ICBNPTM 2011

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Saturday, 02 April 2011 09:21

The 3rd International Conference of Bioinformatics, Natural Products and Traditional Medicine

Conference Information

Natural Products are one of the most important field of drug discovery and the basis of many exciting new developments in production of healthcare products, vitamins, agrochemicals, etc. Traditional medicine is a great treasure accumulated by human combating with diseases in long civilization history. A lot of new drug discoveries come from the results of traditional medicine investigation. Traditional medicine, such as traditional Chinese medicine, still has popular application in clinic to anti-SARS, anti-influenza H1N1 and other major diseases. On the other hand, antibiotics are the greatest discovery in the human medical history. But along with multi-drug resistance increasingly, a lot antibiotics lost their therapeutic power. In contrast, many traditional Chinese herb drugs have been used over thousands years, none of them lost their therapeutic power because of drug resistance. This phenomenon encourages us to uncover the mechanism. Possibly, it gives us the new hopes in anti-major diseases from the traditional medicine. Bioinformatics is the application of statistics and computer science to the field of molecular biology. Its methodology is also suitable to and can accelerate the natural products and traditional medicine research. Therefore, we organized International Conference of Bioinformatics, Natural Products and Traditional Medicine, invited multidisciplinary experts to discuss and exchange innovative information, in order to find new strategies and methods in anti-major diseases, such as cancers, infectious diseases etc. with great successes. Now, we invite you to participate in the 3^rd International Conference of Bioinformatics, Natural Products and Traditional Medicine(ICBNPTM 2011)with the theme "Search the Alternative Strategy to Combat Major Diseases from Traditional Medicine ".

ICBNPTM' 2011 will showcase original bioinformatics, natural products and traditional medicine researches through keynote and plenary presentations, oral and poster presentations, and parallel sessions. We quite appreciate your great achievements in the field of Bioinformatics, Natural Products and Traditional Medicine and sincerely invite you to attend this conference.

Organization

Sponsors:

Northwest University

Xi'an National Bio-pharmaceutical Incubator

IEEE Wuhan Section

eBioCenter Corporation

Xi'an Wisdom Conference Planning Co., Ltd

Executive Chair:

Prof. Liu Jianli, School of Life Science, Northwest University

Scientific Advisory Committee:

Prof. Michel Baltas, Universite Paul Sabatier, France

Prof. Maurizio Massi,University of Camerino, Italy

Prof. Sauro Vittori,University of Camerino, Italy

Prof.Prakash Nagarkatti, University of South Carolina School of Medicine USA

Prof. Mitzi Nagarkatti, University of South Carolina Cancer enter, USA

Prof.WenYun Gao, College of Life Science, Northwest University, China

Prof. Jin-Ming Gao,College of Science Northwest A & F University,China

Prof. MingGao Zhao, Fourth Military Medical University, China

Prof. Hirohi Ashihara, Ochanomizu,University, Japan

Prof. Thomas L Casavant, University of Iowa, USA

Prof. Kenta Nakai, The University of Tokyo, Japan

Prof. Ji Chen, University of Houston, USA

Prof. Klaus Helmut Obermayer, University of Berlin, Germany

Prof. Joe Wiart, Orange Labs, USA

Prof. Kwoh Chee Keong, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Dr. Christiane Andre-Barres, Universite Paul-Sabatier, France.

Dr. Yansheng Zhang, National Research Council Canada/ Plant Biotechnology Institute, Canada

Call for Papers

The conference topics include, but are not limited to :

Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

1 Protein structure, function and sequence analysis

2 Protein interactions, docking and function

3 Protein interaction with natural products

4 Computer aided drug design

5 Protein structure based drug design

6 Data acquisition, analysis and visualization

7 Algorithms, software and tools in bioinformatics

Natural Products and Traditional Medicine

1 Natural Products Isolation and Structure Elucidation

2 Methodology and Synthesis of Natural and Unnatural Products

3 Biosynthesis of Natural Products

4 Natural Products and Drug Discovery

5 Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry

6 Pharmacology and Toxicology of Natural Products

7 Quality Control Methodology and Medicinal Analysis

8 Marine Natural Products

9 Chemical Biology

10 Natural Products and Pharmaceutical Engineering

11 Natural Products and Food, Pesticides, Health and Beauty

12 Quality, Safety and Efficacy of Natural Products

13 Basic Theory of Traditional Medicine

14 Inherit and Innovate Traditional Medicine

15 Acupuncture: Theory and Clinic

16 Sum-up and Inherit Experience of Famous Practitioner of Traditional Medicine

17 Sum-up and Exchange the Clinic Experience of Traditional Medicine

18 Sum-up and Exchange the Clinic Usage Experience of Classic and Experienced Compound Prescription

19 Protection and Reasonable Utilization of Medicinal Resource

Publication

The conference proceedings will be published by IEEE,and all papers accepted will be included in IEEE Xplore and indexed by Ei Compendex and ISTP.

IEEE Catalog Number: CFP1126H-CDR

ISBN: 978-1-4244-6448-7

Please Click Here to download a pdf Call for Papers.

Important Dates

Paper submission due: Jun 30, 2011

Final Paper: Aug 20 , 2011

Conference Start Date: Oct 14, 2011

Decision Notification: Aug 10, 2011

Exhibition

An exhibition will be held in conjunction with the ICBNPTM2011, which will be set up in the foyer outside of the conference rooms, the exhibition opening ceremony will be at the same time as the Conference Reception.

Why Should Exhibit
This conference provides a unique place where leading companies, institutes, together with general suppliers of equipment and consumables can exhibit their products, technologies and services to a captive audience. Companies and institutions will be able to reach an international community of up to 300-500 leading researchers, doctors and technology transfer and service providers at the ICBNPTM 2011.

1. To meet face-to-face with the international movers and shakers in the field of Bioinformatics,Natural Product and Traditional Medicine
2. To meet with key decision makers around the world
3. To explore business opportunities in China and Asia
4. To spotlight advanced technologies and their scientific and commercial applications 5. To take advantage of the conference's captive audience and networking opportunities within the exhibition hall

Who Should Exhibit

1. Pharmaceutical companies look to show their new products or novel technologies
2. Media and publishing companies exhibit their journals/ books or services
3. Professionals from Academia update their research works to seek communion
4. Universities and associations submit their projects to make contact with the industry
5. Professional service groups look to advise companies and Universities on research and development
6. All the attendees can post their Education Program Projects and Job Position

For details, please contact : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Invited speaker

Introduction to TCM Master-Professor and Chief Physician Zhang Xuewen

Zhang Xuewen, born in Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province in 1935, is a prestigious physician of Chinese traditional medicine and is now the professor and chief physician of Shaanxi College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He has served as chief physician of Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the head of the Medical Department, Vice President and President of Shaanxi College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He’s also been part-time doctoral supervisor of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, standing member of China Association of Chinese Medicine, head of the Cooperative Group of Emergency Cerebropathy of Department of Medical Administration under State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, standing member of Shaanxi Association for Science and Technology, and vice chairman of Shaanxi Association of Chinese Medicine, etc. In 1990, Prof. Zhang was approved as one of the First National 500 Prestigious CTM Physicians by Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Health and State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the People’s Republic of China and began enjoying special allowance from the State Council from 1991; he was rated as the expert with outstanding contribution for Shaanxi Province in 1991, as The First Prestigious CTM Physician of Shaanxi Province in 2008 and as The First TCM Master by Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Health and State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the People’s Republic of China in 2009.

