Shaanxi is a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

in north

Northwestern China Northwestern China () is a region in the People's Republic of China. It consists of five provincial administrative regions, namely Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang. The region is characterized by a (semi-)arid continental climate. ...

. It borders the province-level divisions of

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...

to the north;

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

and

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

to the east;

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

, and

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

to the south; and

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

and

Ningxia Ningxia, officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region in Northwestern China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1954 but was later separated from Gansu in 1958 and reconstituted as an autonomous ...

to the west. Shaanxi covers an area of over with about 37 million people, the 16th-largest in China.

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

which includes the sites of the former capitals

Fenghao Fenghao () is the modern name for the twin city comprising the capitals of the Chinese Western Zhou dynasty (771 BCE), Feng and Hao. The cities were located on opposite banks of the Feng River near its confluence with the Wei, correspondi ...

and

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

is the provincial capital and largest city in Northwest China and also one of the oldest cities in China and the oldest of the Four Ancient Capitals, being the capital for the

Western Zhou The Western Zhou ( zh, c=西周, p=Xīzhōu; 771 BC) was a period of Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended in 77 ...

Western Han The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring int ...

, Jin, Sui and Tang

dynasties A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. Historians ...

Xianyang Xianyang ( zh, s=咸阳 , p=Xiányáng) is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now int ...

, which served as the capital of the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

(221–206 BC), is just north across the Wei River. The other

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

-level

cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

into which the province is divided are

Ankang Ankang ( zh , c = 安康 , p = Ānkāng ) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shaanxi Province in the People's Republic of China, bordering Hubei province to the east, Chongqing municipality to the south, and Sichuan province to the s ...

Baoji Baoji ( zh, s= , t= , p=Bǎojī; ) is a prefecture-level city in western Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China. Since the early 1990s, Baoji has been the second largest city in Shaanxi. Geography The prefecture-level city of Baoji had a ...

Hanzhong Hanzhong ( zh, s= , t= , l=middle of the Han River (Hubei), Han River; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in Southern Shaanxi, the southwest of Shaanxi, Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gans ...

Shangluo Shangluo ( zh, s= , p=Shāngluò) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan to the northeast and Hubei to the southeast. Part of the Shannan region of the province, it is located in t ...

Tongchuan Tongchuan ( zh, s=铜川 , t=銅川 , p=Tóngchuān , l=copper river) is a prefecture-level city located in central Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China on the southern fringe of the Loess Plateau that defines the northern half of the p ...

Weinan Weinan ( zh, s=渭南 , p=Wèinán) is a prefecture-level city in east-Guanzhong, central Shaanxi, Shaanxi province, northwest China. The city lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about east of the provinc ...

Yan'an Yan'an; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi Province of China, province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several c ...

and Yulin. The province is geographically divided into three parts, namely

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...

(or "

Shaanbei Northern Shaanxi or Shaanbei () is the portion of China's Shaanxi province north of the Huanglong Mountain and the Meridian Ridge (the so-called "Guanzhong north mountains"), and is both a geographic as well as a cultural area. It makes up the so ...

"), Central ("Shaanzhong") and

Southern Shaanxi Shaannan () or Southern Shaanxi refers to the portion of China's Shaanxi province south of the Qinling Mountains. Its name derives from the province's abbreviation "Shaan" () combined with the word "Nan" (, lit. "south"), its geographical locat ...

(or "

Shaannan Shaannan () or Southern Shaanxi refers to the portion of China's Shaanxi province south of the Qinling Mountains. Its name derives from the province's abbreviation "Shaan" () combined with the word "Nan" (, lit. "south"), its geographical locat ...

"). Northern Shaanxi makes up the southeastern portion of the

Ordos Basin The Ordos Plateau, also known as the Ordos Basin or simply the Ordos, is a highland sedimentary basin in parts of most Northern China with an elevation of , and consisting mostly of land enclosed by the Ordos Loop, a large northerly rectangular ...

and mainly comprises the two prefectural cities of Yulin and

on the northern

Loess Plateau The Loess Plateau is a plateau in north-central China formed of loess, a clastic rock, clastic silt-like sediment formed by the accumulation of Dust#Atmospheric, wind-blown dust. It is located southeast of the Gobi Desert and is surrounded by t ...

