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| Xi'an |
Xi’an is situated on the Weihe Plain, in the middle reaches of
the Yellow River in Northwest China, 108-110 degrees east longitude
and 34.1 degrees north latitude. Xi’an is a traditional city with
a very long history over 5000 years. Xi’an is also an international
city opened to foreign tourists, famous for its historical remains,
such as the City Wall and Terra-Cotta Warriors and Horses, and
also for its characteristic traditional folk artworks and flavorous
food.
As one of the six ancient capitals in China, Xi’an served as
the seat of 12 imperial capitals for 1,120 years after Chinese
society had entered the civilized stage. Now as the capital of
Shaanxi Province, Xi’an is the largest city in Northwest China
with a population of 5.8 million, including 2.3 million in its
urban districts. Such a history has made Xi’an a world-famous
touristy city, a treasure house of cultural relics. The remains
of past civilizations furnish evidence of every major epoch in
China’s half a million history, making for a particularly illustrative
textbook of Chinese culture. The history apparent in Xi’an is
so ancient and continuous that the city has no parallel anywhere
as a cultural site. Here one can visit the sites once inhabited
by its primitive people; admire the bronze wares manufactured
in the Bronze Age; wander through the bronze wares manufactured
in the Bronze Age; wander through the city ruins of the Qin, Han,
Sui and Tang dynasties; imagine for oneself the clamour of the
old Oriental metropolis; explore the imperial tombs of the Qin,
Han and Tang dynasties, testimony to the pervasive power of the
feudal ruling class; ramble in temples and pagoda courtyards,
tracing vestiges of the Silk Road; and study stone inscriptions
to appreciate Chinese calligraphy. Not least, Xi’an is the site
of excavation of the vast army of terracotta warriors and horses
from the tomb of China’s First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, from whom
the country derives its name.
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Additional Material about Xi'an |
Location: located at 33 China Travel Information.files/degree.gif) north
and 107 east,
in the southern part of GuanZhong Plain in Shaanxi  province with Qinling Mountains
to the north and the Weihe River to the south
Neighboring Areas: Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Gansu
Provinces; Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regions
Physical Features: with an elevation of 500 metres, the Weihe
Plain extends between Baoji in the west and Tongguan in the east and
borders the Qinling Mountains in the south and the Huangtu Plateau
in the north. Lying in the warm zone, the plain has a temperate climate
with four distinct seasons. Chequered with the Weihe, Jinghe, Luohe,
and Bahe rivers as well as the Jinghui, Weihui and Luohui canals,
the fertile land on the plain has easy access to irrigation facilities
and an abundant yield of farm produce. Xi'an lies in the centre to
the south of this plain, a favourable geographical location surrounded
by water and hills
Nationalities: Han, Hui
Population: 6.62 million
Urban Population: 3.73 million
Area: 16,808 sq km
History: called Chang'an in ancient times, more than 1 million years of condensation
of history. During Xi'an's 3,100 years of development, 12 dynasties
such as Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang, held it as their capitals
 Climatic Features: temperate and continental climate;
cold and dry in winter and hot in summer and rainy season comes in
July, August and September
Average Temperature: 13.3C annually
Rainfall: 604.2mm annually
Mountains: Mt. Huashan, Mt. Taibaishan,
Mt. Lishan
Rivers: Hui River, Wei River, Feng River, Jing River |
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| Map of Xi'an |
Click your mouse
over the map to enlarge it to find locations of hotels, places of
interest and restaurants
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The Tourism of Xi'an
The Bell Tower |
 Standing
in the center of Xi'an, the Bell Tower was built in 1582 A.D. (tenth
year of Wanli of the Ming) with a height of 36 meters .Its blue brick
base is square,covering an area of 13,377.64 square meters.The wood
structure of the tower has three layers of eaves with ridges runnig
from the four corners of the topmost roof towards the central spire.The
tower is a splendid sight with its dark green glazed tiles, blue and
green paintings and touches of gold. |
Xi'an City Wall
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 Xi'an
city was built on the foundation of "han Jian's New City"
towards the end of the Tang Dynasty.When being reconstructed during
the period 1374-1378 A.D.(seventh to eleventh year of Hongwu of the
