Xi’an is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain in Northwest China, it is one of the Chinese Four Great Ancient Capitals, having held the position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Sui, Northern Zhou and Tang. Since the 1980s, as part of the economic growth of inland China especially for the central and northwest regions, Xi’an has re-emerged as a cultural, industrial, political and educational centre of the entire central-northwest region.