, demarcated from the

Ordos Desert The Ordos Desert () is a desert/ steppe region in Northwest China, administered under the prefecture of Ordos City in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region (centered ca. ). It extends over an area of approximately , and comprises two sub-de ...

and the grasslands of

Ordos City Ordos, also known as Ih Ju, is one of the twelve List of administrative divisions of Inner Mongolia, major subdivisions of Inner Mongolia, China. It lies within the Ordos Plateau of the Yellow River. Although mainly rural, Ordos is administered ...

by the

Ming Great Wall The Ming Great Wall ( zh, c=明長城, p=Míng Chángchéng), built by the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), forms the most visible parts of the Great Wall of China today. A comprehensive archaeological survey, using advanced technologies, has conclud ...

. Central Shaanxi is also known as the

Guanzhong Guanzhong (, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanised as Kwanchung) region, also known as the Guanzhong Basin, Wei River Basin, or uncommonly as the Shaanzhong region, is a historical region of China corresponding to the crescentic graben str ...

region, and comprises the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of lower

Wei River The Wei River () is a major river in west-central China's Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. It is the largest tributary of the Yellow River and very important in the early development of Chinese civilization. In ancient times, such as in the Records ...

east of

Mount Liupan Mount Liupan ( zh, c=六盘山, p=Lìupán Shān) is a mountain range in northwestern China, located mostly in southern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. It marks the southwestern boundary of the Ordos Basin. Its southern section is known as Mou ...

and north of the

Qinling Mountains The Qinling () or Qin Mountains, formerly known as the Nanshan ("Southern Mountains"), are a major east–west mountain range in southern Shaanxi Province, China. The mountains mark the divide between the drainage basins of the Yangtze and Ye ...

, where the majority of Shaanxi's population reside. Southern Shaanxi comprises the three prefectural cities in the edge of the

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

Bashu region south of the Qinling Mountains and includes the three mountainous cities of

and

. The area comprising Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan formed the cradle of Chinese civilization. During the

Republican era Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, the city of

was near the endpoint of the

Long March The Long March ( zh, s=长征, p=Chángzhēng, l=Long Expedition) was a military retreat by the Chinese Red Army and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from advancing Kuomintang forces during the Chinese Civil War, occurring between October 1934 and ...

by the

Chinese Red Army The Chinese Red Army, formally the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army( zh, labels=no, t=中國工農紅軍) or just the Red Army( zh, labels=no, t=紅軍), was the military wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1928 to 1937. I ...

, who fled from

Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

after the

Chinese Soviet Republic The Chinese Soviet Republic (CSR) was a state within China, proclaimed on 7 November 1931 by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders Mao Zedong and Zhu De in the early stages of the Chinese Civil War. The discontiguous territories of the CSR incl ...

was destroyed by the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

armies, and became the birthplace of the

Chinese Communist Revolution The Chinese Communist Revolution was a social revolution, social and political revolution in China that began in 1927 and culminated with the proclamation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. The revolution was led by the Chinese C ...

from late 1935 to early 1947 and the Communists formed the

Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region The Yan'an Soviet was a soviet governed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the 1930s and 1940s. In October 1936 it became the final destination of the Long March, and served as the CCP's main base until after the Second Sino-Japanese War ...

in constituent parts of Shaanxi. The vast majority of the population of Shaanxi is

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

, with

Hui The Hui people are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the northwestern provinces and in the Zhongyuan region. According to the 2 ...

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

and

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

being the more significant

ethnic minorities The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

is the main spoken language in Shaanxi, including

Central Plains Mandarin Central Plains Mandarin, or ''Zhongyuan'' Mandarin (), is a variety of Mandarin Chinese spoken in the central and southern parts of Shaanxi, Henan, southwestern part of Shanxi, southern part of Gansu, far southern part of Hebei, northern Anhui, n ...

and

Southwestern Mandarin Southwestern Mandarin (), also known as Upper Yangtze Mandarin (), is a Mandarin Chinese dialect spoken in much of Southwestern China, including in Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Guizhou, most parts of Hubei, the northwestern part of Hunan, the nor ...

dialects; another

variety of Chinese There are hundreds of local Chinese language varieties forming a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family, many of which are not mutually intelligible. Variation is particularly strong in the more mountainous southeast part of mainland Chi ...

