Wei River Valley

This valley is a major geological trough, bounded on the south by a vast complex of faults and fractures along the base of the Qin Mountains; it is a zone of considerable seismic instability, especially vulnerable to earthquakes. The northern border of the Wei River trench…

The Wei River valley has a much drier and somewhat colder climate. Average winter temperatures are about 32 °F (0 °C), and the frost-free period lasts for about 240 days. Total precipitation is between 20 and 25 inches (500 to 640 mm), mostly falling between May…

Since prehistoric times, the Wei River valley has formed part of the main east-west route running from the North China Plain in the east to the Hexi (Gansu) Corridor and the steppelands in the west. Xi’an is a natural transport hub. There the great east-west route of the Silk…

…in the valley of the Wei River in the present province of Shaanxi. The fertility of the loess soil there apparently made a great impression on these people, who had already been engaged in farming when they entered their new homeland. A walled city was built, and a new nation…

Historically, the Wei River valley was the earliest centre of Chinese civilization and until the 10th century ad was the site of a succession of capital cities. The area around the junction of the Jing and the Wei rivers was also the site of the first ambitious…