1.
Simplified Chinese characters
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Simplified Chinese characters are standardized Chinese characters prescribed in the Table of General Standard Chinese Characters for use in mainland China. Along with traditional Chinese characters, it is one of the two character sets of the contemporary Chinese written language. The government of the Peoples Republic of China in mainland China has promoted them for use in printing since the 1950s and 1960s in an attempt to increase literacy and they are officially used in the Peoples Republic of China and Singapore. Traditional Chinese characters are used in Hong Kong, Macau. Overseas Chinese communities generally tend to use traditional characters, Simplified Chinese characters may be referred to by their official name above or colloquially. Strictly, the latter refers to simplifications of character structure or body, character forms that have existed for thousands of years alongside regular, Simplified character forms were created by decreasing the number of strokes and simplifying the forms of a sizable proportion of traditional Chinese characters. Some simplifications were based on popular cursive forms embodying graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms, some characters were simplified by applying regular rules, for example, by replacing all occurrences of a certain component with a simplified version of the component. Variant characters with the pronunciation and identical meaning were reduced to a single standardized character. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification, and are identical between the traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies. Some simplified characters are very dissimilar to and unpredictably different from traditional characters and this often leads opponents not well-versed in the method of simplification to conclude that the overall process of character simplification is also arbitrary. In reality, the methods and rules of simplification are few, on the other hand, proponents of simplification often flaunt a few choice simplified characters as ingenious inventions, when in fact these have existed for hundreds of years as ancient variants. However, the Chinese government never officially dropped its goal of further simplification in the future, in August 2009, the PRC began collecting public comments for a modified list of simplified characters. The new Table of General Standard Chinese Characters consisting of 8,105 characters was promulgated by the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China on June 5,2013, cursive written text almost always includes character simplification. Simplified forms used in print have always existed, they date back to as early as the Qin dynasty, One of the earliest proponents of character simplification was Lubi Kui, who proposed in 1909 that simplified characters should be used in education. In the years following the May Fourth Movement in 1919, many anti-imperialist Chinese intellectuals sought ways to modernise China, Traditional culture and values such as Confucianism were challenged. Soon, people in the Movement started to cite the traditional Chinese writing system as an obstacle in modernising China and it was suggested that the Chinese writing system should be either simplified or completely abolished. Fu Sinian, a leader of the May Fourth Movement, called Chinese characters the writing of ox-demons, lu Xun, a renowned Chinese author in the 20th century, stated that, If Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die. Recent commentators have claimed that Chinese characters were blamed for the problems in China during that time
2.
Traditional Chinese characters
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Traditional Chinese characters are Chinese characters in any character set that does not contain newly created characters or character substitutions performed after 1946. They are most commonly the characters in the character sets of Taiwan, of Hong Kong. Currently, a number of overseas Chinese online newspapers allow users to switch between both sets. In contrast, simplified Chinese characters are used in mainland China, Singapore, the debate on traditional and simplified Chinese characters has been a long-running issue among Chinese communities. Although simplified characters are taught and endorsed by the government of Mainland China, Traditional characters are used informally in regions in China primarily in handwriting and also used for inscriptions and religious text. They are often retained in logos or graphics to evoke yesteryear, nonetheless, the vast majority of media and communications in China is dominated by simplified characters. Taiwan has never adopted Simplified Chinese characters since it is ruled by the Republic of China, the use of simplified characters in official documents is even prohibited by the government in Taiwan. Simplified characters are not well understood in general, although some stroke simplifications that have incorporated into Simplified Chinese are in common use in handwriting. For example, while the name of Taiwan is written as 臺灣, similarly, in Hong Kong and Macau, Traditional Chinese has been the legal written form since colonial times. In recent years, because of the influx of mainland Chinese tourists, today, even government websites use simplified Chinese, as they answer to the Beijing government. This has led to concerns by residents to protect their local heritage. In Southeast Asia, the Chinese Filipino community continues to be one of the most conservative regarding simplification, while major public universities are teaching simplified characters, many well-established Chinese schools still use traditional characters. Publications like the Chinese Commercial News, World News, and United Daily News still use traditional characters, on the other hand, the Philippine Chinese Daily uses simplified. Aside from local newspapers, magazines from Hong Kong, such as the Yazhou Zhoukan, are found in some bookstores. In case of film or television subtitles on DVD, the Chinese dub that is used in Philippines is the same as the one used in Taiwan and this is because the DVDs belongs to DVD Region Code 3. Hence, most of the subtitles are in Traditional Characters, overseas Chinese in the United States have long used traditional characters. A major influx of Chinese immigrants to the United States occurred during the half of the 19th century. Therefore, the majority of Chinese language signage in the United States, including street signs, Traditional Chinese characters are called several different names within the Chinese-speaking world
3.
Pinyin
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Pinyin, or Hànyǔ Pīnyīn, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese in mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. It is often used to teach Standard Chinese, which is written using Chinese characters. The system includes four diacritics denoting tones, Pinyin without tone marks is used to spell Chinese names and words in languages written with the Latin alphabet, and also in certain computer input methods to enter Chinese characters. The pinyin system was developed in the 1950s by many linguists, including Zhou Youguang and it was published by the Chinese government in 1958 and revised several times. The International Organization for Standardization adopted pinyin as a standard in 1982. The system was adopted as the standard in Taiwan in 2009. The word Hànyǔ means the language of the Han people. In 1605, the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci published Xizi Qiji in Beijing and this was the first book to use the Roman alphabet to write the Chinese language. Twenty years later, another Jesuit in China, Nicolas Trigault, neither book had much immediate impact on the way in which Chinese thought about their writing system, and the romanizations they described were intended more for Westerners than for the Chinese. One of the earliest Chinese thinkers to relate Western alphabets to Chinese was late Ming to early Qing Dynasty scholar-official, the first late Qing reformer to propose that China adopt a system of spelling was Song Shu. A student of the great scholars Yu Yue and Zhang Taiyan, Song had been to Japan and observed the effect of the kana syllabaries. This galvanized him into activity on a number of fronts, one of the most important being reform of the script, while Song did not himself actually create a system for spelling Sinitic languages, his discussion proved fertile and led to a proliferation of schemes for phonetic scripts. The Wade–Giles system was produced by Thomas Wade in 1859, and it was popular and used in English-language publications outside China until 1979. This Sin Wenz or New Writing was much more sophisticated than earlier alphabets. In 1940, several members attended a Border Region Sin Wenz Society convention. Mao Zedong and Zhu De, head of the army, both contributed their calligraphy for the masthead of the Sin Wenz Societys new journal. Outside the CCP, other prominent supporters included Sun Yat-sens son, Sun Fo, Cai Yuanpei, the countrys most prestigious educator, Tao Xingzhi, an educational reformer. Over thirty journals soon appeared written in Sin Wenz, plus large numbers of translations, biographies, some contemporary Chinese literature, and a spectrum of textbooks
4.