Jin Chinese Jin () is a group of Chinese linguistic varieties spoken by roughly 48 million people in northern China, including most of Shanxi province, much of central Inner Mongolia, and adjoining areas in Hebei, Henan, and Shaanxi provinces. The status ...

, is also spoken in the regions neighboring Shanxi. Shaanxi is China's 15th largest economy, ranking within the middle tier among China's administrative divisions. The

fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...

and

high technology High technology (high tech or high-tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or ...

sectors compose the two largest industries in Shaanxi Province. The high technology sector includes aircraft and aerospace industries and Shaanxi produces more than 50% of the R&D and

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

equipment for the country's domestic

commercial aviation Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation. Definition Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and ae ...

industry.

Name

The meaning of the province, 'west of Shan', is attested , when the dukes of

Shao Shao (; HKG Romanisation: Shiu; Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Shaw) is a common Chinese family name. It is the 86th most populous family name in China. It corresponds to last name So in Korean; Thiệu or Thiều in Vietnamese; Zau in Wu Chinese/Shanghaines ...

and Zhou marked their borders along the Shan plateau (, now the Zhanbian plateau). Reprinted on In Chinese typing, the toponym often got mixed up with 'valley' (note: distinguish and ).

Simplified characters Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized character sets widely used to write the Chinese language, with the other being traditional characters. Their mass standardization during the 20th century was part of an initiative by t ...

merged the two as . The romanizations of Shaanxi () and its neighboring province

() are troublesome in Beijing Mandarin because their pronunciation differs only in tone (rendered as Shǎnxī and Shānxī in

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

transcription, 1958). To avoid confusion, mainland China recognized the

Gwoyeu Romatzyh Gwoyeu Romatzyh ( ; GR) is a system for writing Standard Chinese using the Latin alphabet. It was primarily conceived by Yuen Ren Chao (1892–1982), who led a group of linguists on the National Languages Committee in refining the system betwe ...

transcription (1928) for , "Shaan". Nonetheless, the vowels and consonants of and are distinguished in the more conservative

languages native to the two provinces, as shown on the chart to the right (refer to IPA for Jin Chinese for further information). This conservative phonology is reflected in the historical spelling of Shaanxi, "Shensi", known to the Europeans in the 18th century. "Shensi" was recognized in the 1906

Chinese postal romanization Postal romanization was a system of transliterating place names in China developed by postal authorities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For many cities, the corresponding postal romanization was the most common English-language for ...

. "Shensi" continued to be popular until 1987 when the People's Republic of China banned romanizations made before their establishment.

History

Shaanxi is considered one of the cradles of Chinese civilization. Thirteen feudal dynasties established their capitals in the province during a span of more than 1,100 years, from the Zhou dynasty to the Tang dynasty. The province's principal city and current capital,

, is one of the

four great ancient capitals of China This is a list of historical capitals of China. Four Great Ancient Capitals There are traditionally four major historical capitals of China referred to as the "Four Great Ancient Capitals of China" (). The four are Beijing, Nanjing, Luoyang and X ...

and is the eastern terminus of the

Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...

