Shaanxi History Museum 陜西歴史博物館
- One of China's best museums
- Dedicated to the history of Xian & Shaanxi province
- Descriptions in English
- Opened in 1991
- Exhibits from pre-history to the Qing Dynasty
Exhibits
Xian's impressive Shaanxi History Museum contains over 370,000 exhibits ranging from Paleolithic stone tools to a beautiful jade seal of the Western Han Dynasty.
The ground floor of the two-storey building is dedicated to Chinese pre-history and the early dynasties: bronze tripods, the bronze Shang cooking pot and four of the original terracotta warrior statues are highlights among the ceramics, weapons and ornaments on this floor.
The second floor has Han to Qing Dynasty artifacts: figurines such as the Tang Sancai Horse, the Golden Monster figure of a charging beast, funerary objects and a beautiful agate ox-head drinking cup.
Descriptions are written in both Chinese and (brief) English and the Shaanxi History Museum should be a must-see of any visit to Xian. The exhibits are arranged in chronological order with the Shang & Western Zhou dynasties in Gallery 1. On the second floor in Gallery 2, there are the Han, Western Wei & Northern Zhou dynasties. In Gallery 3 the Sui, Tang, Ming and Qing periods.
The building's architectural style is taken from a Tang period structure and the museum was supposedly built according to the wishes of former Chinese premier Zhou Enlai. The two wings of the building house temporary exhibitions.
Shaanxi History Museum Access
Shaanxi History Museum
91 Xiaozhai Donglu
Tel: 029 8521 9422
Hours: 8.30 am-5.30 pm (April-September); 9 am-4.30 pm (October-March)
Closed Mondays
Xian Attractions
The Shaanxi History Museum is a short walk north west from the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xian. Buses #5, #19 or #521 from Xian Railway Station.
Other attractions in Xian include the Terracotta Army, Xian Bell Tower, Xian Drum Tower, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, the Great Mosque, the Muslim Quarter, Louguantai, and Xian City Walls.
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