The Wei River valley west of Baoji is among the most historically significant landscapes in China. This is the terrain where the Zhou and Qin states developed — the fertile river bottom and the dry loess plateau above provided grain surpluses that funded armies and bronze industries. The Wei River itself, a major Yellow River tributary, flows east from here through Xi'an and into the Yellow River, carrying the silt that built the alluvial plain of central Shaanxi.
The valley at Baoji is narrow — the mountains close in on both sides and the river winds between them — before widening into the Guanzhong Plain downstream. Driving or cycling the valley road west of Baoji gives a sense of this geography; the landscape changes rapidly from agricultural plain to mountain terrain within a few kilometres. Several archaeological sites are scattered along the valley floor, most of them unexcavated or marked by simple notice boards rather than visitor facilities.