Shaanxi
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Shaanxi, formerly romanized as Shensi, is a province of the Peoples Republic of China. Officially part of the Northwest China region, it lies in central China, bordering the provinces of Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, Chongqing, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia and it covers an area of over 205,000 km2 with about 37 million people. Xian—which includes the sites of the former Chinese capitals Fenghao and Changan—is the provincial capital, Xianyang, which served as the Qin capital, is located nearby. The other prefecture-level cities into which the province is divided are Ankang, Baoji, Hanzhong, Shangluo, Tongchuan, Weinan, Yanan and Yulin. Shaanxi comprises the Wei Valley and much of the surrounding fertile Loess Plateau, stretching from the Qin Mountains and Shannan in the south to the Ordos Desert in the north. Along with areas of adjacent Shanxi and Henan, it formed the cradle of Chinese civilization, with its Guanzhong region sheltering the capitals of the Zhou, Qin, Han, Jin, Sui, and Tang dynasties. It does not include the territory of the Yellow Rivers Ordos Loop, with the Great Wall of China separating it from the grasslands. The name Shaanxi is a romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of the Chinese name 陕西. Because the Mandarin pronunciation of Shaanxi and its eastern neighbor Shanxi differ only in tone, the Peoples Republic of China therefore adopted the special official spelling Shaanxi for occasions when such marks are omitted. The first syllable is derived from Gwoyeu Romatzyh romanization, which reflects the tones of the vowels in their spelling. The second syllable—which would be shi in Gwoyeu Romatzyh—is instead given its usual pinyin spelling xi, when tone marks are noted, it is spelled Shǎnxī rather than Shǎanxī or Shaǎnxī. 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. Under the Han Dynasty, the Northern Silk Road was expanded to advance exploration and this Northern Silk Road is the northernmost of the Silk Roads and is about 2,600 kilometres in length. It connected the ancient Chinese capital of Xian to the west over the Wushao Ling Pass to Wuwei, under the Ming dynasty, Shaanxi was incorporated into Gansu but was again separated in the Qing dynasty. One of the most devastating earthquakes in history occurred near Hua Shan, in part of Shaanxi Province on January 23,1556. The end of the short-lived Jiangxi Soviet signalled the beginning of the Long March by Mao Zedong, 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 Xian. Scientists classify Lantian Man as a subspecies of Homo erectus, the fossils are displayed at the Shaanxi History Museum, Xian, China. In between the Loess Plateau and the Qinling lies the Wei River Valley, or Guanzhong, a cradle of early Chinese civilization, going clockwise, Shaanxi borders Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, Chongqing, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, and Inner Mongolia
5.
Loess Plateau
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The Loess Plateau, also known as the Huangtu Plateau, is a 640,000 km² plateau located around the Wei River valley and the southern half of the Ordos Loop of the Yellow River in central China. It covers almost all of the provinces of Shaanxi and Shanxi and extends into parts of Gansu, Ningxia and its soil has been called most highly erodible. On earth and conservation efforts and land management are a focus of modern Chinese agriculture. The area is named for its most distinctive feature, the highly friable loess soil that has been deposited by wind storms over the ages. Historically the Loess Plateau has provided simple, insulated shelter from the winter and hot summer in the region. In medieval times people stayed here to grow rice, some still live in this kind of shelter in modern times. In ancient times, this region was an important center of the Silk Road, goods moving by caravan to the west included gold, rubies, jade, textiles, coral, ivory, and art works. In the opposite direction moved bronze weapons, furs, ceramics, during the 1556 Shaanxi earthquake,830,000 people were killed as a result of collapsing loess caves. The yaodongs that are best known to the world are perhaps those in Yanan where the Communist Party led by Mao Zedong headquartered in 1930s, when Edgar Snow, the author of Red Star Over China, visited Mao and his party, he lived in a yaodong. The plateau generally has a climate, with extensive monsoonal influence. Winters are cold and dry, while summers are very warm, rainfall tends to be heavily concentrated in summer, and the area receives extensive amounts of sunshine. The Loess Plateau was highly fertile and easy to farm in ancient times, centuries of deforestation and over-grazing, exacerbated by Chinas population increase, have resulted in degenerated ecosystems, desertification, and poor local economies. Many trees were planted and nature is now reclaiming a portion of the Loess Plateau, results have reduced the massive silt loads to the Yellow River by about one percent. The Loess Plateau was formed over long times, and scientists have derived valuable information about global climate change from samples taken from the deep layer of its silty soil
6.
Yan'an
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Yanan is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan, which served as the headquarters of the Chinese Communists before the city of Yanan proper took that role, Yanan was near the endpoint of the Long March, and became the center of the Chinese Communist revolution from 1936 to 1948. Chinese communists celebrate Yanan as the birthplace of the revolution, in medieval China, Yanan was once called Yanzhou, a location of strategic military importance for the Chinese empire and Tanguts of the Western Xia Dynasty. It was once defended by the Song Dynasty era Chinese scientist, statesman. However, it was taken over by the Tanguts in 1082 once Shens defensive victories were marginalized and sacrificed by the new Chancellor Cai Que. Yanan and the whole of Shaanxi were taken over by the Mongols in the late 1220s, the city was maintained by the successive Chinese Ming Dynasty, as well as the Manchu Qing Dynasty. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the city part of the newly created Republic of China. In December 1936, at the start of the Second United Front and they had arrived in the area in October 1935 after making the famous Long March from Jiangxi. When Edgar Snow went there in 1936, it was under Kuomintang control, unknown to him at the time, there had also been contacts there between the Communists and the generals who later staged the Xian Incident. Snow actually met Mao at Baoan, having rebelled against Chiang, the local warlords decided to hand over Yanan to the Communists, who were now allies. They pulled out and the Red Army walked in without a fight and this is described by Agnes Smedley in her book Battle Hymn of China. She was in Xian at the time and got to Yanan shortly after the take-over, from 1937, Yanan became the seat of the communist government of what became known as the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. It became the center for training of party members and army troops. In 1941, Mao Zedong put special influence on a series of training programs to correct unorthodox tendencies, one of the first CPC programs launched was the Yanan Rectification Movement. While Yanan was the center of Chinese communist life many prominent Western journalists including Edgar Snow and Anna Louise Strong met with Mao Zedong, hsiao Li and Michael Lindsay were part of the resistance movement. During the Second World War, Yanan played host to the United States Army Observation Group, in addition to establishing relations, the goal was to investigate the Communist Party politically and militarily, and determine if the U. S. would benefit from establishing liaison. John S. Service, of the United States Department of State, was responsible for political analysis, the mission explored possible plans for cooperation against the Japanese. The Americans had a presence in Yanan from 1944 to 1947, Yanan was briefly captured in the Battle of Yanan by the Kuomintang forces in the Chinese Civil War
7.