Professor Mi Liehan – National Prestigious Physician of TCM

Mi Liehan, professor, chief physician, graduate supervisor and the physician & academic adviser of traditional Chinese medicine with apprentices in State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the People’s Republic of China, was instructed under researcher Mi Borang, national prestigious specialist doctor of TCM and director of Shaanxi Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
He has engaged in Chinese medicine, teaching, scientific research and hospital management for more than 30 years, published 70 academic papers and 30 monographs. In addition, he has won eight prizes, including the first, second and third prizes for progress in science and technology. In terms of TCM, He specializes in diagnosis and treatment of endocrine disorders, respiratory disorders, and difficult miscellaneous diseases of internal medicine including osteoporosis, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, gout, adiposis, climacteric syndrome, asthma, pulmonary interstitial fibrosis, bronchiectiectasis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer, etc.
He was awarded China’s First 100 Outstanding Young Chinese Medicine Doctors Award in 1995, National Elite Award in Medicine Industry in 1998, as the expert enjoying the special allowance from the State Council in 1999, “Bethune Spirit Award of Shaanxi Province” in 2000, as the expert with an outstanding contribution for Shaanxi Province in 2001, and in 2008, he was selected as a member of CPPCC National Committee, was awarded the title of “Prestigious TCM Physician of Shaanxi Province” by Personnel Department, Health Department and Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Shaanxi Province as well as the title of “Advanced Worker of National Health System” by Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Health and State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the People’s Republic of China.

Introduction to Professor Liu Huawei

Liu Huawei, graduated from Shaanxi College of Traditional Chinese Medicine with the degree of master of medicine, is a chief physician of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), professor and doctoral supervisor. Now, he serves as the deputy director taking charge of business of Shaanxi Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which is also Shaanxi Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the academic pacesetter in oncology of TCM, and the director of Oncology Center of TCM in Shaanxi Province included in the national “Project Angel”. With 40 years of experience in medicine, he is known as a prestigious expert in internal medicine of TCM in China, an expert with outstanding contribution for Shaanxi Province, one of First National 100 Experts for Popularization of TCM Science, a prestigious doctor in TCM, one of the 10 prestigious doctors in Shaanxi Province, an excellent director among those of hospitals of TCM in China, and one of national fourth group of instructors in inheriting the academic experience of senior experts in TCM. He also part-time serves as doctoral supervisor of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, professor and graduate supervisor of College of Medicine of Xi’an Jiaotong University, professor and graduate supervisor of Shaanxi College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, member of Sub-health Council of World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies, vice chairman of Branch of Study on Prestigious Doctors’ Academic Thoughts of China Association of Chinese Medicine, member of Branch of Science Popularization of China Association of Chinese Medicine, executive member of Shaanxi Council of Traditional Chinese Medicine, deputy director of Editorial Committee of Shaanxi Journal of Chinese Traditional Medicine, chief expert in medical care for the officers of Shaanxi Military Area Command, chairman of Shaanxi Association of Formosan Scholars, etc.
Being specialized in research on metabolic disease and other difficult miscellaneous diseases for many years, Professor Liu Huawei is good at curing tumor, spleen-stomach disease, kidney disease, cerebrosis, communicable disease, infectious disease, and other clinical diseases. During his clinical treatment, he succeeded in preventing and curing some communicable diseases with traditional Chinese medicine and made creative research. In addition, he also successfully rescued and cured patients with critical diseases or other difficult miscellaneous diseases by aptly applying dialectical thinking. He is particularly expert in curing atrophic gastritis, liver disease, kidney disease, apoplexia, metabolic syndrome, etc.

Biography of Grace Wong PhD

Grace has spent her entire career on biologics, specifically on cytokines, at Genentech, Millennium, AstraZeneca and Serono. Her PhD project was on biologics at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Australia. Her post-doc projects were also on biologics with Dr. David Goeddel at Genentech. She continued working on biologics in a variety of diseases at Genentech, Millennium, AstraZeneca and Serono.

Grace successfully shepherded basic research discoveries to product development at Genentech in 1993 and was appointed Head of Apoptosis Research at Millennium in 1996 for discovery of cytokine inducible drug resistance genes using functional genomics. Grace joined AstraZeneca as Section Head of Molecular Genetics for discovery of cytokine inducible genes in Alzheimer’s disease. At Serono, Grace was Director of Cytokine Genomics for discovery of novel cytokines in Women’s diseases. Her work with biologics have made her valuable to biotech and pharma, receiving also job offers from Glaxo, Biogen, Human Genome Sciences and Cell Therapeutics, in addition to the positions she was able to accept.

