'Xi'an' (;
Postal System Pinyin: Sian), is the
capital of
Shaanxi province in
China and a
sub-provincial city. As one of the most important cities in Chinese history, Xi'an is one of the
Four Great Ancient Capitals of China for it has been the capital of 13 dynasties, including the
Zhou,
Qin,
Han, and the
Tang. Xi'an is also renowned for being the eastern terminus of the
Silk Road and for the location of the
Terracotta Army from
Qin Dynasty. The city has more than 3,100 years of history. It was called '
Chang'an' () in ancient times.
Since 1990s, as part of the
economic revival of interior China, especially the central and northwest regions, in addition to a history of manufacturing and solid industrial establishments, Xi'an has become an important cultural, industrial and educational center of the central-northwest region, with facilities for
research and development,
national security and
China's space exploration program.
History
Looking south from the Bell Tower
On the Xi'An City Wall
Aerial view of Xi'an
Xi'an has a rich history of cultural significance. The
Lantian Man was discovered in 1963 at
Lantian County (蓝田县; pinyin: Lántián Xiàn), just 50 km southeast of Xi'an. The findings dates back at least 500,000 years before present, it followed the discovery of 5,000 year old
Banpo (半坡)
Neolithic village in
1954, just outside the current city limits.
Xi'an became a cultural and industrial center of China in 11th century BCE, with the founding of the
Zhou Dynasty. The capital of Zhou was established in Fēng (沣/灃) and Hào (镐/鎬), both located just west of contemporary Xi'an. Following the several century long
Warring States Period,
Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE) unified China for the first time and the capital was
Xianyang (咸阳), just northwest from modern Xi'an. Before his death, Emperor
Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of the Terracotta Army and his mausoleum which is located in the city's suburb.
In
202 BCE, the founding emperor
Liu Bang of the
Han Dynasty established 'Chang'an' County as the capital; his first palace Changle Palace (长乐宫/長樂宮, ''perpetual happiness'') was built across the river from the ruin of the Qin capital. This is traditionally regarded as the founding date of Chang'an, or Xi'an. Two years later, Liu Bang would built
Weiyang Palace (未央宫) north of modern Xi'an. The original Xi'an city wall was started in 194 BCE, the construction took 4 years to finish and the wall measured 25.7 km in length, 12-16 m in thickness at the base. The area within the wall was ca. 36 km². In year
190, amidst uprisings and rebellions just prior to the
Three Kingdoms Period, a powerful warlord named
Dong Zhuo moves the court from
Luoyang to Chang'an in a bid to avoid a coalition of other powerful warlords against him.
The Han Dynasty saw the rise of the
Silk Road, a great transcontinental route linking the Roman Empire in the West with the imperial court of China in the East. The ancient route started at Chang’an (the ancient name of Xi'an), the capital of the Han Dynasty, reached the Yellow River at Lanzhou, then skirted westward along deserts and mountains before dividing into three routes at the oasis of Dunhuang. Walking through Xinjiang, brave ancient merchants traveled westward all the way to Rome.
Following another few hundreds of years of unrest,
Sui Dynasty united the country again in
582 and the emperor ordered a new capital to be built southeast of the Han capital, called 'Daxing' (大兴/大興, ''great excitement''). It consisted of three sections: the
Xi'an Palace, the Imperial City, and the civilian section. The total area within the wall was 84 km², The main street ''Zhuque Avenue'' measured 155 m in width. It was the largest city in the world.
The city was renamed Chang'an in
Tang Dynasty. In the mid-7th century, after returning from his pilgrimage to
India,
Buddhist monk
Xuan Zang (popularly known as ''Tang Sanzang'') established a translation centre for
Sanskrit scriptures.
Construction of the
Da Yan Pagoda (大雁塔, Giant Wild Goose Pagoda) began in
652. It measured 64 m in height. This
pagoda was constructed for the storage of the translations of Buddhist sutras obtained from India by the Xuan Zang. In
707, construction of the
Xiao Yan Pagoda (小雁塔, Small Wild Goose Pagoda) began, it measured 45 m in height at the time of completion. The
earthquake of 1556 damaged the tower and reduced its height to 43.4 m.