Yulin, Shaanxi
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Yulin is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the north, Shanxi to the east, and Ningxia to the west. It has an area of 43,578 km2 and a population of 3,380,000. Yulin is the northernmost prefecture-level city of Shaanxi, and borders Ordos City to the north, Xinzhou and Lüliang to the east, Yanan to the south, and Wuzhong to the west. To the north and northwest of the city lies the Ordos Desert, the city is based in a valley which extends north-south, which rises to a very large vantage point to the north east, where a spectacular view of the west and northwest is seen. Lake Hongjiannao lies on the border of Yulin and Ordos City and it is Chinas largest desert freshwater lake. The lake is relatively recent, formed around 1929 due to increased rainfall in the early 20th century, before, the lake is supplied by four rivers, but there is no outflow. When its surface area was about 60 km2, its depth was 10.5 m. However, the lake has been shrinking sharply over the past decade, the shrinking has been attributed to reservoir construction, mining, and agricultural irrigation. Lake Hongjiannao is an important breeding habitat for relict gull, a classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is estimated that up to 5,000 pairs breed there, shrinking of the lake and changes in water quality are threatening the colony. Yulin has a continental, monsoon-influenced semi-arid climate, with cold, rather long winters. Monthly averages range from −9.4 °C to 23.4 °C in July, spring is especially prone to sandstorms blowing in from the northwest. There is only 366 millimetres of precipitation annually, 73% of which occurs from June to September, due to the aridity, diurnal temperature variation is large for most of the year, averaging 13.8 °C annually. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 60% in three months to 65% in four months, the city receives 2,780 hours of sunshine annually. Yulin Yuyang Airport Shenyan Railway China National Highway 210 Yulin played host to the 11th CHIME conference in August 2006, Yulin consists of two districts, and 10 counties. Because of its isolation, a considerable amount of classical architecture remains in the city proper including the original city wall. There is a restoration in process on this area of the Great Wall. In addition, pieces of the ancient Great Wall built during the Qin Dynasty are scattered along the outskirts of town, there is also the Red Stone Gorge, a canyon lined with grottoes containing carved ancient writing and Buddhist art
8.
Prefecture-level city
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Prefectural level cities form the second level of the administrative structure. Administrative chiefs of prefectural level cities generally have the rank as a division chief of a national ministry. Since the 1980s, most former prefectures have been renamed into prefectural level cities, a prefectural level city is a city and prefecture that have been merged into one unified jurisdiction. The larger prefectural level cities span over 100 kilometres, prefectural level cities nearly always contain multiple counties, county level cities, and other such sub-divisions. To distinguish a prefectural level city from its urban area. The first prefectural level cities were created on 5 November 1983, over the following two decades, prefectural level cities have come to replace the vast majority of Chinese prefectures, the process is still ongoing. Most provinces are composed entirely or nearly entirely of prefectural level cities, shijiazhuang and Zhengzhou are the largest prefectural level cities with populations approaching or exceeding some sub-provincial cities. A sub-prefecture-level city is a city with powers approaching those of prefectural level cities. There are total of three classification of prefecture-level city, Regular prefectural level city which consist of counties, county level cities, consolidated district-governed prefectural level city which only consist of districts as it subdivisions. Thus, Bloomington, Indiana is indicated on the map by a point, which is distinct from, and enclosed by, in China, however, large cities such as City of Xianning may, in reality, contain both urban and rural elements. Moreover, they may enclose counties or other cities, on a less detailed map, City of Xianning would be indicated by a point, more or less corresponding to the coordinates of its city government. Other populous areas may also be exhibited as points, such as County of Tongshan, with no indication that County of Tongshan is, in fact, enclosed by City of Xianning. On a more detailed map, City of Xianning would be drawn as an area, similar to a county of the United States and this convention may lead to difficulty in the identification of places mentioned in older sources. For example, Guo Moruo writes that he was born in Town of Shawan, within Prefecture of Leshan, and attended primary school in Town of Jiading. A modern map is unlikely to show either town, Shawan, because it is too small, and Jiading, because it is the seat of City of Leshan, and is therefore indicated on the map by a point labelled Leshan. A more detailed map would show Shawan as a district within City of Leshan, statistics of China such as population and industrial activity are generally reported along prefectural city lines. Thus, the relatively unknown City of Huangshi has 2.5 million residents, more than most European capitals, but upon closer inspection, furthermore, Huangshi contains several other cities, such as City of Daye. If a person wished to calculate the population of the area of Huangshi, and had a map of Huangshi, and a table of its population by district
9.
Shaannan
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Shaannan is a region referring to the southern portion of Shaanxi province, China. Its name derives from the abbreviation of the province Shaan, combined with its location within the province. Much of the region is south of the Qin Mountains as well, and for this reason it was for part of varying kingdoms known as Shu. In the Yuan Dynasty, the area began to be merged with what is the Guanzhong Plain to form Shaanxi Province, Shaannan belongs to the group of Northern Chinese dialects, and forms a transition between the Sichuan and Northwest dialects. For the most part, the dialects of Shaannan are divided into the Qinlong and Guanzhong dialects of Zhongyuan Mandarin, during the Ming and Qing Dynasties a large number of people migrating from Hubei, with those from the mountains especially bringing Southwestern Mandarin to the region
10.
Xi'an
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Xian, formerly romanized as Sian, and also known as Changan before the Ming dynasty, is the capital of Shaanxi Province, Peoples Republic of China. It is a city located in the center of the Guanzhong Plain in Northwest China. Xian is the point of the Silk Road and home to the Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Xian currently holds sub-provincial status, administering 9 districts and 4 counties, as of 2015 Xian has a population of 8,705,600 and the Xian-Xianyang metropolitan area has a population of 13,569,700. It is the most populous city in Northwest China, as well as one of the three most populous cities in Western China. According to a July 2012 report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, it was named as one of the 13 emerging megacities, or megalopolises. The report pinpoints and highlights the demographic and income trends that are shaping these cities development, the two Chinese characters 西安 in the name Xian mean Western Peace. It was renamed Changan during the Han dynasty, although it was referred to as Xijing during the Eastern Han dynasty after the capital was relocated to Luoyang in the east. It changed to Daxing in 581 AD during the Sui dynasty, during the Yuan dynasty, the city was first given the name Fengyuan, followed by Anxi then Jingzhao. It finally became Xian in 1369 at the time of the Ming dynasty and this name remained until 1928, then in 1930 it was renamed Xijing, or western capital. The citys name once again reverted to its Ming-era designation of Xian in 1943, Xian currently does not have a widely accepted one-character abbreviation as many other Chinese cities do, possibly due to fact that it was historically called Jing or Du, both meaning the capital. Several suggested abbreviations include Feng, Hao, or Tang, Xian has rich and culturally significant history. The Lantian Man was discovered in 1963 in Lantian County,50 km southeast of Xian, the site is now home to the Xian Banpo Museum, built in 1957 to preserve the archaeological collection. Xian became a cultural and political centre of China in the 11th century BC with the founding of the Zhou dynasty, the capital of Zhou was established in the twin settlements of Fengjing and Haojing, together known as Fenghao, located southwest of contemporary Xian. The settlement was known as Zhōngzhōu to indicate its role as the capital of the vassal states. In 770 BC, the capital was moved to Luoyang due to political unrest, following the Warring States period, China was unified under the Qin dynasty for the first time, with the capital located at Xianyang, just northwest of modern Xian. The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of the Terracotta Army and his mausoleum just to the east of Xian almost immediately after his ascension to the throne. In 202 BC, the founding emperor Liu Bang of the Han dynasty established his capital in Changan County, his first palace and this is traditionally regarded as the founding date of Changan, or Xian
11.