, which leads to Europe, the Arabian Peninsula, and Africa. The region was briefly governed as the

Three Qins The Three Qins () refer to three of the Eighteen Kingdoms (Yong, Sai and Zhai), the short-lived power-sharing arrangement formed in 206 BC after the collapse of the Qin dynasty. The three kingdoms were located in Guanzhong Plain (in present-day c ...

after the fall of the

. This is the origin of one of Shaanxi's two abbreviations, (''Qin''), the other being (''Shaan''). Then it was conquered by

Liu Bang Emperor Gaozu of Han (2561 June 195 BC), also known by his given name Liu Bang, was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 202 to 195 BC. He is considered by traditional Chinese historiography to be one o ...

during the Chu-Han Contention. Under the Han dynasty, the

Northern Silk Road The Northern Silk Road is a historic inland trade route in Northwest China and Central Asia (historically known as the Western Regions), originating in the ancient Chinese capital of Chang'an (modern day Xi'an), westwards through the Hexi Corrido ...

was expanded to advance exploration and military purposes to the west. This Northern Silk Road is the northernmost of the

s and is about in length. It connected the ancient Chinese capital of Xi'an to the west over the Wushao Ling Pass to Wuwei and emerging in

Kashgar Kashgar () or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is a city in the Tarim Basin region of southern Xinjiang, China. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, located near the country's border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. For over 2,000 years, Kashgar ...

before linking to ancient

Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...

. The

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...

-led kingdom

Northern Xia Xia (), known in historiography as Hu Xia (胡夏), Northern Xia (北夏), Helian Xia (赫連夏) or the Great Xia (大夏), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Helian clan of Tiefu-Xiongnu ethnicity during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. ...

(407–431) set its capital in

Tongwancheng Tongwancheng ( zh, t=統萬城, w=, p=Tǒngwànchéng) was the capital of the Xiongnu-led Hu Xia dynasty in northern China during the Sixteen Kingdoms period in the early 5th century. The city is at the southern edge of the Maowusu Sands o ...

. The Northern

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

and the

Tangut Tangut may refer to: *Tangut people, an ancient ethnic group in Northwest China *Tangut language, the extinct language spoken by the Tangut people *Tangut script, the writing system used to write the Tangut language *Tangut (Unicode block) *Wester ...

-led

Western Xia The Western Xia or the Xi Xia ( zh, c=, w=Hsi1 Hsia4, p=Xī Xià), officially the Great Xia ( zh, c=大夏, w=Ta4 Hsia4, p=Dà Xià, labels=no), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts ...

contested their border in Shaanxi. Western Xia found the Luōwùchéng (罗兀城) frontier fort in 1071 but was taken by Song in 1081. Under the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

, Shaanxi was established with the founding of the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission in 1376, whose administration also included the modern provinces of

, and part of

Qinghai Qinghai is an inland Provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. It is the largest provinces of China, province of China (excluding autonomous regions) by area and has the third smallest population. Its capital and largest city is Xin ...

. During this dynasty, most visitors from Central and West Asia entered the country via Shaanxi. One of the most devastating

earthquakes An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they c ...

in history occurred near Hua Shan in southeastern Shaanxi on January 23, 1556, killing an estimated 100,000 people and causing a regional reduction in population by an estimated 830,000 due to emmigration and famine (see

1556 Shaanxi earthquake The 1556 Shaanxi earthquake ( Postal romanization: ''Shensi''), known in Chinese colloquially by its regnal year as the Jiajing Great Earthquake "" ('' Jiājìng Dàdìzhèn'') or officially by its epicenter as the Hua County Earthquake "" ('' ...

). The end of the short-lived

Jiangxi Soviet The Jiangxi Soviet, sometimes referred to as the Jiangxi-Fujian Soviet, was a soviet area that existed between 1931 and 1934, governed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It was the largest component of the Chinese Soviet Republic and hom ...

signaled the beginning of the

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

and the

Chinese Communists The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil W ...

to the Shaanxi Soviet at Yan'an. The administrative evolution of Shaanxi: The Northern Song established the Shaanxi Lu (circuit), governed from modern Xi'an in 997. The

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

established Shaanxi Province (Yuan dynasty), governed by a Branch Secretariat in 1286.Dictionary of the Ben cao gang mu, Volume 2: Geographical and Administrative Designations First Edition, Paul Unschuld, Series Editor Edition by Hua Linfu (Author), Paul D. Buell (Author), Paul U. Unschuld (Editor) After the founding of the Qing dynasty, Gansu was split from Shaanxi, but both provinces were governed under the

Viceroy of Shaan-Gan The Viceroy of Shaan-Gan, fully in Chinese as the Governor-General of Shaanxi, Gansu and Other Local Areas, in Charge of Military Affairs, Food and Wages, Tea and Horses and Governor Affairs, was one of eight regional Viceroys during the Qing d ...

