Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked

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

of China. Officially part of

Northwest China Northwest China () is a statistical region of China which includes the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Ningxia and the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai. It has an area of 3,107,900 km2. The region is characterized by a (semi-)arid con ...

, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E),

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

(E),

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...

(SE), Chongqing (S),

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

(SW), Gansu (W),

Ningxia Ningxia (,; , ; alternately romanized as Ninghsia), officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), is an autonomous region in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1 ...

(NW) and

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

(N). Shaanxi covers an area of over with about 37 million people, the 16th highest in China.

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...

– which includes the sites of the former Chinese capitals

Fenghao Fenghao () is the modern name of the twin city formed by the Western Zhou capitals of Feng and Hao on opposite banks of the Feng River near its confluence with the Wei River in Shaanxi, China. History As Duke Wen (ruled c. 1099–1050 BCE) ex ...

and

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin S ...

– is the

provincial capital A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the g ...

as well as the largest city in Northwest China and also one of the

oldest cities in China This is a list of present-day cities by the time period over which they have been continuously inhabited as a city. The age claims listed are generally disputed. Differences in opinion can result from different definitions of "city" as well as "c ...

and the oldest of the Four Great Ancient Capitals, being the capital for the

Western Zhou The Western Zhou ( zh, c=, p=Xīzhōu; c. 1045 BC – 771 BC) was a royal dynasty of China and 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 when the Quanrong n ...

Western Han The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...

, Jin, Sui and

Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...

dynasties A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A d ...

Xianyang Xianyang () 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 integrated into the Xi'an metrop ...

, which served as the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...

capital, is just north across Wei River. The other prefecture-level

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

into which the province is divided are

Ankang Ankang () 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 southwest. History The sett ...

Baoji () 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 population of 3,321,853 accord ...

Hanzhong Hanzhong (; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gansu to the west. The founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, was once enfeoffed as th ...

Shangluo Shangluo () 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 the eastern part of the ...

Tongchuan Tongchuan () 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 province (Shanbei) and the northern reaches of the Guanzho ...

Weinan Weinan () is a prefecture-level city in the east central Shaanxi province, China. The city lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about east of the provincial capital Xi'an, and borders the provinces of S ...

Yan'an Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an) ...

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

. Northern Shaanxi (or "

Shaanbei Shaanbei () or Northern Shaanxi 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 ...

") makes up the southeastern portion of the Ordos Basin and mainly comprises the two prefectural cities of Yulin and

on the northern

Loess Plateau The Chinese Loess Plateau, or simply the Loess Plateau, is a plateau in north-central China formed of loess, a clastic silt-like sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. It is located southeast of the Gobi Desert and is surrounde ...

, demarcated from the

Ordos Desert The Ordos Desert () is a desert/steppe region in Northwest China, administrated 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-des ...

and the grasslands of

Ordos City Ordos ( Mongolian: ''Ordos''; ), also known as Ih Ju, is one of the twelve major subdivisions of Inner Mongolia, China. It lies within the Ordos Plateau of the Yellow River. Although mainly rural, Ordos is administered as a prefecture-level ...

by the

Ming Great Wall The Ming Great Wall ( zh, c=明長城, p=Ming changcheng), 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 concluded ...

. Central Shaanxi (or "Shaanzhong") is also known as the Guanzhong region and comprises the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where 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. The source of the Wei River is close to ...

east of

Mount Long Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

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 Yellow ...

, where the majority of Shaanxi's population reside. Southern Shaanxi (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 ...

") comprises the three prefectural cities in the edge of the historical Bashu region south of the Qinling Mountains and includes the three mountainous cities of

and

. Along with areas of adjacent Shanxi and Henan provinces, it formed the cradle of Chinese civilization. In the

Republican era Republican Era can refer to: * Minguo calendar, the official era of the Republic of China It may also refer to any era in a country's history when it was governed as a republic or by a Republican Party. In particular, it may refer to: * Roman Rep ...

of China, the city of

was near the endpoint of the

Long March The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Army of the Chinese ...

which destroyed the

Chinese Soviet Republic The Chinese Soviet Republic (CSR) was an East Asian proto-state in China, proclaimed on 7 November 1931 by Chinese communist leaders Mao Zedong and Zhu De in the early stages of the Chinese Civil War. The discontiguous territories of the ...

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

by the Kuomintang armies, and became the birthplace of the Chinese Communist Revolution from late 1935 to early 1947 and the Communists formed the Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region in constituent parts of Shaanxi. The vast majority of the population of Shaanxi is Han Chinese. Mandarin is mainly spoken in Shaanxi, including Central Plains Mandarin, Zhongyuan Mandarin and Southwestern Mandarin; another variety of Chinese, Jin Chinese, Jin (Shanxi Hua), is also spoken. Shaanxi is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by GDP, 15th largest economy, ranking within the middle among China's administrative divisions. The fossil fuel and high technology 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 equipment for the country's domestic commercial aviation industry.

