Volunteer Work and Teach Abroad Programs in China!

The Heart of the Country

	Shaanxi Province

Shaanxi Province is located in the very heart of China. Boasting a population of more than 36 million in an area of over 200,000 square kilometers (about 77,225 square miles), Shaanxi includes most of the middle stretch of the Yellow River. Because of it's central location, Shaanxi serves as a vital industrial, transportation, and communication junction for the country. Some of China's earliest inhabitants lived in this region, and began spreading their culture along the life-sustaining Yellow River. Throughout the province's long history, 13 dynasties established capitals here, including the Zhou, the Qin, the Han, and the Tang. Because of this rich history, cultural relics and ruins are plentiful, and may be found preserved both above- and underground. So Shaanxi is called the "authentic history museum" of China

Historic attractions are numerous. One of the oldest is the Banpo Village Remains, the site of a 6000-year-old village which belongs to the Neolithic Age. In the capital city, Xi'an, you can see the City Wall, which was begun in the Han Dynasty, a century before the Christian era, and is now the largest and most well-preserved ancient wall, existing in China. Many ancient structures and temples remain to this day, such as the Big Goose Pagoda built in 652, Famen Temple, Bell Tower and Drum Tower. Perhaps best known is the amazing Museum of Qin Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses who guard a site honored as the Eighth Great Wonder of the world.

Shaanxi is also abundant in natural beauty beyond its rich historical legacy. As one of the five best-known mountains in China, Mt. Huashan, 120 kilometers (or 46 miles) east of Xi'an, is famous for its breath-taking cliffs and awe-inspiring landscape. The Hukou waterfall on Yellow River, the second biggest one in China, is very overbearing and magnificent. And Moutain Lishan and the nearby Huaqing Hot Springs are very attractive. Their beautiful legends will bring you into a moving love story between Emperor Xuanzong and a beauty named Yang Guifei.

Shaanxi is both a base area of Chinese new-democratic revolution and a place with unique folk customs. The loud resounding Shaanxi opera, the joyous clattering of gongs and drums, the exquisite paper-cutouts and the peasants' paintings full of a rich flavor of life attract more and more tourists' attention from home and abroad.

There are 47 universities and colleges in the province, 27 of which are for continued education, plus 63 newly established community colleges with a total number of some 510,000 students and a faculty of 73,000.

Check dates for a service program in Shaanxi Province

Volunteer Work Abroad Programs were initiated through a partnership of the Haikou Municipal Education Bureau on Hainan Island, the Teachers Education University in Kun Ming, several university and secondary schools in Xi' An, and Global Volunteers,
375 E. Little Canada Rd. St. Paul, MN 55117 800-487-1074 © 2008
email: volunteerinchina@globalvolunteers.org
Volunteer In China