Guanzhong
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Guanzhong, or Guanzhong Plain, is a historical region of China corresponding to the lower valley of the Wei River. It is called Guanzhong or within the passes, as opposed to Guandong or east of the pass, the North China Plain is bordered on the west by mountains. The Yellow River cuts through the mountains at the Hangu Pass separating Guanzhong from Guandong, Guanzhong includes the central part of Shaanxi and the extreme west of modern Henan. The average altitude of the Guanzhong Plain is around 500 metres, xian, the capital of Shaanxi, is the largest city in the Guanzhong plain, which also contains the cities of Tongchuan, Baoji, Xianyang and Weinan. Guanzhong was the homebase of Zhou who conquered the Shang dynasty to establish the Zhou dynasty in 1045/46 BC, after the Quanrong nomads overran the Guanzhong region to end the Western Zhou in 771 BC, the Zhou court fled east of the Hangu Pass to Luoyang. The Qin state on the edge of the Chinese civilization later defeated the nomads. During the Warring States period, Qin became more militaristic and its enemies claimed that it had adopted barbarian customs to help it win battles and it was said that Guanzhong produces generals and Guandong produces ministers. Having fertile soil and good irrigation systems, Qin rose from this region to gain preeminence among the Warring States, since the Western Zhou, the area was the capital region of China for a total of 12 dynasties including the Qin, Western Han, Sui, and Tang. By the Tang dynasty the economic center of China had shifted south to the Yangtze basin, after the destruction of Changan in the last years of the Tang, Guanzhong became less significant politically as well as economically in later dynasties
12.
Chang'an University
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Changan University is a university located in Xian, China. Changan is the ancient name of Xian which means Perpetual Peace in Classical Chinese and it is one of the State 211 Project key development universities and is directly under the administration of the Ministry of Education. The university was formed by the merger of the former Xian Highway University, Xian Engineering Institute and it has five campuses in Xian
13.
Northwest A&F University
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Northwest A&F University, is a national key university located in Yangling Agricultural Hi-tech Industries Demonstration Zone, Shaanxi Province, P. R. China. This was the first national senior college with speciality on agriculture field in the north-west of China and was also the independent senior college of its kind. Yangling, where the university is located, is believed as the birthplace of Houji, God of Abundant Harvests, and is the area where he taught people how to grow and harvest cereals. Since 1934,7 academic institutions or universities resided here gradually, by April 2013, the university has 1661 teachers and 28964 students. Northwest A&F University provides courses covering agriculture, forestry, engineering, natural science, medicine, management and these courses are provided by 23 academic colleges. Students can choose one college to register and pursue their degrees at different levels including Bachelor, Master. Studentship and scholarship from governments and organizations are available to help students finish their studies, the 7 members involved in re-organization were very close to each other historically. Northwest Agricultural University has the biggest area and the longest history out of 7 members and are the origin of Institute of Water Resource Sciences, meanwhile, Department of Water Conservancy of National Lanzhou University （兰州大学） joined the College. Following the establishment of P. R. China in 1949, in 1952, Department of Agricultural Water Conservancy was partially given to Xian Jiaotong University （西安交通大学） under the order of The State Council. 2 years later, the remained Department of Agricultural Water Conservancy became an independent academic institution which is the mold of Institute of Water Resource Sciences, in 1979, Northwest Forestry College came out to be an independent school from Department of Forestry in Northwest Agricultural College. In 1985, with the approval of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fishery, other institutions have relatively shorter history. Institute of Botany became an independent academy from Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, in 1980, Shaanxi Academy of Forestry got separated from Shaanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The State Council agreed to merge 7 organizations as new Northwest A&F University in a reply to the proposal drafted by Ministry of Education and Shaanxi Province Government. A financial budget of 600,000,000 RMB was granted as start fund, on 11 September 1999, a central government delegation led by Vice Premier Li Lanqing attended the opening ceremony and made the announcement. Chancellor/Communist Party Committee Secretary since new A&F Chancellor 1999. 9－2003.8 Mr. Chen and these colleges, departments and schools are in charge of undergraduate studies, offering 3,000 courses. All of them are as below.94 km², covering two main campuses, North Campus and South Campus, a 3D virtual campus map of A&F has been generated and visitors can have a virtual tour around A&F campuses on http, //3dmap. nwsuaf. edu. cn. Although North Campus is mainly for undergraduates of other colleges, some move to North Campus for their research since they become the 2nd year students. On South Campus, Agriculture Science Building, Social Science Building, study and living environment will be greatly improved when these buildings are available
14.
Northwest University (China)
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Northwest University, located in Xian city, Shaanxi Province, is one of the nations leading comprehensive universities. Founded in 1902, it is one of the oldest institutions of learning in Northwest China, presently, the university has 11 colleges,33 departments,63 Bachelors and Associates programs. Its student population amounts to 18,000, including about 2000 Ph. D. and master students, the university stresses international academic and personnel exchanges. Northwest University has its origin in Shaanxi College founded in 1902, the Provisional University was subsequently named National Northwest Associated University in 1938, and National Northwest University in 1939. In 1958, the University came under the administration of the Shaanxi Provincial Government, in 1978, it was designated as one of the key universities in China. It is also one of the institutions of higher learning listed in the States Project 211, the University, located in the famous ancient Chinese capital of Xian, has 3 campuses with a total area of 370 acres, and 22 schools and departments offering 67 undergraduate programs. It is one of the first institutions empowered to set up doctoral, postdoctoral and master’s programs, to approve the promotion to professorship, to date the University has established 37 doctoral programs,92 Masters programs and 9 postdoctoral programs. Since the Chinese economic reform in 1978, the faculty has won over 800 awards for research achievements, the University has a faculty and staff of over 2,300, of which 1,100 are full-time faculty, and nearly 600 are professors and associate professors. The faculty is also distinguished by 2 academicians and 7 part-time academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Universitys student population amounts to about 18,000 including 2,000 doctoral and graduate students, and 150 international students. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the University has educated more than 100,000 graduates of different disciplines for the nation, the University was once praised as the Mother of Chinese Petroleum Engineering Talents and the Cradle of Economists
15.
