Taking the train west from Xi'an, you see the Qinchuan plain stretch endlessly outside the window.
Tips
history
Named after the state of Qin, which grew strong on this plain and unified China in 221 BC. The same 秦 is in 秦腔, Shaanxi opera, and in 秦川牛, the Qinchuan cattle breed.
usage
It usually appears in the set phrase 八百里秦川 'the eight-hundred-li Qin plain'. In plain prose the region is 关中 and the plain 关中平原.
