The area around Baoji was also significant in the early development of the Qin state — the political entity that would eventually conquer all the other Chinese states and create the first unified Chinese empire under the First Emperor in 221 BCE. Several early Qin sites and cemeteries have been identified and partially excavated in the Baoji area, and local museums hold finds from these sites that predate the famous Terracotta Army by several centuries.
The Baoji City Museum (separate from the Bronzeware Museum) covers Qin history in the area, with bronze weapons, chariot fittings, and inscribed objects from early Qin sites. Together with the Bronzeware Museum it tells the story of how this particular stretch of the Wei River valley became the cradle of the Chinese empire.