The resilience of agriculture to climate change is vital to sustainable livelihoods of smallholder farmers. This study focuses on smallholder farmers' perceptions of climate change and understands their preferences for adaptation measures based on questionnaire responses from 139 participants. Findings indicate that farmers' perceptions of climate change do not always align with actual climate trends. Instead, their perceptions are more strongly influenced by recent weather events, a phenomenon known as the recency effect. This tendency can lead to misconceptions and inadequate preparedness for climate change, particularly as weather variability increases. Regarding adaptation preference, farmers were more inclined toward adopt intensification adaptation measures than toward alternative or diversification strategies. Gender differences were evident in the adoption of moisture conserving practices. Although male farmers were more likely to adopt multiple practices, females showed higher adoption rates for specific techniques such as plastic film covering and straw mulching. The adoption of efficient water-use practices varied significantly across regions, underscoring the need for region-specific interventions. Full-time farmers were more likely to adopt water saving practices requiring significant investment. For other farmers who rely less on agricultural income, such investments were not economically viable. This implies that the adoption of costly water saving practices is feasible only when agricultural profitability is sufficiently high to sustain household livelihoods. Otherwise, stronger policy support may be needed to encourage their uptake. The findings are specific to farmers with a strong commitment to farming and should not be generalized to all smallholder farmers in Shaanxi Province.