As the saying goes, “Jiangnan has talented scholars, Shandong has generals, and Shaanxi’s land buries emperors.” Throughout Chinese history, the ancient capitals of thirteen illustrious dynasties, including the Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang, were established in Xi’an, leaving behind a wealth of cultural relics and a profound cultural legacy. This has created a distinctive historical and cultural landscape in Shaanxi. The world-renowned Shaanxi History Museum is a grand venue for showcasing the history and culture of Shaanxi and ancient Chinese civilization.
The Shaanxi History Museum presents the brilliant civilization of ancient China’s prosperous eras. The museum’s architecture is a Tang-style complex composed of a central hall and four corner towers. It houses a rich collection of invaluable artifacts, including bronze vessels from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, various terracotta figurines, gold and silver items from the Han and Tang dynasties, and Tang dynasty tomb murals. Most of the museum’s collection consists of treasures from the Han and Tang golden ages, offering a dazzling array of exquisite cultural relics.
Travel Informaiton about Shaanxi History Museum
Tickets and Opening Hours
Admission: Free, with charges for some special exhibitions.
Opening Hours:
- Off-Season (November 15 to March 14): Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM (Ticket sales stop at 4:00 PM)
- Peak Season (March 15 to November 14): Tuesday to Sunday, 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM (Ticket sales stop at 4:30 PM)
- Closed all day on Mondays for maintenance (except national public holidays).
Getting to the Museum
Location: 91 Xiaozhai East Road, Yanta District, Xi’an, northwest of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.
Subway: Take Line 3 to Xiaozhai Station.
Attraction Ratings
- Cultural: ★★★★★
- Features: ★★★★★
- Leisure: ★★★
- Beauty: ★★
- Romance: ★★
- Excitement: ★
Highlights of Shaanxi History Museum
Permanent Exhibitions
The Shaanxi History Museum’s permanent exhibitions are housed in the first, second, and third halls, collectively presenting “Ancient Civilization of Shaanxi.” These exhibits are grand in scale and impressive in their presentation, organized into seven thematic units: “Farewell to the Apes”, “Phoenix Echoes of Mount Qi” , “Oriental Empire”, “The Majestic Han Dynasty”, “Conflict and Fusion”, “The Splendor of the Tang Dynasty”, and “Farewell to the Imperial Capital”.
These exhibits focus on the evolution, development, and contributions of Shaanxi’s ancient civilization and its impact on Chinese culture.
Tang Dynasty Tomb Murals Exhibition
The Tang Dynasty tomb murals are a distinctive and precious collection of the Shaanxi History Museum. The exhibition features nearly 600 murals from over 20 Tang tombs, covering more than 1,000 square meters. Many of these murals are national treasures.
The Tang tomb murals are renowned for their unique style, including distinctive architecture, vividly depicted characters, and notable objects. The murals also feature simplified yet expressive landscapes, as well as lifelike flora and fauna. They provide valuable insights into the etiquette, customs, clothing styles, entertainment practices, and architectural styles of the Tang period. These murals are crucial for studying the social life of the Tang Dynasty, especially the lives and spiritual pursuits of the nobility.
Treasures of the Tang Dynasty Exhibition
The “Treasures of the Tang Dynasty” exhibition primarily showcases the remarkable artifacts discovered in Hejia Village, a suburb of Xi’an, in 1970. This collection includes over 1,000 items, with the most valuable being gold and silverware. It also features a substantial number of coins, totaling 39 different types, along with a complete set of medical instruments and various precious medicines that were highly esteemed during the Tang Dynasty.
These rare treasures vividly capture the essence of Tang Dynasty life, bringing the state of ancient people’s lives a thousand years ago to life. Through these exquisite artifacts, visitors can almost traverse time, experiencing the romance, openness, and brilliance of that distant era.
Related Details:
The discovery of the Hejia Village treasures shocked the world due to the unprecedented scale, quantity, and variety of the artifacts unearthed. Many of these items were discovered for the first time, filling significant gaps in the field of archaeology.
The coins found at Hejia Village include not only the popular Tang Dynasty “Kaiyuan Tongbao,” but also coins from the Western Regions such as the Gaochang Kingdom’s “Gaochang Jili,” Japanese coins minted by the Yuan Ming Emperor, as well as Sassanian silver coins from Persia and Eastern Roman gold coins. The collection spans over a millennium and covers a vast range from the Japanese Sea to the Mediterranean, representing a groundbreaking discovery in numismatic history.
The silver ingots, silver cakes, and silver plates from Hejia Village feature inscriptions detailing reign years, regions, and types of levies, offering a comprehensive reflection of the Tang Dynasty’s economic system. Among the 22 silver cakes, four are identified as “Yongdiao” silver cakes, marking the first physical discovery of such items. Additionally, the treasures include a complete set of medical instruments and various valuable drugs from the Tang Dynasty, with seven different specifications of cinnabar alone. This represents the most systematic and complete discovery of Tang Dynasty medical tools and medicines to date and constitutes a major breakthrough in the history of ancient Chinese medicine.
Non-Typical Museums in Xi’an
Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum
Housed within the Xi’an Mass Art Museum, this museum showcases a variety of intangible cultural heritage items from Shaanxi’s folk traditions. Exhibits include Qin opera scripts, embroidered bed curtains, paper cuttings, and window flowers. The walls feature diverse illustrations and textual information, covering traditional skills such as the making of rice noodles and roujiamo, as well as recipes for bone-setting medicines. It also highlights the inheritors of these intangible cultural heritages.
Xi’an Jiaotong University Museum
This museum features a Qin opera exhibition hall with displays of musical instruments, costumes, and theatrical scripts. The Western-style peasant paintings in the museum’s farming art exhibition hall are particularly eye-catching. The collection of seals from the Qin and Han dynasties in the historical artifacts exhibition is also worth a visit.
Qin Bricks and Han Tiles Museum
Located within the Duling Ruins Park, this museum houses over 3,000 pieces of ancient bricks and tiles from the Western Zhou to the Ming and Qing dynasties. A notable exhibit is the “Heavenly Man” tile from Emperor Wu of Han’s Yanshou Palace, regarded as a treasure of the collection. The museum also features various image bricks, Xingtu bricks, and carved bricks that are quite interesting.
Qujiang Art Museum
The museum’s core exhibit, “Color and Form: The Evolution of Ancient Chinese Murals,” is a highlight, featuring 88 fine mural pieces. The centerpiece of the collection is a 2,700-year-old golden armor from the Qin state, which is considered the museum’s treasure.