Shaanxi Historical Museum, Xian - China

The Shaanxi Historical Museum
Situated one kilometre north-west of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xian’s southern suburb, the Shaanxi Provincial History Museum is built in a striking Tang-Dynasty style pavilion. It houses a massive collection of 113,000 historic and cultural artifacts unearthed in Shaanxi Province. It is an absolute must for every visitor to the city.

The main complex consists of ancient palaces and elegant courtyard buildings. The exhibition halls are divided into three parts: Basic Exhibition Hall, the Theme Exhibition Hall and East Exhibition Hall. The museum features ancient artifacts from different dynasties such as Han, Wei, Jin, North and South, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, including the pre-historical items, terra cotta figures and murals from the tombs of the Tang Dynasty. The museum has the computer-controlled, international symposium hall providing spontaneous interpretation into six different languages.

Basic Exhibition Hall
This hall focuses on the pre-history relics found in Shaanxi and artifacts from the dynasties of the Zhou, the Qin, the Han and the Tang. The exhibition is divided into seven parts starting from the Stone Age, the dynasties of the Zhou, the Qin, the Han, the Wei, the Jin, the South and North Dynasty, the Sui, the Tang, the Song, the Yuan, the Ming and the Qing.

East Exhibition Hall
This hall holds several exhibitions including “The Zhaoling Mausoleum’s Fine Cultural Relics Exhibition”, “The Tang Dynasty’s Tomb Real Murals Exhibition”, “Grand Exhibition of Gold and Silver Vessels from the Tang Dynasty”, “Exhibition of Costumes of Women in the Tang Dynasty”, “Exhibition of Cultural Relics of Empress Wu Zetian and Women in the Tang dynasty” etc.

Theme Exhibition Hall

This 2,500 square meter hall features various types of theme exhibitions with a focus on Shaanxi local cultural characteristics. Many exhibitions such as “Shaanxi Fine Bronze Objects Exhibition” and “Many Dynasties’ Fine Terra-cotta Figures Exhibition” are displayed here.

Famen Temple
Situated some 118 kilometers west of Xian, the Famen Temple appeals to travelers who are journeying west to explore the ancient Silk Road. The temple gained the name Famen, which means the initial approach to become a Buddhist believer, during the Tang dynasty when a wooden four-storey structure was built replacing the Ashoka Stupa. The temple has enjoyed a reputation of being the “forefather of pagodas and temples in Central Shaanxi” because it held the finger bones of the Lord Buddha – the founder of Buddhism.

The underground palace was accidentally discovered in 1985 when the provincial government started the reconstruction of the stupa. The palace is 21.2 meters long, covering an area of 31.84 square meters. It is boasted as the largest of this kind ever discovered with the remains of the finger bones of the Lord Buddha. The bone was kept in a five-layered marble chest in a secret niche in the back room. It is tubular-like, 37millimeters long, white and yellow in colour. It has been authenticated as genuine – and the only real one here. Other Buddhist relics discovered at the Famen Temple include gold brocades, porcelains and gold plate.