Prehistoric site

The

Lantian Man Lantian Man (), ''Homo erectus lantianensis'') is a subspecies of ''Homo erectus'' known from an almost complete mandible from Chenchiawo (陈家窝) Village discovered in 1963, and a partial skull from Gongwangling (公王岭) Village discovere ...

site, with hominin fossils from approximately one million years ago, was found in Lantian County in northwestern Shaanxi province, near the city of Xi'an. Scientists classify Lantian Man as a subspecies of ''

Homo erectus ''Homo erectus'' ( ) is an extinction, extinct species of Homo, archaic human from the Pleistocene, spanning nearly 2 million years. It is the first human species to evolve a humanlike body plan and human gait, gait, to early expansions of h ...

''. The fossils are displayed at the

Shaanxi History Museum Shaanxi History Museum, which is located to the northwest of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in the ancient city Xi'an, in the Shaanxi province of China, is one of the first huge state museums with modern facilities in China and list of largest art ...

, Xi'an, China.

Geography

Yellow River bridge connecting Wubu and Liulin

The geography of the area is described as being part of the

in the north along the border with Inner Mongolia, the

in the central part of the province, the

Qin Mountains The Qinling () or Qin Mountains, formerly known as the Nanshan ("Southern Mountains"), are a major east–west mountain range in southern Shaanxi Province, China. The mountains mark the divide between the drainage basins of the Yangtze and Ye ...

(Qinling) running east to west in the south central part, and subtropical climate south of the Qinling. In between the Loess Plateau and the Qinling lies the

Valley, or

, a cradle of early Chinese civilization. Going clockwise, Shaanxi borders

(E, NE),

(E),

(SE),

(S),

(SW),

(W),

(NW), and Inner Mongolia (N). In terms of number of bordering provincial-level divisions, Shaanxi ties Inner Mongolia. Due to its large span in latitude, Shaanxi has a variety of climates. Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, the northern parts, including the Loess Plateau, have either a cold arid (Köppen ''BWk'') or cold semi-arid (Köppen ''BSk''), with cold and very dry winters, dry springs and autumns, and hot, humid summers. The area known as Guanzhong is mostly semi-arid, though there are a few areas with a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(Köppen ''Cwa''), with cool to cold winters, and hot, humid summers that often see early-season heatwaves. The southern portion is much more humid and lies in the humid subtropical zone, with more temperate winters and long, hot, humid summers. Annual mean temperature is roughly between , with January temperatures ranging from and July temperatures ranging from . Besides the provincial capital of Xi'an, other cities include:

Lintong Lintong District (), formerly Lintong County, is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, Northwest China. The district was approved to establish from the former ''Lintong County'' () by t ...

and

Administrative divisions

Shaanxi consists of ten

prefecture-level division zh, p=Dì Jí Xíngzhèngqū, labels=no , alt_name = , map = , category = Second level administrative division of a unitary state , territory = China , start_date = , current_number ...

s: all

prefecture-level cities A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province of China, province and above a Counties of the People's Republic of China, county in China's ...

(including a

sub-provincial city Strictly speaking, China's legal system neither recognizes the concept of "sub-provincial administrative divisions" () or "sub-provincial cities" () nor provides specific legislation for such designations, and these categories are absent from off ...

): } !! scope="col" rowspan="2" , Population 2010 !! scope="col" rowspan="2" , Seat !! scope="col" colspan="3" , Divisions , - !! scope="col" style="width:45px;",

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Counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

!! scope="col" style="width:45px;", CL cities , - style="font-weight: bold" ! 610000 !! Shaanxi Province , 205,800.00 , , 37,327,378 , ,

city , , 30 , , 71 , , 6 , - style="background:#98fb98;" ! 610100 !!

city , 10,096.81 , , 8,467,837 , ,

Weiyang District Weiyang District () is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, Northwest China. It is located at northwest Xi'an, functioning as the new administrative centre of the city. The district b ...