Ming ), the city wall was extended by a quarter to both east and north
to make Xi'an city today's size.The blue brick Xi'an city wall is
well preserved .Lofty and magnificent towrs with blue and green paintings
were constructed on the four city gates. |
| The Forest of Steles |
 Situated
at the bottom of the City wall,the Forest of Steles has the best steles
of ancient dynasties of this province and is a treasure house of the
Chinese calligraphic art.The Forest of Steles ,founded in 1090 A.D.(fifth
year of Yuanyou of the Northern Song Dynasty )houses over 2300 steles
of the Han ,Wei ,Sui,Tang ,Song ,Yuan,Ming n and Qing Dynasties.Amoung
the well-known steles of "the Stele of Si Mafang "of the
Jing,"the Stele of the Canans of Filial Piety on Stone Terraces","the
Stele of the Stone Classics of Kaichen "and "the Popular
Stele of Daqin Nestorianism"of the Tang.Exhibited here are also
stone tablets on which are engraved the handwritings of such Tang
calligraphical masters as Ouyang Xun,Chu Suiliang,Yan Zhenqing and
Liu Gong-quan. |
| Da Yan Tower(The Big Wild
Goose Pagoda) |
 The
tower was originally situated within the premises of the Temple of
Motherly Kindness in the Jinchang Block in the Chang'an city of the
Tang Dynasty .The Temple was built in 648 A.D.(twenty-second year
of Zhen_ guan of the Tang )by the Prince Li Zhi,who later became Emperor
Gaozong, to honor his mother,Empress Wende. The pagoda itself was
built in 652 (third year of Yonghui of the Tang Emperor Gaozong).A
square pyramid of blue brick, it is 64 meters high,with seven stories.
It is simple in shape,and of good and lofty proportion .Preserved
on the four stone doors in the base of the pagoda are exquisite engravings
of the Tang.Two steles with "The preface to the Sacred Reli gion"
written by the famous Tang calli- Chu Suiliang are set into the walls
on the either side of the south door of the pagoda.Because of their
distinctive and elegant inscriptions,the steles are valuable data
for the art of calligraphy. |
| The Huaqing Pool |
 Situated
at the bottom of Lishan Hills, the Huaqing pool is a well-known scenic
spot and the location of hot springs. Being a villa palace and resort
for emperors and kings in anceint times, it has a history of more
than 3000 years. As early as the Western Zhou period ,King Zhouyou
had Lizhan Palace constructed here. Qin Shihuang built a stone pool
named "Fairy's Spring ".Both the Han Emperor Wudi and Sui
Emperor Wendi enlarged it. During the Tang Dynasty, the Emperor Xuanzong
ordered large-scale construction by transforming spring wells into
pools housed in walled palaces. These were called the "Huaqing
Palace "and "the Spring pool".The Tang Emperor Xuanzong
and his concubine Lady Yang often came here for pleasure. In the earth-shaking
"Xi'an Inccident" which took place in Dec. 1936 the patriotic
generals Zhang Xueliang and Yan Hucheng captured th KMT head, Jiang
Jieshi here. Apart from some well-preserved historical buildings in
the Huaqing pool, there are also some magnificent newly built halls
and pools such as "the Nine Dragon pool "and "Chenxiang
Hall". |
| The Qianling Mausoleum |
 Qianling
tomb,situated on Liangshan Hill to the north of Qianxian county,is
a joint tomb of Tang Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) and Empress Wu Zetian.There
were a lot of architectures on the ground of the tomb which was a
grand necropolis.The huge stone statues arrayed in front of the tomb
are well preserved up to now.They demonstrate remarkable achievements
of the sculpural arts during the prime of the tang dynasty.A great
deal of excellent handicrafts,for example the tri-coloured wares,gold
and silver wares were unearthed from the statellite tombs.The murals
unearthed from the minor tombs to the Qianling tomb are coloreful.With
smooth lines and gorgeous colors,they gracefully depict many of ancient
paintings. |
| The Famen Temple |
 Driving
westward from Xi'an for about 100km along the old Silk Road,the traveler
comes up to a 13-tiered octagonal pagoda on the plain north of the
county town of Fufeng under the municipality of Baoji.That is a stupa
built in the second century by the Indian King Asoka to keep a finger
relic of the Buddha.The temple in which the pagoda stands used to
be an imperial temple from dynasty to dynasty.In the course of rebuilding
the pagoda in 1987,an underground vault was discovered beneath the
foundation of the pagoda and a large amount of Buddhist relics were
found.They include four finger sarira relics,121 gold and silver articles,17
glass articles,16 pieces of olive green porcelain,more than 700 pieces
of silk fabrics,104 Buddhist figurines,hundreds of volumes of Buddhist
scripture and many stone carvings and steles.  |
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