Shaanxi Province, called “Shan” for short, is located at the middle reach of the Yellow River with an area of 190 thousand square kilometers and a population of 33.40 million.

The northern part of Shaanxi Province is loess plateau, the southern part is of Qinba mountainous region and the middle part is of Weihe River Plain. Plateau occupies about 45%, mountainous region occupies about 36% and the plain occupies about 19% of the total area. The southern part of the Qing Ridge belongs to the water system of the Yangtze River, while the northern part of it belongs to the water system of the Yellow River. From north to south, the climate belongs to semi-dry monsoon temperate zone, semi-wet and semi-dry monsoon warm temperate zone and moist monsoon sub-tropical zone respectively. The coal reserve is among the top in the whole country, and there are iron, manganese, copper, aluminum, molybdenum, lead, zinc, gold and petroleum deposit as well.

The main industries are of machine building, textile, electron, chemistry, foodstuff and energy etc. among which the machine building, textile and electron are the important industrial base of the whole country. In agriculture, the main products are wheat and cotton while flax is the important cash crop. The main communication is railway but the highway is also very convenient.

Shaanxi Province is one of the central areas of ancient civilization of China. It has rich historic and cultural resources and many places of historic interest and scenic beauty. The main spots are Qinshihuang Tomb (the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty), tomb figures of terra-cotta warriors and horses, Forest of Steles, Tower of Wild Goose, Mountain Huashan etc. The famous traditional specialties are Xifeng wine, black rice, fragrant rice, Huojin persimmon and Lingtong pomegranate etc.