Northwestern Polytechnical University
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Northwestern Polytechnical University is a National Key University, directed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the Peoples Republic of China, located in Xian, Shaanxi, China. The university emphasizes on the education and research in aeronautical, astronautical, as of 2012, NPU has 13,736 graduate students and 14,395 undergraduate students. The University is a member of Project 985, the current NPU enjoys the legacy from its three major predecessors. In 1938, due to the Japanese invasion in the northwestern China, after the World War II, the National Northwestern Engineering Institute, which is one of the three predecessors of the later NPU, was moved out of the mountains into the city of Xianyang in 1946. After the Peoples Republic of China founded, the National Northwestern Engineering Institute was renamed as the Northwestern Engineering Institute in 1950 and this institute was relocated to Xian and renamed as the Xian Aeronautics Institute, which is the second predecessor of the later NPU, in 1956. In 1970, due to the relation with former USSR, the Peoples Liberation Army Military Engineering Institute. Many of its departments were relocated from the city near China-Soviet border, among which, its Department of Aeronautical Engineering is moved to Xian and merged into the NPU. The Youyi Campus, often referred as the old campus, is divided into three parts, the South, the West and the North by the West Youyi Road and the South Laodong Road. The campus hosts education facilities, apartments of teachers and students, stadiums, logistics facilities, a kindergarten, the Changan Campus, often referred as the new campus, is divided into two parts, the East and the West by the Dongxiang Road. This campus hosts many newly built buildings, school buildings, experiments facilities, sports facilities. It serves as the base for undergraduate education of NPU. NPU is building or going to more facilities in both of these two campuses. Supported by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the former Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, NPU has a strong research capacity in engineering. It was confirmed as one of the National Key Universities by the State Council in 1960, in the 7th and 8th Five-year plan, NPU was listed as one of the 15 National Key Developing Universities. In the 9th Five-year plan, NPU joined the Project 211, and, in the 10th Five-year plan, NPU joined the Project 985. Since its establishment, NPU has educated more than 150,000 high level technicians and researchers for Chinas defense industry, the first PhD from 6 disciplines in China was graduated from NPU. And, among NPUs alumni, there are more than 30 fellows of the CAS, the universitys research funding has been continually rising every year. It reached 1.67 billion RMB in 2010, ranking 5th among all universities in China with funding per faculty member ranked 1st, and, in 2011, it reached 1.91 billion RMB
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Shaanxi Normal University
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Shaanxi Normal University is a key institution of higher education in Peoples Republic of China authorized to grant degrees in various subject. It was included in the 211 Project in 2006 and started its high-speed development, in 2014, the university was rank 71 in China, and rank 8 in Chinese normal universities. The university, covering an area of more than 2,700 mu, is located in Xi’an, SNNU has two campuses, Yanta and Chang’an. The campuses play different roles in fostering students educational experiences, built in 2000, the Chang’an Campus fosters junior, senior and postgraduate students. The Yanta Campus is located adjacent to the famous Big Wild Goose Pagoda tourist site, the Chang’an Campus, located in the “Enterprise Garden of University Education” in Guodu County, enjoys a grand scale, advanced equipment and modern facilities. The university has a College of Continuing Education, a College of Internet Education, a College of Teaching Cadres Education, the current enrollment of the university is approximately 40,000 students, more than 25,000 of whom are enrolled in part-time and non-degree studies. The universitys old campus is located adjacent to the campus of Xian International Studies University. The secondary school attached to the university is now one of the more prestigious schools in the province. Shaanxi Normal Universitys official website in English
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Xi'an Jiaotong University
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Xian Jiaotong University is a Chinese C9 League university with strengths in engineering, technology, management, and public health located in Xian, Shaanxi, China. XJTUs twenty schools comprise a comprehensive research university offering programs in nine areas, science, engineering, medicine, economics, management, art, law, philosophy, XJTU houses five national key laboratories, four national special laboratories, and two national engineering research centers. XJTUs eight affiliated teaching hospitals include two ranked in Chinas top 100, XJTU began in Shanghai in 1896 as the Nanyang Public School through an imperial edict issued by the Guangxu Emperor, under the Business and Telegraphs Office of the imperial government. Four schools were established, a school, a school of foreign studies, a middle school. The university underwent a series of transitions, in 1904, the Ministry of Commerce took over the school, and in 1905 changed its name to Imperial Polytechnic College of the Commerce Ministry. In 1906, the college was placed under the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs, the Republic of China founded the School of Management in 1918. In 1920, the Government Institute of Technology of the Communications Ministry merged with two colleges and changed its name to Nan Yang College of Chiao Tung. In 1938, the Ministry of Education took over the university, during the anti-Japanese War, the university was moved to the French Concession and in 1940 the state-run branch of Jiaotong University was set up in Chongqing. In 1941, to prevent the Wang puppet government from taking over the university, in 1942, the Wang government took over Shanghai School. So the Education Department of Guomin Government chose Chongqing Branch as the headquarters of Jiaotong University, in 1943, the graduate school was founded. After the anti-Japanese War was won, Chongqing headquarter went back to Shanghai, in 1946, the name of state-run Jiaotong University was recovered. After the Kuomintang were defeated in 1949, a part of the faculty retreated to Taiwan with Chiang Kai-shek and, in 1958, the institution that remained in Shanghai was renamed Chiao Tung University to reflect the fact that all universities under the new socialist state would be public. In the 1950s, the romanization system was developed in Mainland China. In 1956, following the strategy, the major portion of Jiao Tong University moved to Xian, Shaanxi. In the same year, Xian Jiaotong University was listed as a key university in China, later, it became one of a handful of universities built according to the Seventh Five-Year Plan and Eighth Five-Year Plan. It was one of the universities that entered the construction of 211 project of China, in April 2000, approved by the State Council, Xian Medical University, Shaanxi Institute of Finance and Economics and Xian Jiaotong University were merged and formed the new Xian Jiaotong University. Notable faculty include Yu Mao-Hong, originator of unified strength theory, XJTUs 30,000 strong student body, including 15,000 graduate students, can pursue 84 undergraduate majors,200 masters degree disciplines, and 115 doctoral disciplines. Among these, eight are designated as first-order key disciplines by the Chinese government, XJTUs three campuses cover over 250 hectares
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Xidian University
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Xidian University is a public research university located in Xian, China. Founded in 1931, the university is considered one of the top universities of research and its electronic engineering program ranks 5th in China. Xidian university is ranked 12th in Best Global Universities for Computer Science in China by U. S. News ranking and it is also one of the Project 211 universities. The university was founded in 1931 by revolutionaries including Mao Zedong, the school admitted its first twelve students on January 28,1931. In 1960, the name was changed to Peoples Liberation Army Military Academy of Telecommunication Engineering. Researchers in the university worked on radar, electronics and computers, defense research contributed to the rapid expansion of the faculty and campus. Xidian University is one of a National Key Universities managed by Ministry of Education of China and it is one of the 55 universities with Graduate Schools in China. Xidian University is organized into 17 schools, the university has undergraduate programs in different domains, covering engineering, science, management and economics. It also offers Masters and PhD degrees, Xidian University has over 31,000 students, including 21,650 undergraduate students,9,293 masters students, and 1,779 doctoral students. 7 National Key Disciplines have been affiliated with Xidian University, the school is dedicated to education and research in the areas of Communications Engineering, Information Systems Security, Wireless Broadband and Signal and Information Processing. There are more than 3,800 undergraduates,2,000 masters students and 300 doctoral students, the school has 311 faculty members, including one Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences, two National Famous Teachers of China and three National Experts with Outstanding Contribution. Three National Key Disciplines, Signal and Information Processing Circuits and Systems Electromagnetic Field and it was one of the earliest computer science school in China. The school ranks 8th in China and among top 100 in the world by Academic Ranking of World Universities, the school is one of the National Instruction Bases for Integrated Circuit Talents by Ministry of Education of the Peoples Republic of China. Microelectronics and Solid-State Electronics is one of the National Key Disciplines, the school has 2 undergraduate programs,5 masters programs and 2 doctoral programs. Around 1,800 undergraduates and 850 postgraduate students are enrolled in the School
19.
