Shaanxi History Museum

Shaanxi History Museum stands to the northwest of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an. Its construction was initiated in 1983, and the museum was completed and officially opened on June 20, 1991. As China's first large-scale modern national museum, its inauguration marked a new chapter in the development of China's museum industry.

The complex features a Tang-style architectural layout with a central main hall flanked by four towering corner buildings. Well-organized in structure and layered in height, it presents a grand and solemn presence, integrating national traditions, local characteristics and contemporary spirit. The museum covers a land area of 65,000 square meters, including a floor area of 55,600 square meters, an 8,000-square-meter relic warehouse and 11,000 square meters of exhibition halls.

It houses more than 370,000 cultural relics. The collection ranges from primitive stone tools used by early humans to various daily artifacts dating back to before 1840, spanning over one million years of history.

After its completion, the museum has gathered over 370,000 precious relics unearthed across Shaanxi. Most of them date back to the Han and Tang dynasties, a distinctive highlight for visitors familiar with relics of the Ming and Qing periods. The collections fall into eight major categories: bronze wares, Tang Dynasty tomb murals, pottery figurines of successive dynasties, ceramics, ancient building materials, bronze mirrors of the Han and Tang dynasties, gold, silver and jade artifacts, as well as ancient currencies.

The permanent exhibition, Ancient Civilization of Shaanxi, follows the chronological order of history. By displaying representative relics from different eras, it vividly illustrates the development of ancient civilization in Shaanxi.

Powerful dynasties in Chinese history, including the Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang, established their capitals around present-day Xi'an. These legacies have left abundant cultural remains and profound historical heritage. The museum’s relics feature a wide variety, superb craftsmanship and immense historical value, among which are exquisite Shang and Zhou bronze wares, vivid pottery figurines through the ages, gold and silver artifacts of the Han and Tang dynasties, and magnificent Tang tomb murals. They are regarded as symbols of Shaanxi's long history and splendid culture. Praised as a treasure house of China and a magnificent palace of Chinese civilization, the museum enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad.