The History of Xian 

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.

Main Sights of Xian

Transportation and Media in Xian

Geography,Demographics, Culture and Economy of Xian

General Introduction of Xian