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The Briefing of Shaanxi By Zhao Hong

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Ladies and gentlemen: Welcome to Shaanxi! “天下文章属东晋，古今礼乐所西秦”Got it？ “Oh，Yeah！Sure！Sounds like Dutch ha！ha！ha！” Excuse me. It’s a well-known saying. It means the best articles of the whole country were from the Jin Dynasty，the civilization of both past and present is from Shaanxi.

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The name of the province “Shaanxi” first appeared in the Western Zhou Dynasty. In the beginning of that dynasty，Master Zhou and Master Zhao had their own feofves respectively. To the east and west of Shanyuan Tableland，which lay in the southwest of Henan Province. People named the region to the west of the tableland “Shaanxi”，which means “west of Shanyuan Tableland”. Then during the Spring and Autumn Period，Shaanxi fell under the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Qin，so it is now also called “Shan” or “Qin” for short.

Location: 

Location The People’s Republic of China possesses 23 provinces，5 autonomous regions and 4 municipalities. Shaanxi Province is one of the 23 provinces in China. It is located at 105-110 east longitude and 31-39 north latitude. Lying in the Middle Reaches of the Yellow River, and in the eastern part of the northwest of China, it serves as the gateway to the northwest of the country, and offers a link of communication between the Southwest, Northwest and the East of China.

Area, population: 

Area, population Shaanxi Province covers an area of 205,800 square kilometers which takes up 2.14% of the country’s total territory. The population of the province (the total population) stood at 37.20 million at the end of 2005.

10 cities: 

10 cities It consists of 10 cities ( Xi’an, Xian Yang, Bao Ji, Tong Chuan, Han Zhong , Wei Nan, Shang Luo, An Kang, Yu Lin and Yan’an ) under the direct jurisdiction of the provincial government and which govern 93 counties and 13 districts at the county’s level. There are 2360 townships and 353 towns in the province.

Two mountain ranges: 

Two mountain ranges There are two mountain ranges in this province. Mount Qin Ling Range and Mount Qiao Shan Range. Mt. Qin Ling Range is the boundary of N. China and S. China. It is also the watershed of the Y. and the Y.. The province is divided into three natural areas by those two mountain ranges. They are Northern Shaanxi , Guan Zhong Plain and Southern Shaanxi.

Three regions: 

Three regions Northern Shaanxi is a hilly land with a cold dry climate and little rainfall. It’s suitable for forest, grasslands and animal husbandry. It’s famous for “羊、煤、土、气”（sheep, coal, potato, gas）nowadays. Guan Zhong Plain, with a mild climate, moderate rainfall and fertile soil， it’s a milk-and-honey land known as the “Kingdom in Paradise”. It’s one of the major grain and cotton producing areas in China, with wheat, corn, cotton and rape-seeds as its main products. At present, so many farmers are engaged in growing apple trees instead of crops. It is famous for The Eight Scenic Attractions Across the Central Shaanxi Plain.

Question 1 What are they？: 

Question 1 What are they？ The Eight Scenic Attractions Across the Central Shaanxi Plain 关中八景 1、the Immortal‘s Palm Peak of Mount Huashan 华岳仙掌 2、the Sunset Glow over Mount Lishan 骊山晚照 3、the Drifting Snow-like Willow Catkins Around Ba Bridge 灞柳飞雪 4、the Drinking Bout with Cups Floating Along the Qujiang River 曲江流饮 5、the Morn-Bell of the Small Wild Goose Pagod 雁塔晨钟 6、the Ancient Ferry at Xianyang 咸阳古渡 7、the Hazy Mist of the Thatched Cottage 草堂烟雾 8、the Eternal Snow-capped Mount Taibai 太白积雪 THE SOUTHERN SHAANXI

Weather , products: 

Weather , products In southern Shaanxi, the weather is warm and humid with heavy rainfall. Such products as rice, wheat, rape-seeds, tea, orange and other sub-tropical crops are grown. Four seasons are very distinct here. Spring is the best. Summer is hot. Autumn is the rainy season. Winter is cold.

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The annual mean rainfall in Northern Shaanxi is 500 mm. (The annual mean rainfall in ) Guan Zhong Area is 700 mm. In southern Shaanxi, it is 1200 mm. The annual mean temperature is 13℃. That is 55 degrees Fahrenheit. The average elevation is 600 meters. Xi’an is 436 meters. Two crops are in a year. There are two busy seasons for tourism in a year. One is around May. That is in April, May and June. The other is around October. That is in September, October and November.

Reasons for Being Famous : 

Reasons for Being Famous The Yellow River Valley was the cradle of Chinese civilization. Shaanxi Province is famous for its long history, splendid culture and simple honest and unspoiled people. Places of historical interest can be found almost all around the province.