'The Huaqing Palace' and the Huaqing Hot Spring has undergone four large reconstructions during its long history. The first could be dated back to the Western Zhou Dynasty of over 3,000 years ago. The second time was during the Qin Dynasty. By the time of the Western Han Dynasty it had become a popular destination for the Han emperors. During the Tang Dynasty, large number of palaces were built along the mountain slopes and in the surrounding area. It was then renamed the “Huaqing Palace”.
'The Daming Palace' was commissioned and financed by Emperor
Tang Taizong in
634, the 8th year of the reign of “Zhen’guan”, became a summer resort for his father, the former Tang Gaozong, Li Yuan. The palace is the largest to be built in the Tang dynasty, roughly 4.5 times larger than the forbidden city in Beijing. The Hanyuan Hall served as the main hall of the Daming Palace and it was used by the emperor to handle his routine affairs and grant audiences to officials or foreign envoys. The original survey indicated that the hall was built on a terrace over 3 meters high and extends some 75.9 meters in length from east to west and 42.3 meters in width from north to south.
'The Xingqing Palace' was once a palace built for the Emperor Xuanzong and the 'Lotus Palace' which was once famous for its beautiful sceneries. During the Tang Dynasty, Japanese overseas students arrived in Chang'an to study the ways of the Tang dynasty. When they went back to Japan, they brought with them books, religion, technologies, Chinese characters (on which Japanese characters were based on). Some Japanese even lived out their lives in Chang'an. Following the Japanese envoys Kukai who came to Chang'an in 804, he first stayed in the Ximing Temple and later followed Monk Huiguo of the 'Blue Dragon Temple' to study Esoteric Buddhism. He returned to Japan in 806 after he had finished his studies and established the True Word Sect of Buddhism in Japan and finally became a great master in establishing the "Eastern Esotericism".
Chang'an was largely destroyed at the end of the Tang Dynasty in
904. Residences were forced to move to the new capital city in
Luoyang. Only a small area in the city continued to be occupied after the destruction.
During the
Ming Dynasty, the 3rd year of Emperor Hongwu's reign, a new wall was constructed in
1370 .The new wall and a moat outside the walls protect a much smaller city measures 11.9 km in
circumference, 12 m in height, and 15-18 m in thickness at the base. It is the most intact citywall of the world.
There is a river around the city wall's 4 main gates: Eastern Gate, Western Gate, Southern Gate, and Northern Gate.
During the
World War II in
1936, the
Xi'an Incident took place inside the city walls. It brought the
Communist Party of China and
Kuomintang to a truce to concentrate on fighting against the
Japanese Invasion
Geography
Xi'an lies on the
Guanzhong Plain in the central part of China with the average elevation of 400 meters above sea level.The annual temperature here averages 1.3 degree Celsius and its annual precipitation is 1100 millimeters.
Xi'an is subdivided into 13 districts.
Xi'an is nested between a
flood plain created by the eight surrounding rivers and streams, most of which have been too polluted to be used as sources of fresh water. The city borders the northern foot of the
Qinling Mountains to the south, and the banks of
Wei River to the north.
Hua Shan (华山), one of the five sacred
Taoist mountains, is located 100 km away to the east of the city.
Demographics
At the end of
2005, Xi'an had a population of 8.07 million
. Compared to the census conducted in 2000, the population increased by 656,700 persons from 7.41 million.
There were 4.17 million (51.66%) males and 3.90 million (48.34%) females
. For every 100 females in the city there were 106.88 males.
The district with the most population is ''YanTa Qu'', with 1.08 million inhabitants.
[1]
The majority of Xi'an residents are
Han Chinese, which make up 99.1% of the city's total population. There are around 81,500 ethnic minorities living in Xi'an, including 50,000
Muslim Hui people, many of them concentrated in the famous ''Muslim quarter'', which is also home to the beautiful 1,360 year old
Great Mosque of Xi'an. Like other major Chinese cities, Xi'an receives a fair amount of migrant workers from the rural areas every year.
