Xi’an, China has two museums for travelers and locals to learn the history of the area. The Shaanxi Archaeological Museum was recently completed in Xi’an, China and will be open to the public on a trial basis from April 28. The Xi’an Museum had also officially unveiled its “new look” after five months of upgrading and renovation.

“Museums are part of a city’s cultural identity and a place for people to feel the history, understand the present and explore the future,” explained the The Party Xi’an Municipal Committee and Municipal Government in an announcement. “Xi’an, China, has made great efforts to make itself into a City of Museums, devoting itself to transforming its advantages in cultural heritage resources, developing its urban culture in the style of Xi’an, and highlighting its unique charm as a thousand-year ancient capital. The Party Xi’an Municipal Committee and Municipal Government proposed to protect the city’s cultural treasures, develop the city’s cultural value, and make culture a bridge between Xi’an and the world.”

According to the committee, the Shaanxi Archaeological Museum is focused on the “process of archaeological work, techniques, and research ideas.” The museum features an indoor exhibition area of 5,800 square meters and an outdoor exhibition area of 10,000 square meters, with 5,215 cultural relics on display. One of those exhibits includes a Tang Dynasty cameleer figurine that is still intact after thousands of years, a Western Zhou Dynasty horse and chariot pits, and Yuan Dynasty fresco tomb.

The Xi’an Museum consists of three parts: the Tang Small Wild Goose Pagoda (Xiaoyan Pagoda), the ancient architectural complex of Jianfu Temple, and the museum area. The goal is a modern history museum that integrates museums, historic sites, and gardens. The museum welcomed visitors with its “new look” in early April, with more than 1,100 pieces of cultural relics from the collection in the 1,300-square-meter exhibition hall. Those relics include a golden tiger ornament from the Warring States Period, opera figures bronze paperweight from the Han Dynasty, and a painted infantry figurine. The relics represent the history of Xi’an.

“With a city history of 3,100 years, Xi’an, along with Cairo, Athens and Rome, is known as one of the ‘Four Ancient Capitals of History.’ Today, thousands of years of time and historical traces are concentrated in museums of all sizes in Xi’an,” said the committee. “Xi’an has as many as 134 registered museums, covering more than 40 types such as history, art and natural science. The Overall Plan for the Construction of the City of Museums in Xi’an issued in 2019 set up the spatial framework for the construction of the City of Museums in Xi’an, making Xi’an truly an ‘everyday history museum’ that can be heard anytime, seen anywhere and spoken about randomly.”