Name

The name of the province, , means "Shanzhou District, Shan's West", referring to Shan plateau (), now known as Zhanbian plateau. The usage "West from Shan" () first appeared in a text circa 200 BC about how the Duke of Zhou divided Feudalism in China, feudal lands. The transcriptions of and its neighbouring province are troublesome for Standard Mandarin, Beijing Mandarin-based transcriptions, which pronounces both as only with a different tone (Shǎnxī and Shanxi, Shānxī). To avoid tone marks, "Shaanxi" () was promoted by the Gwoyeu Romatzyh scheme in 1928. This spelling trouble, however, would not have occurred for the more archaic Chinese languages native to the two provinces, which pronounce Shaanxi like "Shie-sei" and Shanxi like "San-sei". For instance, Jin language in Wubu County distinguishes from , Jin language in Lin County, Shanxi, Lin County distinguishes from , and Central Plains Mandarin in Weicheng District, Xianyang, Xianyang distinguishes from . In older texts, Shaanxi was written as Shensi, as early as 1748. "Shensi" was recognized in the 1906 Chinese postal romanization. "Shensi" continued to be popular alongside "Shaanxi" until 1987 when the PRC officially banned pre-PRC romanizations.

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 Historical capitals of China, four great ancient capitals of China and is the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, which leads to Europe, the Arabian Peninsula and Africa. Under the Han dynasty, the Northern Silk Road was expanded to advance exploration and military purposes to the west. This Northern Silk Road is the northernmost of the Silk Roads and is about in length. It connected the ancient Chinese capital of Xi'an to the west over the Wushao Ling Pass to Wuwei, Gansu, Wuwei and emerging in Kashgar before linking to ancient Parthia. The Northern Song dynasty established a Shaanxi Lu, (circuit) in the area, governed from modern Xi'an in 997. The Yuan dynasty 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) Under the Ming dynasty, Shaanxi was established with the founding of the Saanxi Provincial Administration Commission in 1376, whose administration also included the modern provinces of Gansu,

, and part of Qinghai. In the Ming, most visitors from Central Asia and West Asia entered the country via Shaanxi. One of the most devastating earthquakes in history occurred near Mount Hua, Hua Shan, in south-eastern part of Shaanxi Province on January 23, 1556, killing an estimated 830,000 people (see 1556 Shaanxi earthquake). After the founding of the Qing dynasty, Gansu was split from Shaanxi, but both provinces were governed under the Viceroy of Shaan-Gan. The end of the short-lived Jiangxi Soviet signaled the beginning of the

by Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communists to the Shaanxi Soviet at Yan'an.

Pre-historic site

The Lantian Man site, with hominin fossils of 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. The fossils are displayed at the Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an, China.

Geography

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 (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 Guanzhong, a cradle of early Chinese civilization. Going clockwise, Shaanxi borders Shanxi (E, NE),

(E),

(SE), Chongqing (S),

(SW), Gansu (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 Shanbei, northern parts, including the Loess Plateau, have either a Cold desert climate, cold arid (Köppen ''BWk'') or Cold semi-arid climate, 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 (Köppen ''Cwa''), with cool to cold winters, and hot, humid summers that often see early-season heatwaves. The Shannan (region), 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,

and

Administrative divisions

Shaanxi consists of ten prefecture-level divisions: all Prefecture-level city, prefecture-level cities (including a Sub-provincial divisions in the People's Republic of China, sub-provincial city): The ten prefecture-level cities of Shaanxi are subdivided into 107 county-level divisions (30 District of China, districts, 4 county-level cities, and 73 County (People's Republic of China), counties).

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 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 (), colloquially termed the "Shaanxi Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary, CCP Party Chief"; 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. 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. 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. 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 Dollar, US$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 West Triangle Economic Zone, Western Triangle is a new economic zone composing the three major city-level economies of Western China:

, Chongqing and Chengdu. 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 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 Han Chinese, with pockets of Hui people, Hui 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 Guanzhong, where the provincial capital Xi'an is located, is more populous compared to the others (Southern Shaanxi, Shaannan and

Religion

The predominant religions in Shaanxi are Chinese folk religions, Taoism, Taoist traditions and Chinese Buddhism. According to surveys conducted in 2007 and 2009, 7.58% of the population believes and is involved in Chinese ancestral religion, ancestor veneration, 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 Chinese folk religion, worship of nature deities, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Chinese salvationist religions, folk religious sects, and small minorities of Muslims. * Catholic Church in Shaanxi * Catholic Church in Zhifang, destroyed in 2017 * Golden Lampstand Church, destroyed in 2018

Culture

* Shaanxi cuisine * Qinqiang, the representative folk opera of Shaanxi * Shaanxi shadow play * Xintianyou * Also see Xi'an#Culture

Media

* Shaanxi Radio serves Xi'an and the surrounding Shaanxi province area with music and news. * ''Yue Fei#Story of Yue Fei, The Story of Yue Fei'', a 17th–18th century wuxia novel about the life of Song dynasty general Yue Fei, says his military arts teacher, Zhou Tong (archer), Zhou Tong, was from Shaanxi.Qian, Cai. ''General Yue Fei''. Trans. Honorable Sir T.L. Yang. Joint Publishing (H.K.) Co., Ltd., 1995. . 陕西省教育厅

Sports

Professional sports teams based in Shaanxi include: * Chinese Basketball Association ** Southern Division: Shaanxi Kylins ** National Basketball League (NBL): Shaanxi Wolves ** Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA): Shaanxi Red Wolves * Chinese Football Association ** China League One: Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic F.C.

Notes

References

External links

*
Economic profile for Shaanxi
at Hong Kong Trade Development Council, HKTDC {{Authority control Shaanxi, Provinces of the People's Republic of China Western China