A report on Shaanxi, Gansu and Han dynasty

A map of the Western Han dynasty in 2 AD Principalities and centrally-administered commanderies Protectorate of the Western Regions (Tarim Basin)
Shaanxi People's Government
The ruins of a Han dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) Chinese watchtower made of rammed earth at Dunhuang, Gansu province, the eastern edge of the Silk Road
Thirteen direct-controlled commanderies including the capital region (Yellow) and ten semi-autonomous kingdoms of the early periods, 195 BC
Shaanxi cuisine
Xindian culture era jar with two lug handles uncovered in Gansu, dating to around 1,000 BC
Belt Buckle with nomadic-inspired zoomorphic design, manufactured in China for the Xiongnu. Mercury-gilded bronze (a Chinese technique). North China, 3rd-2nd century BC.
Terracotta Army
The ruins of a gate at Yumen Pass, built during the Jin dynasty (266–420)
Map showing the expansion of Han dynasty in the 2nd century BC
Education Department of Shaanxi Province
Jiayuguan Fort
The ruins of a Han-dynasty watchtower made of rammed earth at Dunhuang, Gansu province, the eastern edge of the Silk Road.
Shaanxi Science and Technology Museum
Danxia landform in Zhangye
These rammed earth ruins of a granary in Hecang Fortress, located ~11 km (7 miles) northeast of the Western-Han-era Yumen Pass, were built during the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and significantly rebuilt during the Western Jin (280–316 AD).
Temple of the Chenghuangshen (City God) of Weinan.
Gates of the provincial government complex in Lanzhou
Situation of warlords and peasant forces at the beginning of Eastern Han dynasty
Guangren Temple of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in Xi'an.
Farmland in Linxia
Eastern Han inscriptions on a lead ingot, using barbarous Greek alphabet in the style of the Kushans, excavated in Shaanxi, 1st–2nd century AD
Road to the stupa of the Famen Temple (Chinese Buddhist).
Shopping mall in Lanzhou
Preserved arrow, Western Han
Temple of Xuanyuan in Huangling, Yan'an.
Lanzhou city
A late Eastern Han (25–220 CE) Chinese tomb mural showing lively scenes of a banquet (yanyin 宴飲), dance and music (wuyue 舞樂), acrobatics (baixi 百戲), and wrestling (xiangbu 相撲), from the Dahuting Tomb, on the southern bank of the Siuhe River in Zhengzhou, Henan province (just west of Xi County)
A painting of the Buddhist Manjushri, from the Yulin Caves of Gansu, Tangut-led Western Xia dynasty (1038–1227 AD)
A mural from an Eastern Han tomb at Zhucun (朱村), Luoyang, Henan province; the two figures in the foreground are playing liubo, with the playing mat between them, and the liubo game board to the side of the mat.
These rammed earth ruins of a granary in Hecang Fortress, located ~11 km (7 miles) northeast of the Western-Han-era Yumen Pass, were built during the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and significantly rebuilt during the Western Jin (280–316 AD).
Brick Relief with Acrobatic Performance, Han Dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE)
A terracotta warrior from Gansu, with traces of polychrome and gold, from the Tang dynasty (618–907)
Detail of a mural showing two women wearing Hanfu silk robes, from the Dahuting Tomb of the late Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 CE), located in Zhengzhou, Henan
Maijishan Grottoes
Han period inscribed bamboo-slips of Sun Bin's Art of War, unearthed in Yinque Mountain, Linyi, Shandong.
Fertile fields near Wuwei
A fragment of the Xiping Stone Classics; these stone-carved Five Classics installed during Emperor Ling's reign along the roadside of the Imperial University (right outside Luoyang) were made at the instigation of Cai Yong (132–192 CE), who feared the Classics housed in the imperial library were being interpolated by University Academicians.
Crescent Lake, Dunhuang
A silk banner from Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan province. It was draped over the coffin of Lady Dai (d. 168 BCE), wife of the Marquess Li Cang (利蒼) (d. 186 BCE), chancellor for the Kingdom of Changsha.
Qilian Mountains southeast of Jiuquan
A part of a Daoist manuscript, ink on silk, 2nd century BCE, Han Dynasty, unearthed from Mawangdui tomb 3rd, Changsha, Hunan Province.
Terrace farms near Tianshui
An Eastern-Han bronze statuette of a mythical chimera (qilin), 1st century CE
Grasslands in Min County
A scene of historic paragons of filial piety conversing with one another, Chinese painted artwork on a lacquered basketwork box, excavated from an Eastern-Han tomb of what was the Chinese Lelang Commandery in Korean Peninsula.
Wetland by the Yellow River, Maqu County
A rubbing of a Han pictorial stone showing an ancestral worship hall (cítáng 祠堂)
Main hall of a Chan temple of Lanzhou.
Animalistic guardian spirits of day and night wearing Chinese robes, Han dynasty paintings on ceramic tile; Michael Loewe writes that the hybrid of man and beast in art and religious beliefs predated the Han and remained popular during the first half of Western Han and the Eastern Han.
Temple of the Chenghuangshen (Idol) of Lanzhou.
The Gansu Flying Horse, depicted in full gallop, bronze sculpture, h 34.5 cm. Wuwei, Gansu, China, AD 25–220
Nanhua Amituo Fo Temple of Chinese Buddhism seen on a hill above the roofs of the Yu Baba Gongbei, a Sufi shrine.
A mural showing chariots and cavalry, from the Dahuting Tomb (Chinese: 打虎亭漢墓, Pinyin: Dahuting Han mu) of the late Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 AD), located in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China
Labrang Monastery of Tibetan Buddhism in Gannan.
Gold coins of the Eastern Han dynasty
Village temple in Linxia County.
A Han-dynasty iron ji (polearm) and iron dagger
Linxia Dongguan Mosque
A gilded bronze oil lamp in the shape of a kneeling female servant, dated 2nd century BC, found in the tomb of Dou Wan, wife of Liu Sheng, King of Zhongshan; its sliding shutter allows for adjustments in the direction and brightness in light while it also traps smoke within the body.
Lanzhou Xiguan Mosque
An array of bronze bells, Western Han dynasty
Ornamental belt buckle, decorated with Chinese mythical creatures. Chiseled and hammered gold, late Han period.
The physical exercise chart; a painting on silk depicting the practice of Qigong Taiji; unearthed in 1973 in Hunan Province, China, from the 2nd-century BC Western Han burial site of Mawangdui, Tomb Number 3.
A pair of stone-carved que (闕) located at the temple of Mount Song in Dengfeng. (Eastern Han dynasty.)
A pair of Han period stone-carved que (闕) located at Babaoshan, Beijing.
A stone-carved pillar-gate, or que (闕), 6 m (20 ft) in total height, located at the tomb of Gao Yi in Ya'an. (Eastern Han dynasty.){{sfnp|Liu|2002|p=55}}
An Eastern-Han vaulted tomb chamber at Luoyang made of small bricks
A Han-dynasty pottery model of two men operating a winnowing machine with a crank handle and a tilt hammer used to pound grain.
A modern replica of Zhang Heng's seismometer
An early Western Han dynasty silk map found in tomb 3 of Mawangdui, depicting the Kingdom of Changsha and Kingdom of Nanyue in southern China (note: the south direction is oriented at the top).
An Eastern Han dynasty pottery boat model with a steering rudder at the stern and anchor at the bow.

Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ningxia (NW) and Inner Mongolia (N).

- Shaanxi

The seventh-largest administrative district by area at 453700 km2, Gansu lies between the Tibetan and Loess plateaus and borders Mongolia (Govi-Altai Province), Inner Mongolia and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south and Shaanxi to the east.

- Gansu

Xi'an – which includes the sites of the former Chinese capitals Fenghao and Chang'an – is the provincial capital as well as the largest city in Northwest China and also one of the oldest cities in China and the oldest of the Four Great Ancient Capitals, being the capital for the Western Zhou, Western Han, Jin, Sui and Tang dynasties.

- Shaanxi

Gansu is abbreviated as "" (Gān) or "" (Lǒng), and was also known as Longxi or Longyou prior to early Western Han dynasty, in reference to the Long Mountain (the modern day Liupan Mountain's southern section) between eastern Gansu and western Shaanxi.

- Gansu

According to the Records of the Grand Historian, after the collapse of the Qin dynasty the hegemon Xiang Yu appointed Liu Bang as prince of the small fief of Hanzhong, named after its location on the Han River (in modern southwest Shaanxi).

- Han dynasty

During the turbulent reign of Wang Mang, China lost control over the Tarim Basin, which was conquered by the Northern Xiongnu in AD 63 and used as a base to invade the Hexi Corridor in Gansu.