Culture
Tang Paradise
The culture of Xi'an is inherited from the traditions of one of the world's earliest civilizations. The
Guanzhong Ren (关中人/關中人) were the cultural antecedent of Xi'anese, their cultural features are drawn from the
Ten Specialities of Guanzhong Ren (关中十大怪/關中十大怪). Another major part of this culture is
Eight Great Sights of Chang'an (长安八景/長安八景), storied scenic areas in the region.
Keji Road at night/new cultural centre
The
drama of the original Xi'anese culture,
Qinqiang (秦腔, ''Voice of
Qin'') is the oldest and most extensive
Chinese Opera of the four major types of Chinese opera. The
dialect of Xi'an is
Shaanxi Hua, which is strongly influenced by
Standard Mandarin, but still retains much
grammar and
pronunciation from the
Classical Chinese. Because of its long development as a culture, the cuisine of Xi'an is extensive as well. It is the representative of food of Northwestern China. The most well known local food is the Xi'anese snack, a traditional food of the
Hui people. Hui-style snacks feature beef and mutton because the Hui people, being
Muslims, do not eat pork. Baked beef and mutton, buns with beef, and other such regional dishes that are usually spicy in nature and incorporate a lot of beef and mutton ingredients. Two particularly famous Xi'an dishes include a pancake and mutton soup, which can be optionally spicy, and Xi'an's famous hand-rolled noodles, which come in various flavors, shapes, and sizes. There is also a famous cultural noodle dance when a chef, instead of rolling out noodles, waves a long strip of dough around in a dance before cooking the noodles.
Economy
Central Business District of Xi'an
Xi'an is the largest industrial center in China's mid-west and northwest.
Xi'an has also consistently received one of the largest
foreign direct investment amounts among cities in western China.
[2] The amount of import-export done by the industrial sector make up more than 60% of the city's total trading volume. As much as 97% of the industries in Xi'an is manufacturing.
[3]
Transportation
Public Transport
There are more than 200 bus routes in Xi'an.
Subway
A subway project is in course of construction, designed 7 lines, the first route will be completed by 2011.
Train
Xi'an Railway Station is the major railway station in the city. Others include ''Xi'an West'', ''Xi'an East'', ''Sanmincun'', ''Fangzhicheng'' railway stations. Xi'an North Railway Station is under construction.
Xi'an railway station is one of the 6 main transport centres in China.
Xi'An Railway Station
Airport
Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is the major airport serving the city. It is the largest airport in the northwest region of China. It is outside of the city to the northwest, between Xi'an and
Xianyang.
Chang'an Airlines and
China Eastern Airlines are the main airport tenants.
Xi'An XianYang International Airport
Xi'an
Taxis are a convenient way to get to a hotel although there is also an airport bus which leaves you in the city centre. You may have to get a taxi to your hotel from where the bus stops.
Most taxis are unmetered at the airport but metered everywhere else! The asking price from airport to city centre is 150 Yuan. Bargain for about 120-130 Yuan or ask for the meter to be put on.
Main sights
An underpass around the Bell Tower.
★ The city is surrounded by a well-preserved
City wall of Xi'an which was re-constructed in the
Ming Dynasty and based on the inner imperial palace of
Tang Dynasty. The area in which Xi'an sits is a relatively flat place, making travel on the wall relatively easy unlike the steep inclines of the Great Wall. It is also plenty wide enough to rent a bicycle and cruise along the wall without colliding with others.
★ The Mausoleum of
Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) and his
Terracotta Army are located 40 km to the east of the city's suburbs.
★ The city's Muslim quarter, a tourist shopping district next to the
Drum Tower, is home to the
Great Mosque of Xi'an.