, , 11 , , 2 , , style="background:gray;", , - ! 610200 !!

city , 3,884.81 , , 834,437 , ,

Yaozhou District Yaozhou District (), formerly Yao County (), is a district of the city of Tongchuan, Shaanxi province of the People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of ...

, , 3 , , 1 , , style="background:gray;", , - ! 610300 !!

city , 18,116.93 , , 3,716,731 , ,

Jintai District Jintai District () is a district of the city of Baoji, Shaanxi province, China. Administrative divisions , this county is divided to 7 subdistricts and 4 towns. ;Subdistricts ;Towns Climate Jintai District is located in the inland area of ...

, , 3 , , 9 , , style="background:gray;", , - ! 610400 !!

city , 10,323.99 , , 4,894,834 , ,

Qindu District Qindu District (), is a district of the city of Xianyang, Shaanxi province, China. Administrative divisions As of 2016, this district is divided to 5 subdistricts and 7 towns. ;Subdistricts ;Towns Climate References

Districts of ...

, , 3 , , 9 , , 2 , - ! 610500 !!

city , 13,030.56 , , 5,286,077 , ,

Linwei District Linwei District (), is a district of the city of Weinan, Shaanxi province, China. The district was established in 1995, renamed from the county-level Weinan city. It is the location of Weinan Normal University, the High-Speed Weinan North Railwa ...

, , 2 , , 7 , , 2 , - ! 610600 !!

city , 37,030.54 , , 2,187,009 , ,

Baota District Baota District ( zh, s=宝塔区, t=寶塔區, p=Bǎotǎ Qū) is a district in Yan'an, Shaanxi, China. The district has an area of , and a permanent population of 497,085 as of 2019. Baota District serves as Yan'an's administrative center, hosting ...

, , 2 , , 10 , , 1 , - ! 610700 !!

city , 27,096.43 , , 3,416,196 , ,

Hantai District Hantai District (), is a district and the seat of the city of Hanzhong, Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan ...

, , 2 , , 9 , , style="background:gray;", , - ! 610800 !! Yulin city , 42,920.18 , , 3,351,437 , ,

Yuyang District Yuyang District (), is a district of Yulin, Shaanxi, China, bordering Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-third ...

, , 2 , , 9 , , 1 , - ! 610900 !!

city , 23,536.31 , , 2,629,906 , ,

Hanbin District Hanbin District () is a district of the City of Ankang in Shaanxi Province, China and the seat of the city's government. It has a population of 886,393 and an area of 3,645.91 km2. With forests covering 68.8% of its land, the district abound ...

, , 1 , , 9 , , style="background:gray;", , - ! 611000 !!

city , 19,587.31 , , 2,341,742 , ,

Shangzhou District Shangzhou District (), formerly Shangxian (or Shang County) and Shangzhou City, is a district of Shangluo, Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mong ...

, , 1 , , 6 , , style="background:gray;", , - , colspan = "11" , The ten prefecture-level cities of Shaanxi are subdivided into 107

county-level division The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since 1412, due to mainland China's large population and geographical area. In the People's Republic of China, the constitution provides for three levels of government. Ho ...

s (30

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

s, four

county-level cities , map = , category = Third level administrative division of a unitary state , territory = People's Republic of China , upper_unit = Prefectures, Provinces , start_date = , current_number = 411 (408 controlled, 3 claimed) , number_da ...

, and 73

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Urban areas

Politics

The politics of Shaanxi is structured in a triple party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China. The

Governor of Shaanxi The governor of Shaanxi, officially the Governor of the Shaanxi Provincial People's Government, is the head of Shaanxi Province and leader of the Shaanxi Provincial People's Government. The governor is elected by the Shaanxi Provincial People's ...

is the highest-ranking official in the People's Government of Shaanxi. However, in the province's dual party-government governing system, the Governor is considered to have less power than the Shaanxi Chinese Communist Party Provincial Committee Secretary; since the Governor is always ranked as the First-Deputy Secretary in the Shaanxi Chinese Communist Party Provincial Committee. Shaanxi was established as a provincial government since

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. On 10 January 1950, the People's Government of Shaanxi was established in

. Ma Minfang was then appointed as the first Governor of Shaanxi.

