Shaanxi

[shahn-shee]

Shaanxi or Shensi [west of the mountain passes], province (1994 est. pop. 34,010,000), c.76,000 sq mi (196,840 sq km), N central China. Xi'an is the capital. From north to south Shaanxi has four main regions—the loess plateau, fertile but dry; the Wei River valley, rich agriculturally and the center of population; the Qinling divide, the highest range of the province; and the upper Han River valley. The valleys of the Wei and Han rivers and newly irrigated areas in the northwest are the main farming regions. Extensive reforestation, terracing, and irrigation have reclaimed much eroded land and increased agricultural output. Wheat, millet, cotton, soybeans, and corn are the chief crops. Rice, tea, and tung oil are produced in the south, and fruit orchards are cultivated in the upland areas. Livestock (notably sheep) are raised. Shaanxi has rich coal and iron deposits. Oil is extracted at Yanchang, just E of Yan-an, and salt is obtained from lakes. China's main east-west railroad traverses Shaanxi through the Wei valley. A branch line links the west with Chengdu in Sichuan prov. A highway ties the Wei valley to the northwest. Important population centers are Xi'an, Baoji, Tongchuan, Xianyang, and Yan'an. Since the 1960s, Shaanxi has developed industrially; cotton, once sent to Shanghai for processing, is spun and woven in the province. Shaanxi's main industrial city is Xi'an, which has a variety of heavy and light industries. Shaanxi, especially the Wei River valley, was one of the early major political and cultural centers of N China. The founders of the Chou, Ch'in, and T'ang dynasties built their power there, and the Manchus gave the province its present boundaries. There was a widespread Muslim rebellion in Shaanxi in the 1860s. In 1935 the Communist army came to Yan'an in Shaanxi on its "long march," and from 1935 until the assumption of power in 1949, Shaanxi was the seat of the Chinese Communists.

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Licensed from Columbia University Press

Shaanxi

or Shen-hsi conventional Shensi

Province (pop., 2002 est.: 36,740,000), north-central China. It is bordered by Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Gansu provinces, Chongqing municipality, and Ningxia and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions. It has an area of 75,600 sq mi (195,800 sq km). Its capital is Xi'an. Shaanxi has three distinct natural regions: the mountainous southern region, the central Wei River valley, and the northern upland plateau. The valley is especially vulnerable to earthquakes. Its northern parts were some of the earliest settled in China, and the remains of ancient construction projects found there include part of the Great Wall. From 221 BC until the Tang dynasty, it was wealthy and the centre of much political activity. As its irrigation system deteriorated, the area declined. In the 13th century, under the Mongols, it assumed its present form as a province. Mao Zedong's Long March ended there in 1935. Its ancient irrigation system has been rehabilitated since 1949, and the region is again a rich agricultural area. Crops include corn (maize), winter wheat, fruits, tobacco, and cotton.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Shaanxi

(Postal map spelling: Shensi) is a north-central province of the People's Republic of China, and includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River as well as the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of the province.

By regular Hanyu Pinyin rules, if tone marks are not written, both Shaanxi and the neighbouring province of Shanxi should be spelled "Shanxi"; the difference is in tone: Shānxī and Shǎnxī. To make the difference clear without tonal marks, the spelling "Shaanxi" was contrived (following the romanization system of Yuen Ren Chao) for the province of Shǎnxī, while "Shanxi" is used for the province of Shānxī. It is also the official spelling on Chinese Government's official web portal

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, Xi'an, is one of the four great ancient capitals of China and is the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, which leads to Europe, Arabia 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 2600 kilometres in length. It connected the ancient Chinese capital of Xi'an to the west over the Wushao Ling Pass to Wuwei and emerging in Kashgar before linking to ancient Parthia.

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 south-eastern part of Shaanxi Province on January 23, 1556, killing an estimated 830,000 people (see 1556 Shaanxi earthquake).

The end of the short-lived Jiangxi Soviet signalled the beginning of the Long March by Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communists to the Shaanxi Soviet at Yan'an.

Geography

Desert in the north along the border with Inner Mongolia, the Loess Plateau in the central part of the province, the Qinling mountains running east to west in the south central part, and subtropical climate south of the Qinling mountains.

The northern part of Shaanxi is cold in the winter and very hot in summer with dry winter and spring. Its southern portion generally receives more rain. Annual mean temperature is roughly between 9°C and 16°C with January temperature ranging from −11°C to 3.5°C and July temperature ranging from 21°C to 28°C.

Other cities include: Baoji, Hanzhong, Lintong, Tongchuan, Xianyang, Yan'an, Ankang.

Administration

Shaanxi consists of nine prefecture-level cities and one sub-provincial city:

The prefecture-level cities:

Ankang (安康 | Ānkāng Shì)
Baoji (宝鸡 | Baoji Shì)
Hanzhong (汉中 | Hànzhōng Shì)
Shangluo (商洛 | Shāngluò Shì)
Tongchuan (铜川 | Tóngchuān Shì)
Weinan (渭南 | Wèinán Shì)
Xianyang (咸阳 | Xiányáng Shì)
Yan'an (延安 | Yán'ān Shì)
Yulin (榆林 | Yúlín Shì)

The sub-province-level city:

Xi'an (西安 | Xī'ān Shì)

See List of administrative divisions of Shaanxi for a complete list of county-level divisions.

Politics

The politics of Shaanxi is structured in a dual 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 Communist Party of China Provincial Committee Secretary (中共陕西省委书记), colloquially termed the "Shaanxi CPC Party Chief"; since the Governor is always ranked as the First-Deputy Secretary in the Shaanxi Communist Party of China Provincial Committee.

Shaanxi was established as a provincial government since Qing Dynasty. In 10 January 1950, the People's Government of Shaanxi was established in Xi'an. Ma Minfang was then appointed as the first Governor of Shaanxi.

Economy

Shaanxi's nominal GDP for 2007 was 536.985 billion RMB (70.6 billion USD) and GDP Per Capita was 14,350 RMB (1,887 USD). It ranked 22nd in the PRC.

Demographics

Nearly all the people in Shaanxi are ethnic Han Chinese, with pockets of Hui population in the north western region (adjacent to Ningxia). The southern part of Shaanxi, known as Guanzhong, where the provincial capital Xi'an is located, is more populated compared to the northern part.

Culture

Qinqiang, the representative folk opera of Shaanxi.

Tourism

Banpo Neolithic village, near Xi'an
Daqin Pagoda
Imperial mausoleums

Zhao Mausoleum

Huashan (Mount Hua), one of the five most famous mountains in China.
Taibaishan (Mount Taibai), the highest peak of the Qinling Range.
Mausoleum and Terracotta Army Museum of the First Qin Emperor in Xi'an (World Heritage Site)
The city of Xi'an: City Walls, Great Mosque, Bell Tower and Drum Tower, Forest of Stone Steles Museum, Shaanxi History Museum, Wild Goose Pagoda
Yan'an, the destination of the Long March and the center of Chinese Communist revolution from 1935 to 1948
Biang Biang Noodles, one of the "ten strange wonders of Shaanxi" (陝西十大怪)

Media

Shaanxi Radio serves Xi'an and the surrounding Shaanxi province area with music, and news.

The Story of Yue Fei, a 17 – 18th century wuxia fiction novel about the life of Song Dynasty general Yue Fei, says his military arts teacher, Zhou Tong, was from Shaanxi.