Shaanxi

From New World Encyclopedia
Not to be confused with the neighboring province of Shanxi.
陕西省
Shǎnxī Shěng
Abbreviations: 陕 or 秦 (Pinyin: Shǎn or Qín)
Shaanxi is highlighted on this map
Origin of name 陕 shǎn - Shanzhou (now Shan County, Henan)
西 xī - west
"west of Shanzhou"
Administration type Province
Capital
(and largest city)
Xi'an
CPC Ctte Secretary Zhao Leji
Governor Yuan Chunqing
Area 205,800 km² (11th)
Population (2004)
 - Density
37,050,000 (17th)
180/km² (21st)
GDP (2006)
 - per capita
CNY 438.4 billion (20th)
CNY 11,762 (22nd)
HDI (2005) 0.729 (medium) (23rd)
Major nationalities Han - 99.5%
Hui - 0.4%
Prefecture-level 10 divisions
County-level 107 divisions
Township-level 1745 divisions
ISO 3166-2 CN-61
Official website
www.shaanxi.gov.cn (Simplified Chinese)
Source for population and GDP data:
《中国统计年鉴—2005》 China Statistical Yearbook 2005
ISBN 7503747382
Source for nationalities data:
《2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料》 Tabulation on nationalities of 2000 population census of China
ISBN 7105054255
As at December 31, 2004

(Simplified Chinese: 陕西; Traditional Chinese: 陝西; pinyin: Shǎnxī; Wade-Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal map spelling: Shensi) is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the middle part of the country. Due to its centered position, the province is landlocked and shares borders with eight provincial areas of China. It borders the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia to the north, Ningxia autonomous region to the northwest, Gansu to the west, Sichuan to the southwest, Chongqing municipality to the south, Hubei to the southeast, Henan to the east, and Shanxi to the northeast. The provincial territory includes portions of the Loess Plateau in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, as well as the Qinling Mountains, which stretch across the southern part of the province.

According to Hanyu Pinyin rules, if tone marks are not written, both Shaanxi and the neighburing province of Shanxi should be spelled "Shanxi". However, the difference comes from the pronunciation tone: Shānxī and Shǎnxī. To make this 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 has typically been used for the province of Shānxī.

History

Shaanxi, together with its capital city of Xi'an is considered to be one of the many points where Chinese civilization first developed. A total of thirteen feudal dynasties established their capitals in this province during a span of over 1,100 years, from the Zhou Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty. Shaanxi was also notable as the starting point of the Silk Road, which led from China to Arabia, and then into Europe, eventually ending in Africa.

Under the Ming dynasty, Shaanxi was incorporated into Gansu but the two areas were later separated during the Qing dynasty.

One of the most devastating earthquakes in history occurred near Hua Shan, in the south-eastern part of Shaanxi province on January 23, 1556, killing an estimated 830,000 people.

During the early part of communist influence in China, Shaanxi played a significant role as a base of operations for the initial movement. After the end of the short-lived Jiangxi soviet, the communists were forced to flee by the Nationalist forces, which signaled the beginning of the Long March by Mao Zedong and the rest of the Chinese Communists to the Shaanxi soviet, which was located at Yan'an.

Geography

Shaanxi has varied topography, with large areas of desert in the north, running along the border with Inner Mongolia. In addition, the Loess Plateau is located in the central part of the province, and the Qinling mountains run from east to west in the southern part, which is marked by its subtropical climate.

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

Major cities include:

  • Xi'an
  • Baoji
  • Hanzhong
  • Lintong
  • Tongchuan
  • Xianyang
  • Yan'an
  • Ankang

Administrative divisions

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an

Shaanxi is administratively divided into ten prefecture-level cities, including its capital city of Xi'an. These prefecture-level cities are:

  • Xi'an City (西安市 Xī'ān Shì)
  • Yulin City (榆林市 Yúlín Shì)
  • Yan'an City (延安市 Yán'ān Shì)
  • Tongchuan City (铜川市 Tóngchuān Shì)
  • Weinan City (渭南市 Wèinán Shì)
  • Xianyang City (咸阳市 Xiányáng Shì)
  • Baoji City (宝鸡市 Bǎojī Shì)
  • Shangluo City (商洛市 Shāngluò Shì)
  • Ankang City (安康市 Ānkāng Shì)
  • Hanzhong City (汉中市 Hànzhōng Shì)

The eight prefecture-level divisions of Shaanxi are subdivided into 107 county-level divisions, including 24 districts, 3 county-level cities, and 80 counties. These county-level divisions are then further divided into 1745 township-level divisions, resulting in 917 towns, 680 townships, and 148 subdistricts.