Biangbiang noodles
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Biángbiáng noodles, also known as 油泼扯面, 油潑扯麵, yóupō chěmiàn, are a type of noodle popular in Chinas Shaanxi province. The noodles, touted as one of the ten strange wonders of Shaanxi, are described as being like a belt, owing to their thickness, the noodle is broad and hand-made. It was originally part of a poor mans meal in the countryside, dishes with this noodle are often topped with lots of red hot peppers for the cold winter in Shaanxi. The character is composed of 言 in the middle flanked by 幺 on both sides, below it, 馬 is similarly flanked by 長. This central block itself is surrounded by 月 to the left, 心 below and these in turn are surrounded by a second layer of characters, namely 穴 on the top and 辶 curving around the left and bottom. The Chinese character for biáng cannot be entered into computers, therefore, phonetic substitutes like 彪彪面 or 冰冰面 are often used. There are a number of mnemonics used by Shaanxi residents to aid recall of how the character is written. One version runs as follows, Note that the first two lines refer to the character 宀, building it up systematically as a point. The origins of the biang biang noodles and the character biáng are unclear, in one version of the story, the character biáng was invented by the Qin Dynasty Premier Li Si. However, since the character is not found in the Kangxi Dictionary, similar characters were found used by Tiandihui. It was concluded that the character was invented by the noodle store, one theory is that there was no such character or meaning for this word in the beginning, and the word actually came from the sound people make from chewing such delicious noodles, biang biang biang. A legend about a student fabricating a character for the noodle to get out of a biang biang noodle bill also is a commonly believed theory about the origin of the character. According to an article on China Daily, the word actually refers to the sound made by the chef when he creates the noodles by pulling the dough
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Music of Shaanxi
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Shaanxi is a province of China that has a long history of folk music. The Shaanxi Music and Dance Troupe has toured across the world, there is also a Shaanxi Provincial Song, qinqiang is the most well-known opera style from Shaanxi, said to date back to the Qin emperor during the Tang dynasty. Folk dances from Shaanxi include the tichangzi, Ansai waist drum dance, shaanxis folk songs include Lan Huahua, and come in more than twenty styles, including most commonly xiaodiao and xintianyou. Wang Xiangrong is the most widely known singer of Shaanxi folk music, more recently, modern Chinese rock emerged from the Northwest Wind style folk song of Shaanxi
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Qinqiang
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Qinqiang or Luantan is the representative folk Chinese opera of the northwest Province of Shaanxi, China, where it was called Qin thousands of years ago. Its melodies originated from areas of ancient Shaanxi and Gansu. The word itself means the tune or sound of Qin, the genre uses the bangzi as one of the accompanying instruments, from which it derives its other name, Bangzi opera. Bangzi tune is the oldest, most affluent opera tune in Chinas Four Great Characteristic Melodies, Qinqiang is the representative of the Bangzi opera and the most important origin of other Bangzi operas. Tan Dun, the composer for the opera The First Emperor, researched Qinqiang for the opera, Qinqiang was banned from being performed in Beijing in 1785 by the emperor at the time, Qianlong. The ban, however, only ended up expanding the style into more areas outside of Beijing, primarily to theatres in the southeast. There are 13 kinds of characters in Qinqiang including four kinds of Sheng, six kinds of Dan, wei Changsheng Sandixie China Qinqiang Website
22.