Grace has been invited to present at 160 international conferences including the Nobel Symposium in Sweden in 1994. Grace received 13 scholarships and 5 Recognition Awards from Genentech. She published 89 papers and 27 patents (11 issued). Some of her publications (3 Nature, 1 Science, 3 Cell, 5 PNAS and 7 J. Immunol) have received 300-1000 citations. Grace founded a small biotech company "ActoKine Therapeutics www.actokine.com" to discover biologics for radioprotection and prevention of a board spectrum of viral infection (www.actokine.com). Grace also founded Student Vision (www.studentvision.org) and Nobel-Pauling (www.pauling.us) to inspire and help students of all ages in biotechnology.

(To be continued)

Hotel Information

A.Conference Venue: Xi’an Tangcheng Hotel

Details of the venue can be found at: http://www.xiantangchenghotel.com.cn/index.php?Locale=en-us

Route:

1. Taking the airport shuttle bus line 4 from the airport to Xi’an Tangcheng Hotel. ( The bus operates every 15 minutes from 10am to 16pm every day.)

Taking the airport shuttle bus from Xi’an Tangcheng Hotel to the airport.( The bus runs every hour on the hour from 7am to 18pm every day.)

2. Getting off the train and taking NO.46, or NO.14 or No.705 bus to Xi’an Tangcheng Hotel

3. Participants can get to the hotels through taxi . It is about one hour drive from Xianyang Airport to the conference site, or 20 minutes from the Xi’an main train station.

you may download the .doc file, ( click here ) then you can show it to taxi drivers when you arrive Xi’an China, so the drivers could take you directly to the meeting place.

B.Hotel Resevation

A number of rooms at advantageous rates in the hotel have been reserved for the participants.

Hotel	Types of Room	Remark	Contact
Xi’an Tangcheng Hotel (Four star)	Standard Twin Room RMB300/night Deluxe Twin Room RMB380/ night Executive Single Room RMB420/ night	Conference Venue	Tel: 86-29-85209966 Website: http://www.xiantangchenghotel.com.cn/

Please make reservation through On-line Registration System.

Schedual of Conference:

October 14^th : Conference registration at Xi’an Tangcheng Hotel.

Morning on October 15^th : Opening ceremony and plenary lectures.

Afternoon on October 15^thand Morning on October 16^th: Oral presentations

Afternoon on October 16^th: Visit

Hope you make a good arrangement.

C. General Information

Weather
The average daily temperature in mid October in Xi’an is around 20 Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit), with the high at around 25 Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) and low at around 18 Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit). There is light rain during the season.

Electricity
The electrical voltage in China is 220V 50Hz. Power sockets available in China are Type A, Type I, and Type C plugs. Adapters are available at most hotels and convenience stores.

Insurance
The registration fee does not include insurance for the participants regarding accidents, sickness or loss of personal property. It is advisable that participants make their own arrangements in respect of health and travel insurance before leaving their countries.

Currency Exchange
In China, only RMB is used. However, exchange centers can be found at airports, most hotels and large shopping centers. When exchanging money, please keep your receipt by which you can change any remaining RMB back to foreign currency when leaving China. Visa, Master, American Express, Diners Club and JCB are accepted in many department stores and hotels. ATM could help you for changing RMB from your credit card.

The Bank of China and most hotels can cash travelers’ cheque issued by any foreign bank or financial institution. Participants will need to show a passport and pay a 0.75 percent commission. Travelers’ cheque signed over to a third party cannot be cashed in China, but can be presented for collection through the Bank of China.

Reconfirmation of Air Ticket
Departure air ticket (both international and domestic) should be reconfirmed 72 hours in advance. Calling the airline office in Xi’an could make it. But these offices do not work in weekend

Registration

Register at eBioCenter, get $50 Off !

