Shenmu is a coal boomtown in northern Shaanxi, administratively part of Yulin Prefecture, that has in recent years acquired a new significance as archaeologists have excavated the Shimao Ruins nearby — a walled settlement that flourished between 2300 and 1800 BC, making it roughly contemporary with the earliest Egyptian pyramids and, at around four hundred hectares, among the largest Neolithic sites yet discovered in China. The Shimao site has yielded jade objects, carved stone faces, and evidence of a hierarchical society well in advance of what was previously thought to exist in this region at that date.
The Shimao Museum, opened in 2023 near the ruins, houses the principal finds in a purpose-built facility. The ruins themselves are still being excavated; the full extent of the outer walls, the stepped pyramid at the centre, and the associated settlement remains are gradually coming into view. This is live archaeology on a significant scale.
Lake Hongjiannao, in Erlintu Town on the fringes of the city, is a large freshwater lake in the middle of the Mu Us Desert — an ecological anomaly that functions as a critical habitat for migrating birds, particularly cranes. The lake has faced sustained pressure from surrounding coal extraction and has shrunk considerably over recent decades, but it remains a remarkable landscape, especially during migration seasons.
Shenmu has its own railway station, though the city centre is thirty kilometres away; the more convenient Shenmu North Station handles some services. Buses to Yulin take about two hours; Xi'an is accessible by train in around five hours.