Xianyang Museum in Xian

Xianyang Museum in Xian

Xianyang Museum Facts

Located on Zhongshan Street, in Xianyang City, the Xianyang Museum is a famous local history museum in China. Originally a Confucian Temple, it was opened to the public in 1962 after reconstruction and expansion. About 28 kilometers (some 17 miles) away from Xi'an City, Xianyang City was the capital of the Qin Dynasty (221BC - 206BC) and also the central location of the Han Dynasty 's(206BC-220) Mausoleums.

Type: Culture & Museums, Historical Museum

Address:  53 Zhongshan Street, Xianyang, Shaanxi Province

Best Seasons: All year around

Recommended Visiting Hours: about 2 hours

Opening Hours: 09:00-17:30 (Closed on Mondays and last entry at 17:00)

Admission Fee: free

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Why is Xianyang Museum So Special?

  1. The Xianyang Museum is one of the famous museums in China. It mainly has collections of the Qin (221 BC to 206 BC) and Han Dynasty (206 BC to 9 AD) eras.
  2. Xianyang was the capital city of the Qin Empire. The Qin Dynasty controlled the first large empire in the land, and the boundaries established during the Qin Empire were maintained and enlarged upon by the Western Han Empire.
  3. Its chief attraction is this museum, which houses a remarkable collection of 3000 50cm-tall terracotta soldiers and horses, excavated from the tomb of Liu Bang, the first Han emperor, in 1965.

Where is The Xianyang Museum？

Located on Zhongshan Street, in Xianyang City, the Xianyang Museum is a famous local history museum in China. Originally a Confucian Temple, it was opened to the public in 1962 after reconstruction and expansion.

About 28 kilometers (some 17 miles) away from Xi’an City, Xianyang City was the capital of the Qin Dynasty (221BC – 206BC) and also the central location of the Han Dynasty ‘s(206BC-220) Mausoleums. Accordingly, the cultural relics in the Xianyang Museum focus on the Qin Dynasty and the Han Dynasty.

History of Xianyang Museum

Xianyang was capitaln in Qin Dynasty,is the center of policy, economy and culture. Xianyang Museum is not only a place which the Qin kingdom set as the capital, but also a mainly relic with the Han mausoleum cluster. Originally, it was an Confucian Temple in 1371, and later it was Xianyang Temple built in the early Ming Dynasty and it turned into Xianyang Museum ,at last it was opened to the public in 1962. 

Qin Dynasty

Qin Shi Huang who was the first emperor of the Qin Empire was ruthless, but he succeeded in making the area’s first big empire that stretched from Korea to areas south of the Yangtze River. It covered most of Central China north of the Yangtze River. During that time, the various cultures and countries in the area were merged together. He used the human labor to build huge construction projects. He also destroyed much of the religious and philosophical texts of his time as he tried to wipe out opposition, so the Han Empire that emerged from the Qin Empire had a standard of philosophical and religious ideas. The Qin Dynasty wasn’t popular, and it lasted for only fifteen years.

Han Dynasty

The next dynastic clan called the Western Han Dynasty lasted for much longer. It lasted more than 200 years. The people in the empire were much more prosperous, and the population grew substantially. The population in the Qin Empire collapsed due to the warfare and purges. The Western Han Empire also added territory, so it was much bigger. Members of the Han Dynasty built a terracotta army that resembles the better known Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang Di’s mausoleum. About 3,000 statues of the Western Han are on display in the fifth and sixth exhibition halls. They are arranged in formation. The mock army is more than 2,000 years old.

Main Attractions

Relics in Exhibition Halls

Xianyang Museum has 9 exhibition halls that showcase 10,000 relics like the halls showcasing historical relics that were excavated from the ancient Xianyang City, 3000 color painted terra cotta figurines, religious relics and Xianyang stone stele.

Historical Relics from Xianyang

The museum has 3 halls showcasing historical relics that depict the 140 year old history since the capital had been built in the Xianyang City. The first hall mainly introduces the background of the capital’s setting in the city.

It highlights the huge innovation of military power, economy and agriculture, unifying measures and weights and the other 6 kingdoms. The second exhibition hall is mainly for the achievements in architecture. The third exhibition hall displays the site of Xianyang palace, the site for handicraft workshop as well as handicrafts such as silk, jade ware, bronze ware and pottery.

Horse Figurines

Xianyang Museum is home to 50 relics of horse figures that had been excavated from the site of the ancient city. This showcase the strong relationship that ancient china’s agriculture, war and traffic had with horses. There are various kinds of horses here such as a horse with the body of a man, horses with horns and wings that embody the respect and apotheosis to horse.

3000 Color Painted Terra-cotta Figures

Throughout the northern Xianyang City, there are 9 tombs of emperors as well as hundreds of other tombs from the Han Dynasty. The museum also has 3000 color painted terra cotta figurines in the hall that had been excavated from the Cahngling Tomb’s accompanying tomb. It includes 583 figures riding on horses and 1965 soldier figures.

The 3000 color painted terra cotta figurines are the large scaled figures to be excavated earliest in the country. This founded the image of the imperial armed escorts as well as showcased the powerful military strength during the Han Dynasty. These figures can be found in exhibition halls 4 and 5.

How to get to Xianyang Museum

Travel with ChinaDragonTours (top recommended)

If you want to get out of the traffic and hassle of navigation, you can book a private tour package that includes visiting, dining and transfer from us. Our local guide and driver will escort you to the Xianyang Museum in Xi’an in the fastest and most convenient way and take care of all the details. You just have to focus on the visiting.

Independent Travelerh

Take Xi’an metro line 1 to Houweizhai first, and then you have two options:
1. Take bus Fu 21 to Bowuguan (Museum);
2. Take bus 13 to Gudu Gongyuan (Gudu Park), and then transfer to Xianyang bus 19 to Bowuguan (Museum).
Xi’an Bus / Metro Search

Useful Travel Tips

  1. Tel: 029-33213015
  2. Tip: There are smoking areas, free tea, emergent medicines, and information service in Xianyang Tourist Service Center. Travelers can have a vivid overview of Xianyang Museum by watching a multimedia introduction.
  3. Other Museums in Xianyang: The Qingling Mausoleum of the Tang Dynasty and the Qingling Museum are also in Xianyang. During a visit there, you can see the artifacts and the mausoleum of the early Tang Dynasty rulers who lived about 700 years after the Western Han Empire ended. The Qianling Museum was built in the area of the Mausoleum of Princess Yongtai that is a part of the Qianling Mausoleum complex.

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