Participation form

1. Oral presentation

Welcome you to give an oral report whether you have submitted you paper or not. All the reporters will be awarded the certificate of honor by the conference. The Organizing Committee will provide laptops, projectors and laser pointers for you. Please bring your PowerPoint or PDF (Portable Document Format) materials for your oral presentation

2. Poster

The poster should be made by the participants with the size of less than1.6m in length and 0.8m in width, and is to be submitted to Conference Affairs Group on arrival.

3. Attend the conference

Registration

All the participants are kindly requested to register on-line.

1 Author Registration

Please click here and make your registration and payment:

Registration Fee Category	Regular Registration Fee
Registration Fee Category	Regular	eBioCenter
IEEE Members or Students	US$ 500 per Paper	US$ 450 per Paper
Others	US$ 550 per Paper	US$ 500 per Paper
Extra US$ 70 for papers surpass five pages (5 pages excluded)

The registration fee includes all proceedings and the publication fee for one paper, conference materials, breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee break, welcome reception, welcome banquet, souvenir, tour (Terracotta Warriors or World Horticultural Exposition)

2 Non-paper Attendees Registration
We also welcome people to participate in our conference without accepted papers.
Please click here and make your registration and payment:

Registration Fee Category	Before Sep 1		After Sep 1
Registration Fee Category	Regular	eBioCenter	Regular	eBioCenter
Participants	US$ 350	US$ 300	US$ 450	US$ 400
Student	US$ 300	US$ 250	US$ 400	US$ 350
Accompanying Person	US$ 200

The registration fee includes all proceedings , conference materials, breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee break, welcome reception, welcome banquet, souvenir, tour(Terracotta Warriors or World Horticultural Exposition).

Registration fee for accompanying person includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, welcome reception, welcome banquet and tour.

Tour in Xi'an

Welcome to Xi'an

- A world-famous tourist city and a treasure house of cultural relics

Introduction

Xian, the eternal city, records the great changes of the Chinese nation just like a living history book. Called Chang’an in ancient times, Xian is one of the birthplaces of the ancient civilization in the Yellow River Basin area of the country. During Xian’s 3,100 year development, 13 dynasties such as Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang placed their capitals here. So far, Xian enjoys equal fame with Athens, Cairo, and Rome as one of the four major ancient civilization capitals.

Xian is the capital of Shaanxi province, located in the southern part of the GuanZhong Plain. With the Qinling Mountains to the north and the Weihe River to the south, it is in a favorable geographical location surrounded by water and hills. It has a semi-moist monsoon climate and there is a clear distinction between the four seasons. Except the colder winter, any season is relatively suitable for traveling.

The cultural and historical significance of the area, as well as the abundant relics and sites, help Xian enjoy the laudatory title of "Natural History Museum". The Museum of Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses is praised as "the eighth major miracle of the world", Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang is listed on the World Heritage List, and the City Wall of the Ming Dynasty is the largest and most intact Ming Dynasty castle in the world. In the city, there is the 3000 year old Banpo Village Remains from the Neolithic Age, and the Forest of Stone Steles that holds 3,000 stone steles of different periods from the Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. Around Xian, the Famen Temple enjoys the reputation of being the "forefather of pagodas and temples in Central Shaanxi," because it holds the finger bones of Sakyamuni--the founder of Buddhism. The natural landscape around Xian is also marvelous. Mt. Huashan, as one of the five best-known mountains in China, is famous for its breath-taking cliffs and its unique characteristics. Those you are interested in Chinese modern revolutionary history should visit Yan’an, a revolutionary holy place in China.

As tourist development grows in Xian, the hotel industry flourishes more and more. It is very easy to find a hotel in Xian, ranging from 5 star hotels to youth hostels. Of course, it will be any traveler’s first choice to stay in the city center due to the superior geographical location and the convenient transportation.

