By Abigail Nutland, Sophia Poon, Sonia Poon, Joyce Xu, Rae lau & Viki Yang

Why is Shaanxi so Important to Chinese history?

Shaanxi is important to Chinese history because the northern parts of Shaanxi (especially near the Wei River valley) were one of the earliest settlements of China. There are Neolithic Yangshao culture sites which are found a lot from Gansu to Henan. The Chinese Neolithic culture was first developed in the Wei River valley. They were once abandoned by the Chang’an and no dynasty ever capitalized Shaanxi ever again. This definitely put Shaanxi to the poorest and most backward Chinese province. Shaanxi was once under the rule of the Mongols. This was called the Yuan dynasty. - Sonia Poon

What happened during the dynasty that had a major impact on the economy?

Throughout 1949, there was a period of soil erosion (soil erosion is where the topsoil is blown away or washed away. This is a problem because the topsoil is where most of the nutrients are to help plants grow.) This caused a major impact in the economy because they would use the crops to trade or to keep for themselves. Later on, China became a major coal and iron supplier. This helped to improve the technology in China and also helped their economy by letting them trade more with other countries. Shaanxi also manufactured lots of ingot steel, pig iron, and finished steel products. They were also able to make heavy machinery, industrial chemicals, chemical fertilizers, cement, paper, textiles, milled flour, and wine. This helped increase their exports, bringing China a large amount of wealth. - Sophia Poon

What modern-day tourist attractions are there that have an impact on the economy?

In Shaanxi, there are many tourist attractions including the famous terracotta warriors, many temples and museums. The terracotta warriors are estimated to be worth around 4.5 million US dollars and around 1 million tourists visit each year. One of the many museums located in the area is the Baoji Bronze Ware Museum. Bronze is very important to Chinese history because the Shang dynasty is known for their bronze work. The Shang dynasty is also known as the bronze age of China. There is also the Hukou waterfall along the Yellow River, it resides on the border of Shaanxi and Shanxi and is the second largest waterfall in china. Some other famous attractions are the Huaqing Palace and the Tang Bo Art Museum. All of these attractions contribute to Shaanxi’s economy in a positive way. - Abigail Nutland