Xi'an

Xi'an (西安, Xī'ān) is the capital of Shaanxi Province in northwest China, situated on the Wei River floodplain at the southern end of the Guanzhong plain about 1,000 kilometers southwest of Beijing. The municipality covers a large area that includes the old walled city, suburban districts, and surrounding loess and mountainous counties, with a population of over 12 million. Xi'an is the political, economic, and cultural center of northwest China, a major educational center, and the most visited historical destination in the country.

Xi'an, known historically as Chang'an, served as the capital of thirteen Chinese dynasties, most notably the Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang, during which it was one of the largest and most cosmopolitan cities in the world, the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, and a center of Buddhism in China. The Terracotta Army, thousands of life-sized clay soldiers buried with the First Emperor Qin Shi Huang around 210 BCE and discovered in 1974, is the most famous archaeological site in China. After the Tang, the city declined as the political center moved east, and the present Ming-era city wall and drum towers date from a later, more modest period of its history.

Today Xi'an offers visitors a deep, layered antiquity of buried armies, Tang pagodas, and Silk Road heritage within a complete Ming-era city wall. The Terracotta Army in the eastern outskirts is the city's main attraction, while the Ming-era city wall, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Small Wild Goose Pagoda, and the Shaanxi History Museum record the city's long imperial past. The Muslim Quarter and the Great Mosque, which reflect the city's continuing Hui Muslim community descended from Silk Road traders, the old lanes around the Bell and Drum Towers, and the surrounding Han and Tang tombs round out one of China's essential historical cities.

Highlights

Terracotta Warriors

The Terracotta Warriors (兵马俑, Bīngmǎ Yǒng) are thousands of life-sized clay soldiers, horses, and chariots buried in battle formation to guard the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.

Discovered by farmers in 1974, the army is spread across several vast pits east of the city and remains one of the most important archaeological finds anywhere in the world.

City Wall of Xi'an

The City Wall of Xi'an (西安城墙, Xī'ān Chéngqiáng) is one of the most complete ancient city fortifications in the world, encircling the old city in a 14-kilometer rectangle of Ming Dynasty brick and ramparts.

Cycling along the top gives a rare elevated view of the Bell Tower, the old city rooftops, and the modern towers rising beyond the Ming gates.