★ The
Big Wild Goose Pagoda and
Small Wild Goose Pagoda are both spectacular towers and both are well over 1,000 years old and have survived great earthquakes. The former is next to a large square with the largest fountain in Asia which projects water high into the air, rising and falling in time to music during one of the daily performances (usually at noon and soon after sunset).
★ The
Bell Tower and
Drum Tower, located at the city centre.
★ The
Stele Forest is famous for its numerous historic inscriptions and stoneworks.
★ The
Shaanxi History Museum has a large collection of artifacts both modern and ancient.
★ The
Banpo Neolithic village is located outside the city.
★
Mount Hua is one of the most visited and steepest mountains in the country.
Media
Television
★
Shaanxi Television broadcasts on numbered channels 1 through 8 and a satellite television.
★
Xi'an Television broadcasts on numbered channels 1 through 6.
★
Shaanxi Radio serves Xi'an and the surrounding Shaanxi province area with music and news.
Newspaper
★
Chinese Business View (华商报) is a popular local newspaper.
Sister cities
Xi'an's city wall at night
The Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Xi'an's
sister cities are:
★
Athens,
Greece
★
Cusco,
Peru
★
Iaşi,
Romania
★
Dortmund,
Germany
★
Dnipropetrovsk,
Ukraine
★
Edinburgh,
Scotland
★
Esfahan,
Iran
★
Istanbul,
Turkey
★
Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia
★
Johannesburg,
South Africa
★
Kansas City,
Missouri (
United States)
★
Kathmandu,
Nepal
★
Kyoto,
Japan
★
Lahore,
Pakistan
★
Pau,
France
★
Québec City,
Québec (
Canada)
Colleges and universities
Xi'an is known as one of the academic centers in China. The number of
institutions is the third only after
Beijing and
Shanghai. The private institutions are famous in the country.
Public
★
Chang'an University (长安大学)
★ Xi'an Technological University (西安工业大学)
★
Northwest University (西北大学)
★
Northwest University of Political Science and Law (西北政法大学)
★
Northwestern Polytechnical University (西北工业大学)
★
Shaanxi Normal University (陕西师范大学)
★
The Fourth Military Medical University (第四军医大学)
★
Xi'an International Studies University (西安外国语大学)
★
Xi'an Jiaotong University (西安交通大学)
★
Xi'an Polytechnic University (西安工程大学)
★ Xi'an Shiyou University (西安石油大学)
★ Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology (西安建筑科技大学)
★ Xi'an University of Post & Telecommunications (西安邮电学院)
★
Xi'an University of Science and Technology (西安科技大学)
★ Xi'an University of Technology (西安理工大学)
★
Xidian University (西安电子科技大学)
★ Shaanxi Institute of Education (陕西教育学院)
★ Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts (西安美术学院)
★ Xi'an Conservatory of Music (西安音乐学院)
★ Xi'an Institute of Finance and Economics (西安财经学院)
★ Xi'an Physical Culture Institute (西安体育学院)
★ XI’AN INSTITUTE OF STATISTICS (西安统计学院)
Private
★ Xi'an Eurasia University (西安欧亚学院)
★ Shaan Xi Institute of International Commerce (陕西国际商贸学院)
★ Xi'an Fanyi University (西安翻译学院)
★ Xi'an Peihua University (西安培华学院)
★ Xi'an Siyuan University (西安思源学院)
Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.
''For details'', see
List of universities in the People's Republic of China
Image galleries
Gates of City Wall, Bell Tower, and Drum Tower
Big & Small Wild Goose Pagoda
Bird's eye-view of Xi'an
Notes and references
1. 西安人口 (Xi'an population)
2. NW China city to introduce US.3 bln of foreign investment
3. 西安经济 (Xi'an economy)
External links
★
★
Offical Tourism Website of Xi'an (options:Chinese,English and Japanese)
★
Municipal government website (In Chinese)
★
Photos of Xi'an (English)
★
Photos of Xi'an (Chinese)
★
Map of Xi'an (Chinese)
★
Satellite images of Xi'an (Google Maps)
★
Xi'an map ('Chinese')
★
atmosphere at the Xian Railway Station - video
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