- Han dynasty

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Overall

Qin dynasty

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Map showing major states of Eastern Zhou
Map of the Warring States. Qin is shown in pink
Map of the Growth of Qin
Map showing the unification of Qin during 230–221 BC
Qin dynasty's expansion to the south
Stone rubbing of a Han dynasty carved relief depicting Jing Ke's assassination attempt on Qin Shi Huang (right) holding an imperial jade disc. Jing Ke (left) is held by a court physician (background). The dagger is stuck in the pillar. A soldier (far right) rushes to save his emperor.
Dujiangyan, an irrigation project completed in 256 BC during the Warring States period of China by the State of Qin. It is located on the Min River in Sichuan, near the provincial capital of Chengdu. Although a reinforced concrete weir has replaced Li Bing's original weighted bamboo baskets, the layout of the infrastructure remains the same and is still in use today to irrigate over 5,300 square kilometers of land in the region.
Stone slab with twelve small seal characters. Qin Dynasty (221 – 207 BC). The 12 characters on this slab of floor brick affirm that it is an auspicious moment for the First Emperor to ascend the throne, as the country is united and no men will be dying along the road. Small seal scripts were standardized by the First Emperor of China after he gained control of the country, and evolved from the larger seal scripts of previous dynasties. The text on it is "海内皆臣，歲登成熟，道毋飢人".
Terracotta Army, museum of the grave of Qin Shi Huang.
Qin warriors of the Terracotta Army.
An edict in bronze from the reign of the second Qin Emperor

The Qin dynasty, or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization , was the first dynasty of Imperial China, lasting from 221 to 206 BC. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), the dynasty was founded by Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of Qin.

Despite its short reign, however, the lessons and strategies of the Qin shaped the Han dynasty and became the starting point of the Chinese imperial system that lasted from 221 BC, with interruption, development, and adaptation, until 1912 AD.

Sichuan

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Landlocked province in Southwest China occupying most of the Sichuan Basin and the easternmost part of the Tibetan Plateau between the Jinsha River on the west, the Daba Mountains in the north and the Yungui Plateau to the south.

Landlocked province in Southwest China occupying most of the Sichuan Basin and the easternmost part of the Tibetan Plateau between the Jinsha River on the west, the Daba Mountains in the north and the Yungui Plateau to the south.

Bronze head from Sanxingdui, dating from the Shu kingdom
Golden Sun Bird from Jinsha site
A stone-carved gate pillar, or que, 6 m in total height, located at the tomb of Gao Yi in Ya'an, Sichuan, built during the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 CE)
Warlords in China around 194; Liu Bei's takeover of Yi Province meant he seized the positions of Liu Biao and Zhang Lu eventually
The Leshan Giant Buddha, built during the latter half of the Tang dynasty (618–907).
Japanese bombers bombing a Chinese road in Sichuan during WW2
Shops in Jundao, a town devastated by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake
Giant pandas eating bamboo in Chengdu, Sichuan
The capital of Sichuan, Chengdu.
IFS Chengdu Mall Entrance
Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts in Chengdu
Nijia Qiao, South Renmin Road, Chengdu
Sichuan–Tibet Highway passes by Lake Kasa in Luhuo County.
The Yi are the largest ethnic minority group in Sichuan.
Typical vernacular house in Sichuan
Extent of present-day Sichuanese language
Sichuan Education Department
Larix potaninii in autumn colour.
Garzê Prefecture
Zitong County
Linpan in Chengdu Plain is a well-known landmark in Chengdu Plain, Sichuan.
View of the Temple of the Yellow Dragon (Chinese Buddhism) in Huanglong.
Statues of buddhas at Litang Monastery of the Tibetan tradition.
A pavilion of the Shangqing Temple (Taoist) in Qingchengshan, Chengdu.
Golden Temple of Mount Emei (Chinese Buddhism).
Kung Pao chicken, one of the best known dishes of Sichuan cuisine
Mapo doufu
Hot pot in Mala style
Dandan noodles
Mixed sauce noodles ({{lang|zh-hans|杂酱面}})
Jiuzhaigou
Yading
Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area
Waterfalls at Mount Qincheng
Bipenggou Valley
Mount Siguniang Scenic Area
Hailuogou Glacier
Dujiangyan irrigation system
alt=|Mount Emei
{{ill|Baba Temple|zh|巴巴寺}}, a Chinese Sufi mosque in Langzhong.
{{ill|Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Chengdu|es|Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción de Chengdu}} (Roman Catholic)
St John's Cathedral, Langzhong (Anglican)
alt=|Mount Emei

Sichuan neighbors the Qinghai to the northwest, Gansu to the north, Shaanxi to the northeast, Chongqing to the east, Guizhou to the southeast, Yunnan to the south, and the Tibet Autonomous Region to the west.

