One of Xi'an's major attractions, this museum has a collection of 370,000 items chronicling Shaanxi civilization from as far back as prehistoric times. Though still shy of the size of the collection at Beijing's Palace Museum (where most items are not on display), this roomy modern museum showcases the largest number of pieces among all the Chinese musuems. The collection is strong especially from the pre-Ming periods, reflecting Xi'an's later decline.

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Tang-dynasty style architecture		stone lion orginally guarding the tomb of the mother of empress Wu Zetian [武则天] (624-705)	skull of Lantian Man [蓝田猿人] from the Old Stone Age (1.15 million years ago)	stone tools (1.15 million years ago)	pottery jar with pointed bottom [尖底瓶水器] (5000 - 7000 yrs ago)
water vessels (5000-7000 yrs ago)	cooking pot from the New Stone age (4,100 to 4,900 yrs ago)	cooking tripod and food container (1,238 to 1,140 BC)	cooking tripod (16th to 11th century BC)		water vessel (about 771 BC)
wine vessle [酒器] (947-858 BC)	chime bell [祚钟]	bell [师丞钟]	stone drum with inscribed article [石鼓文] from Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)	wine kettle	tiger-shaped tally [虎符] issued to generals to authorize the mobilization of troops
	seal used by the empress			terracotta soldiers [汉兵马俑] of Western Han dynasty (206 BC- AD 24)	jade and gold coins from Western Han [玉五铢与金五铢]
pottery mold for coin making [元凤五铢陶范]	Goose-Fish Lamb [雁鱼灯] (Western Han)	Golden Monster	pottery figures from Northern Wei [北魏] (386-524)		jade Buddha

Yan-Bin Jia