Arrived at Xianyang Airport, Xi’an.
Travel tip: After we reached the Xianyang Xi’an airport, we did not go straight to Xi’an city centre. (The airport is ACTUALLY located in Xianyang City, a historical city in itself but not well-promoted. The airport is 38km from Xi’an City centre). we stayed for 3 nights at a homestay/motel just next to the airport (3km). 340 Yuan for 3 nights for a twin bed room. We then visited a few historical sites in this area..
We visited the royal tombs of the early kings of the State of Zhou 周朝, a few kilometers a way from our homestay. if you are a Chinese history bug, it is a superb opportunity to pay homage to the famous Zhou kings (King Wen 周文王 and King Wu 周武王) 3000 years ago! Zhou Dynasty started in 1046BC and ended in 256BC, the longest ruling dynansty in ancient China.
King Wu gave the title “King Wen (文王)” to his father after becoming king and posthumously honored him as the founder of the Zhou dynasty.
Royal tomb of King Wu of the State of Zhou (周武王)
Royal tomb of King Wen of the State of Zhou (周文王)
The tomb of one of the greatest thinker & strategist in ancient China, Jiang Ziya (姜子牙)
We took a stroll at the Xianyang city centre which is 32km form the airport. Many people are unaware that Xianyang city has longer history than Xi’an (I guess Xi’an is more promoted for tourism purpose and due to the discovery of Terracotta). Xianyang was the capital city of State of Qin 秦国 for 144 years and it was the capital city of Emperor Qin Shi Huang when he conquered the other 6 states and unified China in 221BC !!
Simple local breakfast at the homestay in Xianyang.
Travel tip: It is a must-visit museum when you fly in to Xianyang/Xi’an. This a NEWly opened museum called The Qin Han Museum of the Shaanxi History Museum (not to be confused with the ‘old’ Shaanxi Provincial Museum located in Xi’an city centre!!) you can get a good overview of Qin & Han dynasties in this new museum.
Travel tip: It is ONLY a half an hour drive from the Xianyang International Airport, or a few MRT/Subway stations away form the airport. Even if you are not staying overnight in Xianyang City, you ca easily make a day trip to this highly recommended museum to appreciate this part of the Chinese history!
Travel tip: This IS actually the easiest and fastest way to have a CLOSE ENCOUNTER with a terracotta Warrior from Emperor Qin ShiHuang’s tomb!!! Or else you have to visit the Terracotta Army Mausoleum Museum which is an hour bus ride from Xi’an City Centre; or visit the Shaanxi Provincial Museum in Xi’an City Centre (which is now very difficult to even get a ticket to visit it now. We could get our tickets during our recent April 2-24 trip as it is one of the most popular museums in China now!)
This is the famous bronze coin 半两 minted during the Qin Dynasty.
One of the most important “inventions” introduced by Emperor Qin Shihuang was standardization of weight and volume measurements; width of road; Chinese writing, coinage, etc. so that all the 7 states unified by him could integrate and also made it efficient (or even possible) to rule the empire. That is one of the reasons why he is considered the GREATEST ruler in more than 5000 years of Chinese history!!! AND that’s the reason you see the China today is a unified nation, unlike Europe today which have many different countries!!!
Travel tip: The collections and exhibits of this new museum may not be as rich and extensive as many other museums in China, but to me it is a good OVERVIEW of Chinese history (for the period pf Qin & Han dynasties), so it is like a good INTRODUCTION of ancient Chinese history if you are not (yet) familiar with the ;omg Chinese history..