A bird's-eye view of the newly opened Shaanxi History Museum's Qin-Han Civilization Museum in Xixian New Area, Shaanxi province. [PHOTO BY ZOU HONG/CHINA DAILY]

New branch of the Shaanxi History Museum places achievements of Qin and Han dynasties in wider context, Wang Ru and Qin Feng in Xi'an report.

As they pass through the doorway between two towering quelou — traditional ceremonial gate towers — and walk up the 90 steps to the main building of the Shaanxi History Museum's new Qin-Han Civilization Museum, visitors may experience a sense of solemnity as they arrive at the complex, which is based on Qin (221-206 BC) and Han (206 BC-AD 220) dynasty palaces.

Designed by architect Zhang Jinqiu, who is also an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the buildings resemble traditional Qin and Han dynasty palaces, which were often built on high, rammed earth platforms.

As the first museum in the country specially dedicated to the Qin and Han dynasty civilizations, this branch of the Shaanxi History Museum is currently in a soft opening and will officially welcome visitors in May.

"If the Shaanxi History Museum is seen as a great overview of Chinese history, then its Qin-Han Civilization Museum is the volume dedicated to the Qin and Han," says Ren Xueli, director of the Shaanxi History Museum's exhibition department.