Economy

As of the mid-19th century, Shaanxi exported animal skins, wine, liquor, and

musk Musk is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial substances with similar odors. ' ...

. Money loans were also common, with Shaanxi business people involved in the Guangzhou loan business. Shaanxi commonly imported European animal skins, watches, Chinese language books, and cloth. Shaanxi was a major recipient of China's investment in industrial capacity during the Third Front campaign. The fossil fuel and high technology sectors compose the two largest industries in Shaanxi province. During 2009, the province ranked third in China for production of coal, natural gas and crude oil. As the home of several of the leading universities and research institutes in Western China, Shaanxi province also plays a major role in China's burgeoning aircraft and aerospace industries, producing more than 50% of the R&D and manufacturing equipment for the country's domestic commercial air industry. Nominal GDP for 2011 was 1,239 billion RMB (

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

196.7 billion) and GDP per capita was 21,729 RMB (US$3,179), ranking 17th in the PRC. In the first half of 2019, Shaanxi's total production value reached 1,162.557 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%. The added value of the primary industry was 55.319 billion yuan, an increase of 4.5%; the second industry was 557.935 billion yuan, an increase of 4.2%; the tertiary industry was 549.303 billion yuan, an increase of 6.8%.

Economic and technological development zones

Baoji Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone

Established in 1992, Baoji Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone was approved as a national hi-tech zone by the State Council. It has a long-term planned area of . The transportation system around the zone includes Xi'an-Xianyang International Airport and National Highway 310, and industries operating within the zone include auto parts, electronics, IT, pharmaceuticals and bioengineering industries and new materials.

Shaanxi Xi'an Export Processing Zone

Shaanxi Xi'an Export Processing Zone (XEPZ) was approved on 21 June 2002 by the State Council for its establishment and was put on 5 April 2004. As the first state-level export processing zone in northwest China, XEPZ has become one of the seven pioneer EPZs with the function of bonded logistics in China. XEPZ is under the leadership of the Administrative Committee of Xi'an Economic and Technological Development Zone (XETDZ), which is designated by Xi'an municipal government to exercise economic and administrative power within the zone. XEPZ is a special economic zone. By now, there are more than 40 enterprises home and abroad settled in XEPZ. The pillar industries feature aviation, machinery, electronics and new energy.

Western Triangle

The Western Triangle is a new economic zone composing the three major city-level economies of Western China:

and

Chengdu Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...

. It is believed that the addition of Xi'an to the Triangle will spur economic growth in the region and allow the city an opportunity to capitalize on the commercial potential of its high-technology industries.

Xi'an Economic and Technological Development Zone

Established in 1993, Xi'an Economic and Technology Development Zone was approved as a national zone in 2000. The zone is 20 minutes from Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, and national highways pass through. It has formed four pillar industries: automotive, electronics, food, and new materials industries. So far, the zone has attracted more than 1,700 enterprises.

Xi'an High-tech Industrial Development Zone

Xi'an HTDZ opened its gates in 1991. It was established as a "pivotal location" for investment by high-tech industry companies in central and northwest China. Established in 1991, Xi'an Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone is a national high-tech zone. It is surrounded by national highways and it is 30 minutes from Xi'an-Xianyang International Airport. Furthermore, it is ranked in the top three high-tech zones in China.

Xi'an Software Park

Xi'an Software Park, established in December 1998, is the professional park for Xi'an to develop scale software and service outsourcing industries. The park has been appraised as a software industry base under the National Torch Program, national software industry base, national software export base, city demonstrational area of national service outsourcing base. It is one of the four parks with "double bases" of software in China. Xi'an Software Park assembles 90% of enterprises engaging in software and service outsourcing in Xi'an. There were nearly 780 companies, of which foreign-funded enterprises account for 170, and over 71,000 jobholders in the park by the end of 2008.

