Shaanxi << shahn shee >> Province is a province in north-central China. Its name is sometimes spelled Shensi. The province has an area of 75,600 square miles (195,800 square kilometers). Xi’an is the province’s capital and largest city.
The northern part of Shaanxi is a plateau. The area is thickly covered with loess, a fertile, yellowish soil deposited by the wind. Plains stretch across the center of the province. Mountains stand in the south. The Huang He (Yellow River) forms Shaanxi’s eastern border with neighboring Shanxi Province. The Wei River flows through central Shaanxi. Part of the Great Wall of China stands in northern Shaanxi.
Shaanxi’s mineral deposits include coal, gold, molybdenum, and natural gas. Many farmers grow apples, corn, cotton, millet, tobacco, walnuts, and wheat. Farmers also raise cattle, goats, and sheep. Electronics and textiles are the province’s main industrial products.
People have lived in Shaanxi for thousands of years. A village excavated at Banpo, near Xi’an, dates to about 4500 B.C. The Zhou dynasty (1045-256 B.C.) founded its capital near what is now Xi’an around 1045 B.C. A dynasty is a series of rulers from the same family. The area served as the capital during many dynasties over a period of more than 2,000 years.
Shi Huangdi, China’s first emperor and the founder of the Qin dynasty (221-206 B.C.), lies buried near Xi’an. The famous terra-cotta army of Xi’an forms part of his tomb complex. During the Tang dynasty (A.D. 618-907), Xi’an, then called Chang’an, ranked as one of the largest cities in the world. In 1556, an earthquake that originated near Xi’an killed more than 830,000 people.
Mao Zedong’s Long March ended in Shaanxi. The Communists made this 6,000-mile (9,700-kilometer) march through China to escape Chinese Nationalist forces in 1934 and 1935. Yan’an, in northern Shaanxi, was the headquarters of China’s Communist Party until 1947.