Praised as "the capital of table delicacies", Xian has been rich in the delicious Shaanxi snack, delicate Guangdong Cuisine, various kinds of fashionable foreign delicacies, and popular Sichuan Cuisine such as the hot pot. Among all the delicacies, the most famous and popular one is the Muslim Snack Street.

Xian is the most important city in northwest China, and so there are a lot of shopping outlets for locals and tourists alike. There are many big shopping centers, department stores and supermarkets in and around Xian city - the biggest and most comprehensive being Kai Yuan Shopping Mall and Century Ginwa Shopping Mall.

The night life in Xian has a unique glamour. Traditional ways include enjoying the night scenery around the Bell Tower, taking part in a Tang Dynasty Dinner Show, strolling on the ancient Big Wild Goose Pagoda Square and watching the music fountain performance. More modern and fashionable ways include singing in the KTV, hanging out in a bar, or dancing in a Disco. All in all, any experience in this ancient city will bring you fun and possibly a little surprise!

Xian Attractions

Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses

The well-known Terra-cotta Museum is located east of Emperor Qin’s Mausoleum, which covers a total area of 20 hectares. The museum is decorated with verdant trees-blooming flowers and carpets of green grass. The scenery in the museum looks quite elegant and delightful. Three main buildings of the museum, which were named Pit 1,Pit 2, Pit 3, were constructed on their original sites in different periods of time.

Emperor Qin’s Terra-cotta Museum is not only a treasure house where the tourists can learn history, culture and human civilization, but also a main scenic spot of Xi’an city. It can receive about 1.5 million tourists annually. Approximately 40 million visitors from home and abroad have visited the Museum within the last 20 years. Today "the eighth Wonder of the world" has almost become synonym of the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses In 1987, the Emperor Qin’s Mausoleum was put on the list of the UNESCO as a world-class cultural heritage site. Now the Museum is well-known widely as a huge modern on-site museum and it is going to be one of the best in the world.

Bell Tower (Zhong Lou)

The Bell Tower, is a stately traditional building, that marks the geographical center of the ancient capital. From this important landmark extend East, South, West and North Streets, connecting the Tower to the East, South, West and North Gates of the City Wall of the Ming Dynasty.

The wooden tower, which is the largest and best-preserved of its kind in China, is 36 meters (118 feet) high. It stands on a brick base 35.5 meters (116.4 feet) long and 8.6 meters (28.2 feet) high on each side. During the Ming Dynasty, Xian was an important military town in Northwest China, a fact that is reflected in the size and historic significance of its tower.

City Wall

When Zhu Yuanzhang, the first Emperor of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), captured Huizhou, a hermit named Zhu Sheng admonished him that he should "built high walls, store abundant food supplies and take time to be an Emperor," so that he could fortify the city and unify the other states. After the establishment of the Ming dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang followed his advice and began to enlarge the wall built initially during the old Tang dynasty (618 -907), creating the modern Xian City Wall. It’s the most complete city wall that has survived in China, as well being one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world.

After the extension, the wall now stands 12 meters (40 feet) tall, 12-14 meters (40-46 feet) wide at the top and 15-18 meters (50-60 feet) thick at the bottom. It covers 13.7 kilometers (8.5 miles) in length with a deep moat surrounding it.

Every 120 meters, there is a rampart which extends out from the main wall. All together, there are 98 ramparts on the wall, which were built to defend against the enemy climbing up the wall. Each rampart has a sentry building, in which the soldiers could protect the entire wall without exposing themselves to the enemy. Besides, the distance between every two ramparts is just within the range of an arrow shot from either side, so that they could shoot the enemy, who wanted to attack the city, from the side. On the outer side of the city wall, there are 5948 crenellations, namely battlements. The soldiers can outlook and shoot at the enemy. On the inner side, parapets were built to protect the soldiers from falling off.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda

As the symbol of the old-line Xian, Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a well-preserved ancient building and a holy place for Buddhists. It is located in the southern suburb of Xian City, about 4 kilometers (2.49 miles) from the downtown of the city. Standing in the Da Ci’en Temple complex, it attracts numerous visitors for its fame in the Buddhist religion, its simple but appealing style of construction, and its new square in front of the temple. It is rated as a National Key Cultural Relic Preserve as well as an AAAA Tourist Attraction.This attraction can be divided into three parts: the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the Da Ci’en Temple, and the North Square of Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

