Banpo Museum / Xi'an Attractions

The Banpo Museum is located in the eastern of Xi'an city, 9 kilometers from the center of the city. It houses the site of a 6,000-year-old village, which belongs to a Neolithic matriarchal clan community. The site was named "Banpo" because it was unearthed near the present-day Banpo Village. The site was discovered in 1953.With the five excavations from 1984 to 1957,nearly 10,000 relics were unearthed. The site covers an area of more than 10,000 square meters which is one fifth of the total square .In 1958, the first museum of Neolithic site were founded in China.

Banpo is a typical site of the Yangshao Culture which belonged to China's Neolithic Age. Remains of the Culture were located mainly in the middle and lower reach of the Yellow River. Yangshao Culture is also known as "the Painted Pottery Culture." More than 400 sites of the Yangshao Culture have been discovered in Central Shaanxi Plain of the Yellow River Valley. Thus the Yellow River Valley has always enjoyed the reputation of being the cradle of China's ancient culture.

At that time, the Banpo people used tools made primarily of wood and stone. Women, the crucial labor force, were responsible for making pottery, spinning, and raising the family, while men fished. All these finds give evidence to the fact that matriarchal clan community came to its prime.

According to the archaeological survey, the village is divided into three sections: the living section, the pottery-making section and the burial section. By means of scientific excavation, archaeologists have discovered nearly 10,000 production tools or daily utensils, 46 houses, 2 pigsties, 200 cellars, 174 burial pits for adults and 73 burial jars for children. The discovery of so many artifacts is indeed unprecedented.