Fourth International Conference on Hydrometallurgy Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, October 17-19, 2004

摘要

The first day of the conference included the opening ceremony with speeches from University administration as well as Xi'an officials then followed by plenary lectures. In the second day two parallel sessions were held. The closing ceremony was held at the auditorium of the University. The third days was devoted to site seeing in the outskirts of Xi'an. One group went to see the Famen Buddhist Temple and the other group went to see the hot springs and the Qin Dynasty Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum. The warm welcome and the wonderful hospitality of the Chinese host is remarkable and worth noting. Beside the technical information gained one should not overlook the importance of such conferences where old friends meet and one makes new friends. This is the best way to diffuse information. Xi'an is the capital of Shaanxi Province (not to be confused with Shan-xi Province) dates back to the eleventh century BC. It was the seat of thirteen Chinese dynasties and was formerly known as Chang'an. It was from here that the Silk Road started. The city wall is very impressive: it is 600 years old, well preserved, 12 m high, 12 to 14 m wide across the top and 15-18 m thick at the bottom, and 13.7 km circumference. The Shaanxi History Museum has a very rich collection and is housed in a modern building in Chinese style. Another unique museum is what is called "The Forest of Steles", so named because of the forest like granite and stone tablets with inscriptions. It was first set up in 1087 AD and now contains 3000 steles. The inscription varies from laws, medical recipes, tomb tablets, etc.