Located on the eastern outskirts of Xi’an，
the Banpo Museum is the first on-location prehistoric relics museum in China．The five excavations lasted from 1953 to 1957．Banpo is one of the largest villages of Yangshao Culture(c．5000—3000 BC)，a Neolithic culture characterized by a fine painted pottery；named after Yangshao，Henan Province，where remains were first discovered in l921．Visitors from home and abroad can see how villagers in a matriarchal clan community lived in the Yellow River reaches some 6．000 years ago-Encompassing some 50，000 square metres，the museum consists of dwelling areas，a pottery—making centre，and a burial ground．The size of the habitation area is about 30，000 square metres．One fifth of the whole village ( an area of l0，000 square metres)has already been exhumed with a surrounding moat about 5 metres deep and 6 metres wide．The cemetery is located north of the moat．To the east of the moat is the pottery- manufacturing centre．The distribution of the habitation area，the pottery manufacturing centre and the cemetery reflects the Banpo people’s idea of pianning．Among the ruins are 46 dwellings，two domestic animal pens，more than 200 storage pits，six pottery kilns and 250 graves，including 73 outrival jars for children．About l0.000 artifacts have been exhumed，together with a large number of animal bones and fruit pits. The museum is composed of three exhibition halls for cultural relics, a main exhibition hall on the site and a temporary exhibition hall. Exhibits on display include tools and utensils. The museum was set up and opened to the public in 1958. 
Banpo Museum 
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