiers of Qin rate as one of China's top historical attractions, only rivaled by the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. When you combine the Warriors with the ancient city of Xi'an, home to historical sites including the Tang Dynasty city walls and Big Goose Pagoda, you'll realize why Shaanxi is an absolute must for the serious China traveler.
Reasons to visit Shaanxi (not to be mistaken for neighboring Shanxi province) don't stop with the Warriors or imperial Xi'an. The region is remarkably diverse, encompassing great attractions like the sacred Taoist peaks of Hua Shan, Xi'an's bustling Muslim quarter, the Neolithic matriarchal village of Banpo and the 5th century Buddhist statuary of the magnificent Yungang cave temples. All in all, Shaanxi is home to a staggering 35,000 historical sites, most of which are within easy striking distance of Xi'an.
If you only have a little time in Xi'an, the excellent Shaanxi History Museum is a great place to get a crash course in ancient Chinese history. If, on the other hand, you have a little time in your itinerary, consider venturing deeper into Shaanxi, one of China's most rewarding destinations.
Shaanxi has long been a fascinating mix of harsh living, with its barren northern plains, and rich civilization, centered around the ancient capital, Xi'an. With desert in the north, the rich loess deposits in the central Yellow River (Huang He) plains and rugged subtropical mountains in the south, Shaanxi is a land of stark contrasts and cultural diversity.
Settlement spans back to Neolithic times, and remains of some of China's oldest inhabitants have been found in the vicinity of the Yellow River. The river's frequent floods deposited rich layers of soil perfect for early agriculture, while also wreaking havoc on fragile farming communities—a dynamic that became central to early Chinese culture, as shown by the central role flood control projects have played in China from the days of the earliest dynasties through to the present.
Despite the threat, the Yellow River plains were a key center of emerging Chinese culture beginning over 5,000 years ago, a process that led to the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty (1100-221 BC), which established its capital of Fenghao in the vicinity of modern Xi'an.
The Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), the first to unite greater China, moved the capital west to nearby Xianyang, before falling to the Han Dynasty (206-220 BC). The Han capital of Chang'an ("Heavenly Peace"), known today as Xi'an, would be the capital—with a few more changes¯of name—imperial China for over 700 years, until the fall of the Tang Dynasty in 907 AD. As the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, the city was China's commercial and political center for centuries, bringing tremendous wealth and power to the region and drawing China's most talented citizens. Even during the height of the Roman Empire, Chang'an was easily the world's largest, wealthiest and most advanced city.
With the end of the Tang Dynasty things started to go downhill for Shaanxi. Trade shifted east toward the coast, and the seat of power moved to cities like Beijing and Nanjing. With its northern border under constant threat of incursions by barbarians from the north, Shaanxi became unstable, and as the less volatile eastern coast gained favor with successive emperors, Shaanxi began to fall behind. The province sunk into poverty, suffering famines and rebellions that, in one form or another persisted well into the tumultuous 20th century, when the communists, pushed on their legendary Long March by the Nationalist Government (Guomindang), were to find safe haven in the province in late 1936.
The Red Army, under the leadership of Mao Zedong, set up base in the little town of Yan'an, where many residents to this day reside in caves dug into the hillsides. From Yan'an, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intensified its effort to overcome both the foreign menace of the Japanese and the rival Guomindang.
After 1949, Yan'an quickly became a Mecca for millions of communist believers, and to this day remains a patriotic pilgrimage site. Despite its red history, the province did not do particularly well in the decades following the establishment of the PRC, though Xi'an was industrialized to a considerable degree. During the final years of the Cultural Revolution, Shaanxi looked to be heading towards relative obscurity and poverty when a group of peasants, digging a well in a field near to Xi'an in 1974, dropped into what is now considered to be one of China's most important tourist destinations, the Terracotta Army of the despotic emperor Qin Shihuang.
The site quickly gained fame as a new wonder of the world, and has since become one of the world's best-known archaeological attractions. Shaanxi's tourism economy has boomed as a result, helping bring new prosperity to a region that was once the heart of Chinese culture and power.
Shaanxi has a continental climate with four distinct seasons, cold, windy winters and hot rainy summers. The coldest month, January, sees monthly temperatures as low as -10°C, while the temperature in the hottest season, September, stays around 23°C.
The southern part of the province enjoys relatively high annual temperatures with mild summers and winters and heavy precipitation. If you are traveling to Shaanxi in winter, be sure to bring a warm winter jacket and in summer, be prepared for a bit of rain. Spring and autumn are the best times to visit.