Forest of Stone Steles

Once the site of the Temple of Confucius during the Northern Song dynasty (960--1127), the Forest of Stone Steles Museum is situated on Sanxue Street, near the south gate of Xian City Wall. It was initially established in AD 1087 when some precious stone steles were moved here for safe keeping, including the "Classic on Filial Piety" written by Emperor Xuanzong in AD 745 and "the Kaicheng Stone Steles" arved in AD 837. With an area of 31,000 square meters, the Forest of Stone Steles used to be the principal museum for Shaanxi Province since 1944. Then because of the large number of stone steles, it was officially named as the Forest of Stone Steles Museum in 1992.

Famen Temple

In China, many temples house treasures and artifacts, but the sheer quantity and quality of treasures in the Famen Temple is rare. Situated in Famen Town of Fufeng County, about 120 kilometers (about 74.57 miles) west of Xian, Famen Temple is renowned for storing the veritable four slivers of the finger bone of the Sakyamuni Buddha. Famen Temple was established in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25--220), for carrying forward Buddhism. The most representative structures in the temple are the Famen Temple Pagoda and Famen Temple Museum.

Mt. Huashan

As one of the five best-known mountains in China, Mt. Huashan is located to the south of Huayin city, 120 kilometers east of Xian, in Shaanxi province, with an elevation of 2200 meters above sea level. In ancient times, Mt. Huashan was called Mt. Taihuashan. Seen from afar, the five peaks looks like five petals of a flower. Hence its name, Mt. Huashan (= five flowers). Today, it is listed as one of the renowned national scenic spots

Huaqing Hot Springs

Situated at the northern foot of Mt. Lishan in Lintong County, 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from Xian City, Huaqing Hot Spring is famed for both its dainty spring scenery and the romantic love story of Emperor Xuanzong (685-762) and his concubine Yang Guifei in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Its long history and location among the wonderful landscapes of Xian should entice any visitor to visit and bathe in this hot spring. It is said that King You built a palace here during the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC-711 BC). Additions were subsequently made by the First Emperor Qing (259 BC-210BC) and Emperor Wu during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24).

During his reign, the Emperor Xuanzong spent dizzying amounts of his funds to build a luxurious palace, changing its name to Huaqing Hot Spring or Huaqing Palace. Over the course of 41 years in his days, he visited the palace as many as 36 times. The palace thus has a history of 3,000 years and the hotspring a history of 6,000 years! Ranked among the Hundred Famous Garden in China, it is also has the status as a National Cultural Relic Protection Unit and a National Key Scenic Area.

Tang Paradise

Near the Big Wild Goose Pagoda , Tang Paradise is located in the Qujiang Resort, southeast of the Xian City, Shaanxi Province. It is a newly opened tourist attraction in April, 2005. Tang Paradise covers a total area of 1000 mu (about 165 acres) and of which 300 mu (about 49 acres) is water. This tourist attraction not only claims to be the biggest cultural theme park in the northwest region of China but also the first royal-garden-like park to give a full display of the Tang Dynasty’s (618-907) culture.Altogether, twelve scenic regions are distributed throughout Tang Paradise to provide visitors with the enjoyment of twelve cultural themes and a perfect exhibition of the grandness, prosperity and brilliance of the culture of the Tang Dynasty.

What makes Tang Paradise incredible is that it is no longer the garden mode of only water and mountains in the Chinese traditional sense. The outstanding designers of the magnificent Tang Paradise have integrated almost everything representative of the Tang Dynasty, such as the poetry, the songs and dance, the marketplaces, the food, the women’s lifestyles, and science into every site using cultural themes, thus endowing every place with its own story and its own place in the tapestry of Tang Dynasty culture.

