Shaanxi Province stands out as one of the cradles of the Chinese nation and its long civilization. Before the 10th century, it had been the political, economic and cultural center of China. For a duration of more than 1,100 years, Xi'an served as the capital for fourteen feudal dynasties, including the Zhou, the Qin, the Han,the Sui and the Tang. Shaanxi Province has abundant cultural and historical relics. There are 35,750 identified historical sites across the region, with 55 at the state level and 372 at the provincial level. It houses 56,000 pieces of historical relics,with 3,526 at the first-class level and 123 at the state level. The province ranks first on the national list in the density, quantity and grade of cultural relics. Shaanxi Province is reputed as a
natural Chinese history museum, which houses a complete array of historical sites representative of different historical periods. Among the famous historical relics are the site of the Lantian Ape Man over one million years of age; the site of a 6,000- year-old primitive village at Banpo; the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor(worshipped as their first ancestor by the Chinese people); the site of the capital city of the Zhou Dynasty;the First Qin Emperor's Mausoleum; Emperor Wudi's Mausoleum and its
stone carvings; Sakyamuni's finger bones and other treasures in the Underground Palace of the Famen Temple; Shaanxi History Museum with modern architectural features; Xi'an Forest of Steles(known as a "library of stone inscriptions" of high artistic value); Qiling Mausoleum for
Empress Wu Zetian and Emperor Gao Zong(Li Zhi); Xi'an City Wall (the most sizable and complete of its kind in China); the sacred revolutionary base Yan'an and its relics.