As the birthplace and growth place of Chinese civilization, Xi'an played a pivotal role in ancient Chinese history. Like Nanjing and Beijing, Xi'an is also an "imperial state since ancient times". Among the thirteen dynasties, the most prosperous was the Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang dynasties. Xi'an has witnessed the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period when soldiers fought against each other, and also witnessed the prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty on the Silk Road, and all these historical evidences are preserved in the Shaanxi History Museum.

Despite the word "Shaanxi" in its name, the Shaanxi History Museum is no ordinary local museum, having opened in 1991 as China's first large-scale modern national museum. Shaanxi Libo is located in the small village, covers an area of 65,000 square meters, the design of the building by the Chinese Academy of Engineering academician Zhang Jinqiu, for the Tang style building, the chessboard building pattern is rigorous, the structure is symmetrical, the appearance is magnificent, the scale is large. Shaanxi Libo is a comprehensive historical museum with more than 1.7 million cultural relics, ranging from stone artifacts used in the primitive period to various artifacts before the Opium War. The number of its cultural relics, the variety of variety, and the preciousness of the value make Shaanxi Libo known as the "treasure house of China".

In terms of status, it is second only to the Palace Museum and the National Museum of China, but in terms of the number of collections of the Qin and Tang dynasties, Shaanxi Libo far exceeds the previous two, and there are also many national treasure-level collections. The Duhu Fu used to mobilize the war during the Qin period is a national treasure in the first exhibition hall, and was known to everyone in the program "National Treasure" in 2017. The Ding in the same exhibition hall also belongs to the treasure of the town hall, which is far larger than other bronze tripods in size, and the inscription on the tripod reflects the land state of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and has become an important historical material for the study of the Western Zhou Dynasty society.

The number of Sui and Tang cultural relics in Shaanxi Libo is huge, which can be called the largest number of museums in various places. To this end, in addition to the regular exhibition halls, the museum has also specially added two special exhibition halls for the cultural relics of the Tang Dynasty, namely the "Special Exhibition of Tang Dynasty Relics (Treasure Hall)" and the "Tang Dynasty Mural Treasures Exhibition", which cover all aspects of entertainment, painting, calligraphy, sculpture, architecture, diplomacy and other aspects of the Sui and Tang dynasties, and satisfy the public's curiosity about the social life of the Tang Dynasty. From the three-color terracotta figurines in different postures, the murals of the royal tombs of the Tang Dynasty, to the exotic sea beast grape mirrors and Persian silver coins, we can get a glimpse of the daily life and social customs of the Tang people thousands of years ago. The plump figures of ladies and the intricately decorated gilt lacquer boxes greatly aroused the curiosity of female tourists about the makeup of Tang Dynasty women. Among the massive cultural relics of the Tang Dynasty, the gold-inlaid beast head agate cup and the silver sachet with grape flower and bird pattern are all national treasure-level cultural relics, and the silver sachet given to Yang Guifei by Tang Xuanzong was selected into the 2017 "National Treasure" because of the exquisite craftsmanship and allusions.

There are three basic exhibition halls in Shaanxi Libo, and the three exhibition halls serve as the main line for a time, displaying cultural relics and treasures from the primitive era to the end of the Qing Dynasty. The first exhibition hall is the pre-Qin exhibition hall, which displays the cultural relics from the prehistoric ape man to the Qin Dynasty. The second exhibition hall is dominated by cultural relics of the Han Dynasty and the Wei and Jin Dynasties, during the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the regime changes were frequent, Buddhism rose, and the cultural relics were mostly military servants and Buddha statues. The third exhibition hall mainly displays cultural relics of the Sui and Tang dynasties.

Among the two special exhibition halls, the mural hall is lined with authentic murals of the imperial tombs of the Tang Dynasty, many of which are national treasures and first-class murals. Due to the heavy weight of the murals and the high cost of transporting, repairing and preserving, the ticket price of the mural museum is set at 300 yuan per person, which is much higher than that of other museums in China. If the tour lasts less than one day, it is not recommended to visit the mural exhibition. The hall is equipped with a high-definition digital cinema, which broadcasts "Tang Memory" exclusively, and is equipped with a touch query system to help visitors better understand the content of the murals.

Although there is a text introduction to the cultural relics in the museum, it is relatively simple, and it is a little boring to watch alone, so it is recommended that several people hire a manual docent in groups. The docents are professionally trained and familiar with the cultural relics in the museum, and in addition to introducing the cultural relics, they are also interspersed with many interesting historical stories, adding a lot of fun to the museum tour. Shaanxi Libo implements a free and non-free ticket policy, the regular exhibition hall is free, visitors can make an appointment on the official website one day in advance, and the next day with ID cards, passports and other valid documents to get tickets for free. However, the number of free tickets is limited to 6,000 per day, 3,000 in the morning and afternoon, while stocks last. In the special exhibition hall, the ticket for the treasure exhibition is 30 yuan, and it is recommended that visitors can buy tickets for the treasure exhibition to enter the museum, the price is low and more affordable.

In 2018, a restaurant was opened on the basement floor of the west passage, called "Chronicle Restaurant". The restaurant is large and can accommodate about two hundred people. The restaurant offers a variety of fast food, coffee, and desserts, with a mediocre taste, and the main purpose is to satisfy hunger. If you are not satisfied with the food in the museum, you can also bring your own dry food and eat in the corridor of the museum. There is a rest area for visitors in the lobby on the first floor of the museum for visitors to sit and rest when they are tired.

Shaanxi History Museum is located in the center of the city, the bus line is developed, No. 5, No. 19, No. 26 and other buses pass here, and it is not far from the Xiaozhai subway entrance, you can transfer to Metro Line 2 and 3. The roads near the museum are narrow, there are many one-way routes, and traffic jams often occur, so public transportation is the best choice.

Suggested tour time: more than 2 hours

Reference ticket price: free of charge for the regular exhibition hall, 30 yuan for the Datang Treasures Exhibition, and 300 yuan for the Datang Treasures Exhibition.

Automatic audio guide: deposit 100 yuan, rent 30 yuan. Available in five languages: Chinese, English, French, Japanese, and Korean.

Guide:

Basic exhibition hall - 100 yuan for Chinese explanation, 150 yuan for English explanation

Tang Treasures Exhibition - 50 yuan for Chinese explanation, 100 yuan for English explanation

Tang Dynasty Mural Treasures Museum - 50 yuan for Chinese explanation, 100 yuan for English explanation

Opening Hours:

Peak season 8:30-18:00 (last check-in at 16:30)

Off-season 9:00-17:30 (last check-in at 16:30)

Tips：1. Closed on Mondays; 2. Do not bring a selfie stick, and do not turn on the flash when taking pictures; 3. Try to travel as lightly as possible; 4. You can bring your own dry food, drinks can be bought after entering the museum, and there are vending machines in the museum.