Dining in Xian

Xian is legendary as "the capital of table delicacies." The ancient city is famous for the delicious Shaanxi snack, the delicate Guangdong cuisine, various kinds of fashionable foreign delicacies, and the popular Sichuan cuisine, such as hot pot.

Visitors to Xian must do two things: one is to see the clay figures of terra cotta warriors and horses. The other is to taste Yang Rou Pao Mo (a soup dish that involves breaking wheat flour flat bread into a bowl and adding a delicious mutton stock). Before dinner, you will be served one or two pieces of wheat flour flat bread which you into tiny chunks, the smaller the better. The waiter or the waitress will then hand your bowl to the cook who mixes the bread and mutton soup with an appropriate relish. When the steaming hot meal is brought in, the waiter will also offer you sweet crisp pickled garlic, coriander, and hot pepper sauce. The most famous, the Tong Sheng Xiang (Prosperity and Fortune) Beef and Lamb Paomo Restaurant done in Tang Dynasty style, is a time-honored establishment in the Xian Bell and Drum Tower Square.

Next to Tong Sheng Xiang is a great restaurant, De Fa Chang Dumpling Restaurant, with its own version of the Dumpling Banquet. Ingredients for the dumpling fillings include various meats, vegetables, and seasonings. Cooking methods include steaming, boiling, pan-frying, deep frying, and roasting. Many flavors, including salty, sweet, hot, and sour are offered. Other house specialties include Peking dumplings, steamed sweet bean paste buns, steamed shrimp paste buns, and various uniquely spiced dishes. While guests sample various delicacies, traditionally waiters will explain the cuisine culture of each dumpling.

One of Xian’s most famous specialties is the Guan Tang Baozi (steamed buns served with sauces inside) served at Jia Brothers’ Restaurant in Muslim Snack Street. You’ll know you’re there when you see the monstrous blue arch over the entrance and a wall festooned with photographs of Xian notables -- TV hosts, writers, and musicians. The specialty dish is Guan Tang Bao Zi, with a choice of beef, lamb or "three flavors" -- lamb, mushroom, and prawns. The buns have piping-hot soup inside, so caution is advised. This dish is best washed down with Ba Bao Xi Fan, a bowl of sweet rice porridge filled with peanuts, sultanas, hawthorn, and medlar berries.

Fanji is the famous vendor of Shaanxi’s most widely consumed snack, Rou Jia Mo, finely chopped pork stuffed in toasted wheat flour flat bread. A piece of good-quality (youzhi) bread and a bowl of mung bean flour soup will cost you no more than RMB10. The state-run atmosphere is quaint and friendly, and the numerous awards that decorate the walls are well deserved. The restaurant is in a lane opposite the Drum Tower, south of West Main Street.

A fascinating lure for food buffs is Local Snacks Street (Hui Min Jie) near Drum Tower in Muslim Square. On the two sides of the 500-meter street, there are many restaurants of different cuisines along with unique snack shops. While enjoying true Muslim cuisine, tourists can learn customs of the Hui people.

Besides guan tang baozi in Jia Brothers’ Restaurant, there is barbeque in the Pingwa Kaorou Shop, sour cabbage and beef fried rice in Honghong Suancai Chaomi Restraunt, and beef noodles in Yifenli Restaurant. Other offerings, including fried persimmon cake (shi zi bing), fried dumpling (guo tie), stir-fried bean jelly (chao liang fen), chopped mutton fried in a wok with fine-ground wheat (fen zheng rou), and beef and vegetable pie (xian bing) are available on both sides of the street.

If you would like to taste all the local food at one time in a budget meal, Xian Restaurant (Xian Fan Zhuang) offers more than 100 varieties in its first-floor self-service restaurant. It charges only RMB18 per person, and is very popular with visitors.

As the center of northwest China, Xian provides a wide range of table delicacies in addition to local and traditional cuisine.

Please visit China Travel Guide to get more information about Xi’an.

Note: The above information comes from the Internet. The copyright of the text and photos belong to their owners.

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