Following the declining central government of the Han dynasty in the second century, the Sichuan basin, surrounded by mountains and easily defensible, became a popular place for upstart generals to found kingdoms that challenged the authority of Yangtze Valley emperors over China.

Woven silk textile from Tomb No. 1 at Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan province, China, dated to the Western Han Era, 2nd century BCE

Silk Road

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Network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century.

Network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century.

Woven silk textile from Tomb No. 1 at Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan province, China, dated to the Western Han Era, 2nd century BCE
Chinese jade and steatite plaques, in the Scythian-style animal art of the steppes. 4th–3rd century BCE. British Museum.
Achaemenid Persian Empire at its greatest extent, showing the Royal Road.
Soldier with a centaur in the Sampul tapestry, wool wall hanging, 3rd–2nd century BCE, Xinjiang Museum, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.
A ceramic horse head and neck (broken from the body), from the Chinese Eastern Han dynasty (1st–2nd century CE)
Bronze coin of Constantius II (337–361), found in Karghalik, Xinjiang, China
The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism: Mahayana Buddhism first entered the Chinese Empire (Han dynasty) during the Kushan Era. The overland and maritime "Silk Roads" were interlinked and complementary, forming what scholars have called the "great circle of Buddhism".
Central Asia during Roman times, with the first Silk Road
A Westerner on a camel, Northern Wei dynasty (386–534)
Map showing Byzantium along with the other major silk road powers during China's Southern dynasties period of fragmentation.
Coin of Constans II (r. 641–648), who is named in Chinese sources as the first of several Byzantine emperors to send embassies to the Chinese Tang dynasty
A Chinese sancai statue of a Sogdian man with a wineskin, Tang dynasty (618–907)
The empires and city-states of the Horn of Africa, such as the Axumites were important trading partners in the ancient Silk Road.
After the Tang defeated the Gokturks, they reopened the Silk Road to the west.
Marco Polo's caravan on the Silk Road, 1380
Map of Eurasia and Africa showing trade networks, c. 870
The Round city of Baghdad between 767 and 912 was the most important urban node along the Silk Road.
A lion motif on Sogdian polychrome silk, 8th century, most likely from Bukhara
Yuan Dynasty era Celadon vase from Mogadishu.
Map of Marco Polo's travels in 1271–1295
Port cities on the maritime silk route featured on the voyages of Zheng He.
Plan of the Silk Road with its maritime branch
Yangshan Port of Shanghai, China
Port of Trieste
Trans-Eurasia Logistics
The Silk Road in the 1st century
The Nestorian Stele, created in 781, describes the introduction of Nestorian Christianity to China
Fragment of a wall painting depicting Buddha from a stupa in Miran along the Silk Road (200AD - 400AD)
A blue-eyed Central Asian monk teaching an East-Asian monk, Bezeklik, Turfan, eastern Tarim Basin, China, 9th century; the monk on the right is possibly Tocharian, although more likely Sogdian.
Bilingual edict (Greek and Aramaic) by Indian Buddhist King Ashoka, 3rd century BCE; see Edicts of Ashoka, from Kandahar. This edict advocates the adoption of "godliness" using the Greek term Eusebeia for Dharma. Kabul Museum.
A statue depicting Buddha giving a sermon, from Sarnath, 3000 km southwest of Urumqi, Xinjiang, 8th century
Iconographical evolution of the Wind God. Left: Greek Wind God from Hadda, 2nd century. Middle: Wind God from Kizil, Tarim Basin, 7th century. Right: Japanese Wind God Fujin, 17th century.
Caravanserai of Sa'd al-Saltaneh
Sultanhani caravanserai
Shaki Caravanserai, Shaki, Azerbaijan
Two-Storeyed Caravanserai, Baku, Azerbaijan
Bridge in Ani, capital of medieval Armenia
Taldyk pass
Medieval fortress of Amul, Turkmenabat, Turkmenistan
Zeinodin Caravanserai
Sogdian man on a Bactrian camel, sancai ceramic glaze, Chinese Tang dynasty (618–907)
The ruins of a Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) Chinese watchtower made of rammed earth at Dunhuang, Gansu province
A late Zhou or early Han Chinese bronze mirror inlaid with glass, perhaps incorporated Greco-Roman artistic patterns
A Chinese Western Han dynasty (202 BCE – 9 CE) bronze rhinoceros with gold and silver inlay
Han dynasty Granary west of Dunhuang on the Silk Road.
Green Roman glass cup unearthed from an Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 CE) tomb, Guangxi, southern China

The network began with the Han dynasty's expansion into Central Asia around 114 BCE, which largely pacified the once untamed region.