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Archaeological findings reveal that ancestors of Chinese people have lived and labored in this region from a very early age. You would see the remains of Lantian Ape Man which was discovered in the year of 1964 in Lantian County. You would see the world earliest characters in 7000-year-old Banpo Village of the primitive Yangshao Culture. Guinness World Records 1988 page 174 the third paragraph says the earliest characters of the world were found on the eastern suburb of Xi‘an in 1960s. You would see plenty, various shapes and top quality bronze ware in the museums. Shaanxi is the hometown of the bronze ware. You would see the first piece of paper of the world in Shaanxi History Museum.

Question2 What are the Four Great Inventions in Ancient China？: 

Question2 What are the Four Great Inventions in Ancient China？ They are Compass, Paper Making， Gunpowder and Printing Technique.

the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses: 

the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses You would see one of the mankind wonders --- the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses of the Emperor Qin Shihuang. You would see over 70 emperors’ mausoleums. Each mausoleum is just as huge as the pyramid in Egypt. You would see countless historical buildings and excavation sites as rich as Rome in Italy. I always told my American friends: Whenever you go to the field, whatever you pick up is an antique. Whenever you dig, you dug something here. The province is “A natural history museum”.

Xi’an: 

Xi’an Xi’an is the capital of the Province. It is one of the “Four Great Ancient Capitals in the World”. It lies between the Qinling Mountain Range in the south and the Weibei Tableland in the north. The total area under the city’s administration is 9817 square kilometers and the population is about 7.1 million. In ancient times, it marked the eastern end of the Old Silk Road. Question 3 What are the Four Ancient Capitals in the World？ They are Xi‘an 3000BC、Rome，30BC、Athens，800BC、 and Istanbul（Constantinople）660BC.西安、罗马、雅典与伊斯坦布尔（君士坦丁堡)

Question 4 When was the Silk Road founded？: 

Question 4 When was the Silk Road founded？ The 2000-year-old Silk Road was mainly a trade route linking Asia and Europe. It extended from the city of Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, to Europe via south and central Asia countries. It was 7000 kilometers long, more than half of which is in China. Yet the Silk Road to become not only the trade route but also it was there that two different civilizations came onto contact, those of the East and the West with their specific cultural traditions, religious beliefs, scientific and technical achievements.

Other Aspects: 

Other Aspects Today, it’s the political economic and cultural center of the Province. In the area of Xi’an, the average elevation is about 400 meters. The annual mean rainfall is 600 millimeters( about 24 inches). The annual mean temperature is 13.3℃(55.9 ℉). The max temperature is 41.7℃(107 ℉) and the min temperature is -20.6℃(5 ℉).

History: 

History Compared with the other cities in China, Xi’an is more local, more traditional and more Chinese. From the 11th century BC to the 10th century AD, Xi’an had been established as the capital by 13 dynasties. The major dynasties are the Zhou, the Qin, the Han, the Sui and the Tang Dynasties. The Zhou Dynasty was the first to have its capital here in 1122BC. It was at Homeros’ Period in Europe（欧洲荷马时代）.

Question 5 Who was Homeros？: 

Question 5 Who was Homeros？ the poet，supposedly bland，regarded by the Greeks as the author of the Iliad （《伊里亚特》15693行）and Odyssey（《奥迪赛》12105行）.

The Zhou and the Qin Dynasties: 

The Zhou and the Qin Dynasties Zhou Dynasty was famous for its bronze culture. And a lot of classics were compiled. Such as “the Classic of Poetry ” (“the Book of Songs”), “the Classic of History”, “the Classic of Changes”, “the Classic of Rites” and so on. You know Confucius (551-479BC), he was one of the writers of these works. The Qin Dynasty was at the Republic Period of the Roman Empire（古罗马的共和时期）. It was well-known for the Emperor Qin Shihuang. Qin Shihuang was the Emperor who unified China and built the Great Wall. He also standardized Chinese characters, the currency, the law, the system of weights and measures, and the gauge of vehicles.

The Han and the Sui Dynasties: 

The Han and the Sui Dynasties The Han Dynasty was widely famed for its capital—Chang An. Xi’an was called Chang An by then. Chang An was three times larger than Rome. It was the largest city in the world. The Old Silk Road was founded in Han Dynasty. The Sui Dynasty also unified China. It was famous for the Grand Canal. It’s over 2000 kilometers.

The Tang Dynasty: 

The Tang Dynasty was the peak period in Chinese history. Science, economy, culture, politics, military and foreign affairs all were highly developed. Chang’an was one of the metropolises of the world. Take the foreign affairs for example: There were over 300 countries and districts made contact with the Capital Chang An. The Sui and Tang Dynasties were during the Frankish Kingdom Period（法兰克王国时期） The Frankish Kingdom was ruled by the Merovingions and Carolingians. the Merovingions Dynasty （法兰克王国第一个王朝麦诺文王朝）the Carolingians Dynasty （法兰克王国第二个王朝加洛林王朝） The Tang Dynasty

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Today, after over 1,300 years, you can not only see the original constructions, but also can still feel the atmosphere of the kings’ and the emperors’. Question 6 How much do you know about Shaanxi？ THE END

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THANKS FOR YOUR LISTENING!