Daqin Pagoda
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The Daqin Pagoda is a Buddhist pagoda in Zhouzhi County of Xian, Shaanxi Province, China, located about two kilometres to the west of Louguantai temple. The pagoda has been claimed as a Nestorian Christian church from the Tang Dynasty. Daqin is the ancient Chinese name for the Roman Empire or, depending on context, the Daqin Pagoda is first attested in 1064, when the Chinese poet Su Shi visited it and wrote a well-known poem about it, Daqin Temple. His younger brother Su Zhe also wrote a poem referring to the monks at the temple. An earthquake severely damaged the pagoda in 1556 and it was finally abandoned, due to the earthquake, many of the underground chambers of the complex are no longer reachable. The seven-storeyed octagonal brick pagoda is about 32 meters high, each side of the first storey measures 4.3 meters. According to Palmer, the church and the monastery were built in 640 by early Nestorian missionaries, the east-facing orientation of the complex is also advanced as evidence of its Christian origin since Chinese Daoist and Buddhist temple complexes face north or south. As a potential stimulus to the districts tourist trade, Palmers claims have been given wide publicity by the authorities but have also received approbation by Chinese academics. The exterior of the pagoda and its surroundings were featured in the first episode of the 2009 BBC program A History of Christianity, the program also featured an interview with Palmer by the presenter Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch. Nestorian Stele Nestorian Christianity Jesus Sutras Daqin Keevak, Michael, The Story of a Stele, Chinas Nestorian Monument and Its Reception in the West, Palmer, Martin, The Jesus Sutras, Discovering the Lost Scrolls of Taoist Christianity. Wilmshurst, David, The Martyred Church, A History of the Church of the East, did Christianity Reach China In the First Century
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Banpo
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Banpo is an archaeological site discovered in 1953 and located in the Yellow River Valley just east of Xian, China. It contains the remains of well organized Neolithic settlements carbon dated to 5600–6700 years ago. The area of 5 to 6 hectares is surrounded by a ditch, the houses were circular, built of mud and wood with overhanging thatched roofs. There appear to be communal burial areas, Banpo is the type site associated with Yangshao Culture. Archaeological sites with similarities to the first phase at Banpo are considered to be part of the “Banpo phase” of the Yangshao culture, Banpo was excavated from 1954 to 1957. The settlement was surrounded by a moat, with the graves, many of the houses were semisubterranean with the floor typically 1 meter below the ground surface. The houses were supported by poles and had steeply pitched thatched roofs. Currently, little can be said of the religious or political structure from these ruins from the archeological evidence, the site is now home to the Xian Banpo Museum, built in 1957 to preserve the archaeological collection. Banpo symbols Sanxingdui Cishan culture Nanzhuangtou Jiangzhai Yangguanzhai Allan, Sarah, The Formation of Chinese Civilization, An Archaeological Perspective, ISBN 0-300-09382-9 Chang, the Archaeology of Ancient China, ISBN 0-300-03784-8
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Zhao Mausoleum (Tang dynasty)
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Zhao Mausoleum is the mausoleum of Emperor Taizong of Tang. It is located in Jiuzong Mountain, Shaanxi, China, almost the biggest mausoleum of the Tang Dynasty and it has more than 200 accompanied tombs around. The famous stoneworks Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum are exhibited in the Stele Forest Museum of Xian and Museum of the University of Pennsylvania, U. S. separately
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Mount Hua
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Mount Hua is a mountain located near the city of Huayin in Shaanxi province, about 120 kilometres east of Xian. It is the mountain of the Five Great Mountains of China. Originally classified as having three peaks, in times the mountain is classified as five main peaks, of which the highest is the South Peak at 2,154.9 metres. Mount Hua is situated in Huayin City, which is 120 kilometres from Xian. It is located near the southeast corner of the Ordos Loop section of the Yellow River basin, south of the Wei River valley, at the end of the Qin Mountains. It is part of the Qinling or Qin Mountains, which not only northern and southern Shaanxi. Traditionally, only the giant plateau with its summits to the south of the peak Wuyun Feng was called Taihua Shan and it could only be accessed through the ridge known as Canglong Ling until a second trail was built in the 1980s to go around Canglong Ling. Three peaks were identified with respective summits, the East, South, the East peak consists of four summits. The highest summit is Zhaoyang Feng and its elevation is reported to be 2,096 m and its name is often used as the name for the whole East Peak. To the east of Zhaoyang Feng is Shilou Feng, to the south is Botai Feng, today, Yunű Feng considered its own peak, most central on the mountain. The South peak consists of three summits, the highest summit is Luoyan Feng, with an elevation of 2,154 m. To the east is Songgui Feng, and to the west is Xiaozi Feng, the West peak has only one summit and it is known as Lianhua Feng or Furong Feng, both meaning Lotus Flower Summit. It is the lowest of the five peaks with an elevation of 1,614.9 m, as early as the 2nd century BCE, there was a Daoist temple known as the Shrine of the Western Peak located at its base. Daoists believed that in the lives the god of the underworld. The temple at the foot of the mountain was used for spirit mediums to contact the god. Huashan was also an important place for immortality seekers, as many herbal Chinese medicines are grown, kou Qianzhi, the founder of the Northern Celestial Masters received revelations there, as did Chen Tuan, who spent the last part of his life in hermitage on the west peak. In the 1230s, all the temples on the mountain came under control of the Daoist Quanzhen School, in 1998, the management committee of Huashan agreed to turn over most of the mountains temples to the China Daoist Association. This was done to protect the environment, as the presence of taoists
26.
Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor
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The Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor is located in Lintong District, Xian, Shaanxi province of China. This mausoleum was constructed over 38 years, from 246 to 208 BC, the layout of the mausoleum is modeled on the Qin capital Xianyang, divided into inner and outer cities. The circumference of the city is 2.5 km. The tomb is located in the southwest of the inner city, the main tomb chamber housing the coffin and burial artifacts is the core of the architectural complex of the mausoleum. The tomb itself has not yet been excavated, archaeological explorations currently concentrate on various sites of the extensive necropolis surrounding the tomb, including the Terracotta Army to the east of the tomb mound. The Terracotta Army served as a garrison to the mausoleum and has yet to be completely excavated, when the First Emperor first came to the throne, the digging and preparation work began at Mount Li. Later, when he had unified his empire,700,000 men were sent there from all over his empire and they dug through three layers of groundwater, and poured in bronze for the outer coffin. Palaces and scenic towers for a hundred officials were constructed, craftsmen were ordered to make crossbows and arrows primed to shoot at anyone who enters the tomb. Mercury was used to simulate the hundred rivers, the Yangtze and Yellow River, and the great sea, above were representation of the heavenly constellations, below, the features of the land. Candles were made from fat of man-fish, which is calculated to burn and not extinguish for a long time. The Second Emperor said, It would be inappropriate for the concubines of the emperor who have no sons to be out free, ordered that they should accompany the dead. After the burial, it was suggested that it would be a serious breach if the craftsmen who constructed the mechanical devices, trees and vegetations were then planted on the tomb mound such that it resembles a hill. Some scholars believe that the claim of having dug through three layers of groundwater to be figurative and it is also uncertain what the man-fish in the text refers to, interpretation of the term varies from whale to walrus and other aquatic animals such as giant salamander. Before the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor was completed, a peasant rebellion broke out during the late Qin dynasty, zhang Han redeployed all the 700,000 people building the mausoleum to suppress the rebellion, so the construction of the mausoleum ceased. After Xiang Yu entered Xianyang, he is said to have looted the tomb, afterwards, it is said that a shepherd unintentionally burnt down the underground palace of the mausoleum. The story goes that he went into a cave of the mausoleum, dug by Xiang Yu, to look for his sheep with a torch in his hand, and a fire was started, burning away all the remaining tomb structures. No solid evidence of this has found, and some scholars think that the mausoleum did not suffer any large-scale destruction. In 1987, the mausoleum, including the Terracotta Warriors, were listed as World Heritage Sites, at a depth of around two meters, they found hardened dirt, then red earthenware, fragments of terracotta, bronze arrowheads and terracotta bricks