Yangling Agriculture Hi-Tech Industrial Zone

Yangling Agriculture Hi-Tech Industrial Zone was approved as a national-level hi-tech development zone by State Council in 1997. It is from Xi'an to the east and from Xi'an Xianyang International Airport.

Demographics

Nearly all the people in Shaanxi are ethnic

, with pockets of

population in the northwestern region (adjacent to Ningxia). Shaanxi province is one of the centers of ancient Chinese civilization. The central part of Shaanxi, known as

, where the provincial capital Xi'an is located, is more populous compared to the others (

and

Religion

The predominant religions in Shaanxi are

Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...

s, Taoist traditions and

Chinese Buddhism Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, first=t, poj=Hàn-thoân Hu̍t-kàu, j=Hon3 Cyun4 Fat6 Gaau3, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Chinese Buddhist canonJiang Wu, "The Chin ...

. According to surveys conducted in 2007 and 2009, 7.58% of the population believes and is involved in

ancestor veneration The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...

, while 1.57% of the population identifies as Christian. The reports didn't give figures for other types of religion; 90.85% of the population may be either irreligious or involved in worship of nature deities, Buddhism,

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

, Taoism, folk religious sects, and small minorities of

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s. * Catholic Church in Shaanxi * Catholic Church in Zhifang, destroyed in 2017 * Golden Lampstand Church, destroyed in 2018

Culture

Shaanxi cuisine Shaanxi cuisine, or Qin cuisine, is derived from the native cooking styles of Shaanxi Province and parts of northwestern China. Description Shaanxi cuisine makes elaborate use of ordinary ingredients and is characterized by its noodles, lamb ...

Qinqiang Qinqiang (秦腔, pinyin: Qín qiāng, literally "Qin's tune") is a genre of folk Chinese opera originated in Shaanxi Province of Qing China in 1807 and soon took over other genres to be the representative genre of the province. Historically, t ...

, the representative folk opera of Shaanxi * Shaanxi

shadow play Shadow play, also known as shadow puppetry, is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment which uses flat articulated cut-out figures (shadow puppets) which are held between a source of light and a translucent screen or scrim (material), ...

Xintianyou Xintianyou () is a folk music style from Shaanxi province Shaanxi is a province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichua ...

* Also see Xi'an#Culture and religion

Media

* Shaanxi Radio serves Xi'an and the surrounding Shaanxi province area with music and news. * '' The Story of Yue Fei'', a 17th–18th century

wuxia ( , literally "martial arts and chivalry") is a genre of Chinese literature, Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fantasy literature, its popularity ha ...

novel about the life of

general

Yue Fei Yue Fei (; March 24, 1103 – January 28, 1142), courtesy name Pengju (), was a Chinese military general of the Song dynasty and is remembered as a patriotic folk hero, national hero, known for leading its forces in Jin–Song Wars, the wars ...

, says his military arts teacher,

Zhou Tong Zhou Tong may refer to: * Zhou Tong (archer) (died 1121), the second military arts tutor of Song Dynasty General Yue Fei * Zhou Tong (Water Margin), a fictional character from the ''Water Margin'' novel * Zhou Tong (footballer) (born 1990), Chines ...

, was from Shaanxi.Qian, Cai. ''General Yue Fei''. Trans. Honorable Sir T.L. Yang. Joint Publishing (H.K.) Co., Ltd., 1995. .

Sports

Professional sports teams based in Shaanxi include: *

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier men's professional basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

** National Basketball League (NBL):

Shaanxi Wolves The Shaanxi Xinda Wolves are a Chinese professional men's basketball club based in Weinan, Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the nort ...

** Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA):

Shaanxi Red Wolves The Shaanxi Tianze Red Wolves are a Chinese professional women's basketball club based in Weinan, Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to th ...

Notes

References

External links

*
Economic profile for Shaanxi
at

HKTDC The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 for international marketing dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong's businesses. The organisation has 51 offices around the world, including 13 ...

{{Authority control Provinces of the People's Republic of China Western China