Xianyang Museum,which was originally a Confucian temple,was reconstructed and open to the bubic in 1962. Xianyang City is 28 kilometers away from Xi'an.It was the capital of the famous Qin Dynasty in Chinese history.The First Qin Emperor gained power in Xianyang and established the first centralized feudal multinational state.After the unification of the six kingdoms,the whole populace was order to build "imperial chariot roads",There wide roads were used for horses and chariots.There were three major roads which radiated from Xianyang .One went eastward to Hebei,Liaoning and Shangdong.Another went south to Jiangsu,Zhejiang,Hunan,Hubei,Jiangxi and Anhui ,and the third to Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.The roads played an important role in the flow of products,the movement of the army and the consolidation of the national unification.In order to strengthen the power of the central government,the First Qin Emperor gave orders to set up palaces with distinctive features on the slope north of Xianyang.Here all members of the imperial families from the former six kingdoms wer put under house arrest.At the same time,he moved almost 20,000 noble and rich families from the six kingdoms to Xianyang,which was already a prosperous metropolis with about 1,000,000 people at that time.
Xianyang was a vital link of communication to the northweast part of China during the Han Dynasty.It was also the imperial cemetery during the Western Han period.Of the eleven emperors of this period,nine were buried here. Therefore,Xianyang is known for its cultural and historical artifacts from the Qin and the Han dynasties.Xianyang Museum focuses on the historical artifacts of these two dynasties.Its construction is 3,855 square meters and the exhibition area is 1,216 square meters.It houses 15,000 or more cultural artifacts,out of which 4,000 are now on display.The museum consisters of seven exhibition halls. The First Exhibition Hall
The exhibits in this hall concentrate on the production tools,weapons,weights and measures,and srticles of daily use from the Qin Dynasty.
The Second Exhibition Hall
This hall mainly contains the cultural artifacts unearthed from the site of No. 1 Palace of the Qin capital,Xianyang.The site lies in the site was excavated between 1974 and 1975.
The Third Exhibition Hall
This hall mainly contains the cultural artifacts unearthes from the site of No.3 Palace in Xianyang,the Qin capital .No.3 Palace is situated to the southwest of No.1 Palace,and they are about 100 meters apart.It covers an area of 7,020 square meters.
The Fourth Exhibition Hall
The exhibits in the Fourth Exhibition Hall involve the cultural artifacts from the Western Han Dynasty.The iron farm implements and the grains in the pottery granary show the wide employment of iron tools and the popularization of plowing by cows in the Han Dynasty
The Fifth and Sixth Exhibition Hall
In these two halls,the main exhibits are the painted pottery wariors unearthed from a Han tomb in Yangjiawan.
The Seventh Exhibition Hall
Here on display in this hall are the cultrual artifacts unearthed from tombs of Western Han emperor.