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Terracotta Army
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The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE, the figures, dating from approximately the late third century BCE, were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong District, Xian, Shaanxi province. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals, the figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Other terracotta non-military figures were found in pits, including officials, acrobats, strongmen. The construction of the tomb was described by historian Sima Qian in his most noted work Shiji, work on the mausoleum began in 246 BCE soon after Emperor Qin ascended the throne, and the project eventually involved 700,000 workers. Sima Qian wrote that the First Emperor was buried with palaces, towers, officials, valuable artifacts, according to this account,100 flowing rivers were simulated using mercury, and above them the ceiling was decorated with heavenly bodies below which were the features of the land. Some translations of this passage refer to models or imitations, however, those words were not used in the original text, high levels of mercury were found in the soil of the tomb mound, giving credence to Sima Qians account. Later historical accounts suggested that the tomb had been looted by Xiang Yu, however, there are indications that the tomb may not have been plundered. For centuries, occasional reports mentioned pieces of terracotta figures and fragments of the Qin necropolis – roofing tiles and this discovery prompted Chinese archaeologists to investigate, revealing the largest pottery figurine group ever found in China. A museum complex has since been constructed over the area, with the largest pit enclosed within with a large structure, the Terracotta Army is part of a much larger necropolis. Ground-penetrating radar and core sampling have measured the area to be approximately 38 square miles, the necropolis was constructed as a microcosm of the emperors imperial palace or compound, and covers a large area around the tomb mound of the first emperor. The earthen tomb mound is located at the foot of Mount Li and built in a pyramidal shape, the necropolis consists of several offices, halls, stables, other structures as well as an imperial park placed around the tomb mound. The warriors stand guard to the east of the tomb, up to 5 metres of reddish, sandy soil had accumulated over the site in the two millennia following its construction, but archaeologists found evidence of earlier disturbances at the site. These were discarded as worthless and used along with soil to fill the excavations. The tomb appears to be a space the size of a football pitch. The tomb remains unopened, possibly due to concerns over preservation of its artifacts, for example, after the excavation of the Terracotta Army, the painted surface present on some terracotta figures began to flake and fade. The lacquer covering the paint can curl in fifteen seconds once exposed to Xians dry air, four main pits approximately 7 metres deep have been excavated. These are located approximately 1.5 kilometres east of the burial mound, the soldiers within were laid out as if to protect the tomb from the east, where all the Qin Emperors conquered states lay
28.
Bell Tower of Xi'an
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The Bell Tower of Xian, built in 1384 during the early Ming Dynasty, is a symbol of the city of Xian and one of the grandest of its kind in China. The Bell Tower also contains several large bronze-cast bells from the Tang Dynasty, the tower base is square and it covers an area of 1,377 square meters. The tower is a brick and timber structure and close to 40 meters high, There are several legends regarding the Bell Tower, one of them tells, In Ming Dynasty, several earthquakes struck Guanzhong area, thousands were dead and injured. Then a legend appeared, There was a river flowing across the center of Xian City. A dragon in the river was always active and caused trouble and he then ordered 5,000 craftsmen to repair the Bell Tower day and night in order to use the tower to restrain the dragon. He believed this would suppress the dragon firmly under the river and so it would no longer be active, after establishing the Bell Tower, earthquakes never occurred in Xian again. According to another legend, The forefather of Ming Dynasty named Zhu Yuanzhang was born poor and he depended on tending sheep for others when he was very little. When he grew up, he left home and became a monk, when he became the emperor, he was afraid that the real emperor in the country somewhere will fight for the throne with him. He then ordered to build the towers to suppress the dragon power. Xian was the city in ancient times and it was the place of emperors throne. Zhu Yuanzhang was afraid, so the Bell Tower in Xian was built not only quickly, but also very tall
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Drum Tower of Xi'an
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The Drum Tower of Xian, located in the heart of Xian in Shaanxi province of China, along with the Bell Tower is a symbol of the city. Erected in 1380 during the early Ming Dynasty, it stands towering above the city center, the Drum Tower got its name from the huge drum located within the building. In contrast to the Bell Tower, where bell was stricken at dawn, on the Drum Towers first floor, lies a hall which hangs many large drums. Each was decorated with intrinsic and beautiful Chinese writing, which symbolizes good fortune, the impressive arrays of drums are only on show and visitors are not allowed to touch any of them. But there is an extra drum near the front entrance where visitors can pose for pictures for a small fee, inside the Drum Tower there is also a drum museum, where a variety of drums are on display, some of which can be dated back thousands of years. There is a show performed here every day. The top of the commands a panoramic view of the city
30.
Stele Forest
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The Stele Forest, or Xian Beilin Museum, is a museum for steles and stone sculptures which is located in Xian, China. The museum is housed in a former Confucian Temple and it has housed a collection of Steles since 1087. By 1944 it was the museum for Shaanxi province. Due to the number of steles, it was officially renamed as the Forest of Stone Steles in 1992. Altogether, there are 3,000 steles in the museum, which is divided into seven exhibitions halls, which mainly display works of calligraphy, painting and historical records. The Stele Forest began with the Kaicheng Shi Jing Steles and Shitai Xiao Jing Steles, in 904, a rebel army sacked Changan, and the two stele were evacuated to the inner city. In 962, they were moved to the rebuilt temple to Confucius. In the Song Dynasty, a hall, with attached facilities, was built to house. It was damaged in the 1556 Shaanxi earthquake during the Ming dynasty, in 1936, famous Chinese calligrapher Yu Youren donated his entire collection of more than three hundred rubbings from Stele to the Xian Forest of Stele Museum. It became a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level in 1961 and it houses nearly 3,000 steles and it is the biggest collection of steles in China. Most of its exhibits are steles of the Tang Dynasty, ink rubbings of the steles are available for sale. Among the unusual examples is an 18th-century stele depicting a Yangtze River flood control project, another appears to be a bamboo forest, but on examination the leaves and branches form a poem. Cao Quan Stele Sima Fang Stele Kaicheng Shi Jing Stele Nestorian Stele Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum Media related to Stele Forest at Wikimedia Commons Nestorian Stele Xian Stele Forest Museum
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Shaanxi History Museum
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The museum houses over 370,000 items, including murals, paintings, pottery, coins, as well as bronze, gold, and silver objects. The modern museum was built between 1983 and 2001 and its appearance recalls the style of the Tang Dynasty. Shaanxi History Museum was constructed from 1983 and it was opened to the public on 20 June 1991. The museum is architecturally in the Tang style, with a hall in center and it is elegant and dignified, on a large scale, with a combination of traditional architecture and modern technology, which embodies folk tradition and local features. Shaanxi was the ancient imperial capital of China, having been the seat of more than 13 feudal dynasties, including the Zhou, Qin, Han, the province is rich in cultural relics. The relics have also been exhibited overseas in cities in Japan, France, the United States, the address of the museum is 91 East XiaoZhai Road, Xian, Shaanxi Province, China. List of museums in China Shaanxi History Museum website Shanxi History Museum information
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Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