Similar animal-shaped pieces of art and wrestler motifs on belts have been found in Scythian grave sites stretching from the Black Sea region all the way to Warring States era archaeological sites in Inner Mongolia (at Aluchaideng) and Shaanxi (at Keshengzhuang) in China.

The expansion of Scythian cultures, stretching from the Hungarian plain and the Carpathian Mountains to the Chinese Kansu Corridor, and linking the Middle East with Northern India and the Punjab, undoubtedly played an important role in the development of the Silk Road.

Remains of carriages and horses in Fenghao during the Western Zhou (11th–8th cent.BC)

Xi'an

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Remains of carriages and horses in Fenghao during the Western Zhou (11th–8th cent.BC)
East Gate of Xi'an
Meibei Lake, Huyi District, Xi'an
Map including Xi'an (labeled as HSI-AN (SIAN) (walled)) (AMS, 1955)
Muslim Quarter in Xi'an
A pavilion of the City God Temple of Xi'an.
Xi'an Second Ring Road
Xi'an Hi-Tech Industries Development Zone
Xi'an Jiaotong University

Xi'an (, ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province.

Known as Chang'an in much of its history, Xi'an is one of the Chinese Four Great Ancient Capitals, having held the position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including Western Zhou, Western Han, Sui, Northern Zhou and Tang.

At the beginning of Han dynasty, Prime Minister Zhang Liang advised the emperor Liu Bang to choose Guanzhong as the capital of the Han dynasty: "Guanzhong Plain is located behind Mount Xiao and Hangu Pass, and connects Long (Gansu) and Shu (Sichuan). Lands of thousand miles rich in harvest can be found there, as if it belongs to the nation of heaven."

Inner Mongolia

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Landlocked autonomous region of the People's Republic of China.

Landlocked autonomous region of the People's Republic of China.

Persian miniature depicting Genghis Khan entering Beijing
The Northern Yuan at its greatest extent
Mongolia plateau during early 17th century
Inner Mongolia and Outer Mongolia within the Qing dynasty, c. 1820
Mongols stand in front of a yurt, 1912
Delegates of Inner Mongolia People's Congress shouting slogans
Inner Mongolian steppes
Topography of Inner Mongolia in China
Winter in Ulanbutan Grassland, Hexigten Banner
Theater in Hohhot
Inner Mongolia Gymnasium
Muslim-themed Street in Hohhot
A KFC in Hohhot, the capital, with a bilingual street sign in Chinese and Mongolian
Inner Mongolian carpet c. 1870
Temple of the White Sulde of Genghis Khan in the town of Uxin in Inner Mongolia, in the Mu Us Desert. The worship of Genghis is shared by Chinese and Mongolian folk religion.
Sign of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jade dragon of the Hongshan culture (4700 BC – 2900 BC) found in Ongniud, Chifeng
Ulaanbutan grassland
Inner Mongolian grassland
Honorary tomb of Wang Zhaojun (born c. 50BC) in Hohhot
Fresco from the Liao dynasty (907–1125) tomb at Baoshan, Ar Horqin
Khitan people cooking. Fresco from the Liao dynasty (907–1125) tomb at Aohan
Remains of the city Khara-Khoto built in 1032. Located in Ejin Khoshuu, Alxa Aimag
Maidari Juu temple fortress ({{zh|labels=no |c=美岱召 |p=měidài zhào}}) built by Altan Khan in 1575 near Baotou
Newly built arch in front of the Maidari Juu temple fortress (1575)
Da Zhao temple (also called Ikh Zuu) built by Altan Khan in 1579
Badekar Monastery (1749) near Baotou, Inner Mongolia. Called Badgar Zuu in Mongolian
Five Pagoda temple (1727) in Hohhot
Badain Jaran temple (1868) in western Inner Mongolia
Genghis Khan Mausoleum (1954)
Genghis Khan Mausoleum (1954)
Alshaa mountain scenery
Alxa Western Monastery (Alshaa Baruun Hiid) built in 1756

The Autonomous Region was established in 1947, incorporating the areas of the former Republic of China provinces of Suiyuan, Chahar, Rehe, Liaobei and Xing'an, along with the northern parts of Gansu and Ningxia.

During the Western Han dynasty, Emperor Wu sent the general Wei Qing to reconquer the Hetao region from the Xiongnu in 127 BC. After the conquest, Emperor Wu continued the policy of building settlements in Hetao to defend against the Xiong-Nu.

It borders eight provincial-level divisions in all three of the aforementioned regions (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia, and Gansu), tying with Shaanxi for the greatest number of bordering provincial-level divisions.