History and Culture

1.Long History

Around 5,000 years ago, China's cultural ancestor, the Yellow Emperor, created the Chinese civilization in Shaanxi. The Yellow Emperor Mausoleum in Huangling County and Emperor Yandi' s Mausoleum in Baoji City are prominent symbols of the birthplace of Chinese civilization.

Altogether 14 dynasties, including the Western Zhou, the Qin, the Han and the Tang, established their capitals in Shaanxi. The Qin Dynasty is the first unified feudal dynasty with a centralized political system in the history of China. The Western Han Dynasty witnessed the integrated development of the society, the economy and the culture. The Silk Road started from Shaanxi during the Han and the Tang dynasties. The Tang Empire was the most powerful among China's dynasties in history. Chang'an, the capital of Tang, was not only the political, economic and cultural center of China, but also a famous international metropolis.

After the Tang Dynasty, the center of governmental administration moved eastward. Shaanxi was no longer the political and economic center of China. However, Shaanxi still occupied an important position in politics, economy and military of China. Up to modern times, Shaanxi has been considered as a crucial area within the western part of China.

2.Revolutionary Culture

Shaanxi is the cradle of revolution, and Yan'an is the sacred land of Chinese revolution. From 1935 to March 1948, Yan'an was the home of the CPC Central Committee and the overall rear base for the Chinese people's struggle for liberation. The Yan'an Spirit, nurtured by Mao Zedong and other revolutionary leaders of his generation, is a precious national treasure. Yan'an is home to over 400 old revolutionary sites, among which the most famous ones are Mount Baota, Mount Fenghuang, Yangjialing, Zaoyuan, Wangjiaping and the site of Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Government.

The Zhaojin Revolutionary Base in Shaanxi-Gansu Border Region is located at Yaozhou District, Tongchuan City. In the early 1930s, the older generation revolutionary leaders, such as Liu Zhidan, Xie Zichang and Xi Zhongxun, bravely carried out revolutionary activities under extremely arduous conditions. They founded Shaanxi-Gansu Border Region Revolutionary Base with Zhaojin as the center. The establishment of Shaanxi-Gansu Border Region Revolutionary Base kindled the revolution in northwestern China, created conditions for the later Northen Shaanxi Revolutionary Base, and wrote a brilliant page in China's revolutionary history.

In 2004, the Memorial Hall of Zhaojin Revolutionary Base in Shaanxi-Gansu Border Region was officially opened. It is one of China's 100 revolutionary scenic spots.

3.Folk Culture

There are a variety of colorful folk art with outstanding regional features in Shaanxi. Many of them have been included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage. The counties of Huxian(Huyi District, Xi'an) , Ansai (Ansai District, Yan'an), and other counties are named as "Hometown for National Folk Painting"; Ansai,Fengxiang counties as well as Nansai Township in Qianyang County and Ganjing Township in Heyang County are named as "Hometown of Folk Art" by Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Ansai County is granted the title "Hometown of Quyi (ballad-singing and storytelling)" by Chinese Ballad Singers Association and China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. Ansai is the only one in Shaanxi to be named hometown for five sorts of folk art (It was previously granted the honor of hometown of waist drums, paper-cutting, folk painting and folk songs by Ministry of Culture and Tourism). Xi'an Drum Music, Paper-cutting and Shadow Puppets of China have been inscribed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

Qin Opera is one of the most representative old operas of China. It originated in the folk tunes and the timbrel opera of the Song, Jin and Yuan dynasties along Shaanxi and Gansu. The area around Shaanxi and Gansu was within the territory of the Kingdom of Qin, hence the name Qin Opera. As jujube wood bangzi (slit drum) is used for percussion in the performance, it is also called Bangzi Opera or Luantan (strum) by the locals.

Northern Shaanxi Ballads and Northern Shaanxi Paper-cutting enjoy rich Loess and frontier cultural features. Yangge Performance, Ansai Waist Drum and other traditional folk cultures spread from Northern Shaanxi to the rest of the world.

Huayin Laoqiang Opera enjoys vigorous, majestic, free and unconstrained features, representative of the folk culture in the Guanzhong Plain. Building Sacred Fire is a traditional folk custom and cultural activity in the area. Fengxiang Color-painted Clay Figurines, Fengxiang Xylograph New Year Pictures,Huxian County Farmers' Painting, and other folk arts in the Guanzhong Plain elaborately and vividly delineate the colorful customs with a plain style.

In Southern Shaanxi, Hanju Opera made special contributions to the formation of the Peking Opera. Ziyang Folk Song is the most representative among traditional folk songs.

4.Modern Culture

With the development of times, new cultural forms continuously integrate with ancient Shaanxi cultures. Xi'an Inno Start-up Wonderland infuses new vitality to the city's innovation and development, and has become a beautiful modern landmark for fashion.

Shaanxi Opera House, the first international, professional and comprehensive theater in northwestern China, is an important window of Shaanxi to exhibit the cultural charm of its ancient capital.

Xi'an Concert Hall, the No.1 performance venue in northwestern China, is a renowned cultural landmark of the ancient city.