Economy

As one of China's most ancient regions, Shaanxi has an agricultural economy. Northern Shaanxi is a prominent farming and pastoral area which grows millet and corn, and contains vast areas for developing forestry and animal husbandry, especially sheep, cattle, and donkeys. The Guanzhong Plain, with its long reclamation history and highly developed agriculture, is one of China's best-known wheat and cotton growers.

Shaanxi also has healthy levels of mineral deposits, including coal, mercury, molybdenum, gold and more than 80 other kinds of minerals.

The province also has some value as an energy resource base, with the Shenmu and Fugu coal fields in northern Shaanxi holding a total reserve of more than 160 billion tons of quality coal, containing extra low sulfur, phosphorous and ash contents. In addition, a sizable reserve of natural gas has been found in the province, and its potential remains largely untapped.

Shaanxi's nominal GDP for 2006 was 438.4 RMB (56.7 billion USD) and GDP per capita was 11,762 RMB (1,516 USD). The provincial economy ranked 22nd in the entire People's Republic of China.

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.

Education

Due to a variety of historical reasons, the average education level of the population in Shaanxi remains relatively low. By the end of 2000, the province only had 39 higher education institutions, with a total student enrollment of 241,700, and 20,723 teachers. At the pre-collegiate level, there were 3,247 secondary schools with 2,668,900 students enrolled and of 143,972 teachers, and 33,336 primary schools with 4,809,300 students and 182,297 teachers.

Culture

Shaanxi is unique in that it provides an interesting blend of the old traditions of ancient China with the strong new tradition of both Chinese communist revolution and Chinese democratic revolution. It is culturally significant for its loud and resounding Qinqiang form of opera, the clattering of gongs and drums, and its famous artwork, especially paper art and peasants' paintings.

Tourism

Terracotta Army
The Great Mosque in Xi'an

As one of the oldest areas of Chinese civilization, there are numerous tourist sites in Shaanxi. One of the oldest is the Banpo village remains near Xi'an, which is the site of a 6,000-year-old village that dates back to the Neolithic Age. The city of Xi'an itself houses many notable tourist attractions, including its famous city walls, which were built during the Han Dynasty and now serve as the largest and most well-preserved ancient wall in the entire country. In addition, the city houses the Forest of Stone Steles Museum, which boasts the largest collection of stone tablets in all of China. Many of these tablets are engraved with 'classic' texts of Chinese culture, which make them an even more important sight for tourists visiting the province. While all these sites are all significant, the most important site in all of Shaanxi is the Mausoleum and Terracotta Army Museum of the Qin Dynasty, which is located in Xi'an and has been named as a World Heritage Site. Other notable sites in Xi'an include the Great Mosque, its famous Bell Tower and Drum Tower, the Shaanxi History Museum, and the Wild Goose Pagoda.

Along with some of Shaanxi's historical monuments, it also hosts several notable natural sights, including Huashan (Mount Hua), which is one of the five most famous mountains in China, Taibaishan (Mount Taibai), which is the highest peak of the Qinling mountain range, the Hukou waterfall, which is the second biggest waterfall in all of China, and the city of Yan'an, which served as the destination of the Long March and the center of the Chinese Communist revolution from 1935 to 1948.

Miscellaneous topics

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.[1]

Sports

Professional sports teams based in Shaanxi include:

  • Chinese Basketball Association
    • Shaanxi Kylins
  • Chinese Football Association Jia League
    • Xi'an Anxinyuan

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  1. Qian, Cai. General Yue Fei. Trans. Honorable Sir T.L. Yang. Joint Publishing (H.K.) Co., Ltd., 1995 (ISBN 978-962-04-1279-0)

External links

Commons
Wikimedia Commons has media related to::



Prefecture-level divisions of Shaanxi
Sub-provincial cities: Xi'an
Prefecture-level cities: Ankang | Baoji | Hanzhong | Shangluo
Tongchuan | Weinan | Xianyang | Yan'an | Yulin
List of Shaanxi County-level divisions


Coordinates: 34°00′N 109°00′E

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