Xi'an

Xi'an, the historical city, was called Chang'an in ancient times, and is now the capital of Shaanxi province. Today Xian is the political, economic and cultural center of the Northwest China. With the development of travel industry and the implementation of the open policy, it has become one of the nation's key tourist cities and tourism has become the mainstay in Shaanxi's economy.
Xi'an is located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River with the eight small rivers as the tributaries. It holds a key position in the fertile plain between the high loess plateau to the north and the Qinling Mountains to the south. The Qinling Mountain Range is an important geographical divide between northern and southern China and the major watershed of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers. Xi'an covers an area of 16,808 sq km with the temperate and continental climate, cold and dry in winter and hot in summer and rainy season comes in July, August and September. It lies at 107oeast longitude and 33onorth latitude with the altitude of 412 meters. The annual mean temperature is 13Co with annual precipitation of 604 mm.
Xi'an has a population of six million with 3.5 million in urban area. People who inhabit here are mainly Han, Hun, Manchu and Mongols. There are more than 700,000 Hun inhabitants in Xi'an. Most of the natives speak lCoal dialect which sounds similar to the mandarin. The government language is mandarin. The main religion in Xi'an is the Buddhism.
This city is the primer in Chinese history, as between 1,000 BC and 1,000AD it served as the imperial capital for eleven dynasties. This area has been the site of some of the oldest cities in the world's oldest civilization. Its history begins in the Bronze Age, three thousand years ago, when the Western Zhou dynasty, known for their skilled bronze work, built their capital at Fenghao, a few miles west. When the Fenghao was sacked by northwestern tribes, the Zhou dynasty moved to Luoyang. In 221 BC the Emperor Qin Shi Huang united Chinese in a single empire, the Qin, with its capital at Xianyang, just north of Xi'an. The successor, the Han dynasty, also based here, ruled from 206BC to 220AD.Near contemporaries of Imperial Rome, they ruled an empire of comparable size and power .Here Xi'an was the starting point of the Silk Road which was one of the most important arteries of trade and culture in world history. It was not until 589AD that the Sui dynasty took to build a new capital near Xi'an called Da Xingcheng-Great Prosperity City. The Tang dynasty, who replaced them in 618AD, took over the capital, overplaying it with their own buildings. The city was in its day the capital of a great empire and one of the biggest metropolitans in the world. There were more than 1 million people who housed in the magnificent city whose plan was so symmetrical that it was taken as a model for the building of many other Chinese cities and for the Japanese capital Nara, In 710.The Tang Dynasty period was a golden age for the arts, and ceramics, calligraphy, painting and poetry. After the fall of the Tang dynasty, Xi'an went into a long decline. Although it was never again the imperial capital, it still played an important military role in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Tourist Attractions in Xi’an: 

Terracotta Warriors And Horses Museum

In 221 B.C., Emperor Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty established the first centralized feudal dynasty in China. After his death, he was buried at the northern foot of Lishan Hill in the east of Lintong county. The tomb has been reduced to half its size after 2,000 years of water and soil erosion, but still impressive--76 meters high and a fundamental space of 120,000 square meters. One unusual detail about the construction of the tomb is that the emperor had the building begin shortly after becoming king of Qin at the age of 13. This action contradicted Confucian wisdom that a son should demonstrate respect for his father by building as impressive a memorial as possible and that a man should never plan his own funeral rites. The tomb took 39 years and 700,000 workers to reach completion. It had pearls embedded in the ceiling to represent the stars, and rivers and lakes were modeled with liquid mercury. The tomb itself has not been opened yet. 

In 1974, when digging wells about a mile west of the mausoleum, some peasants made the sensational discovery of the Terra-Cotta Warriors and Horses; these figures were distributed over three large underground platforms and formed part of the emperor's burial objects. Likely numbering more than 7,000 warriors if the site were completely excavated, the figures are cultural assets of considerable quality. In order to avoid the risks of weather damage, a giant hall has been constructed over the first excavation site to provide protection. Although the faces of the individual warriors all have different expressions, it is known that some were mass produced in large workshops. In 1978, a fourth pit was discovered; it is shaped as the Chinese character zhong. In 1980, two bronze chariots with four horses were discovered. 
There are four main categories of figures: chariot warriors, infantrymen, cavalrymen, and horses. There are generals, middle ranking officers, lower ranking officers, ordinary soldiers, and armored warriors. The latter can be further divided according to their headgear into warriors with a square scarf, a cylindrical bun, or a flat bun. There are kneeling warriors as well. In 221 B.C., Emperor Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty established the first centralized feudal dynasty in China. After his death, he was buried at the northern foot of Lishan Hill in the east of Lintong county. The tomb has been reduced to half its size after 2,000 years of water and soil erosion, but still impressive--76 meters high and a fundamental space of 120,000 square meters. One unusual detail about the construction of the tomb is that the emperor had the building begin shortly after becoming king of Qin at the age of 13. This action contradicted Confucian wisdom that a son should demonstrate respect for his father by building as impressive a memorial as possible and that a man should never plan his own funeral rites. The tomb took 39 years and 700,000 workers to reach completion. It had pearls embedded in the ceiling to represent the stars, and rivers and lakes were modeled with liquid mercury. The tomb itself has not been opened yet. 
In 1974, when digging wells about a mile west of the mausoleum, some peasants made the sensational discovery of the Terra-Cotta Warriors and Horses; these figures were distributed over three large underground platforms and formed part of the emperor's burial objects. Likely numbering more than 7,000 warriors if the site were completely excavated, the figures are cultural assets of considerable quality. In order to avoid the risks of weather damage, a giant hall has been constructed over the first excavation site to provide protection. Although the faces of the individual warriors all have different expressions, it is known that some were mass produced in large workshops. In 1978, a fourth pit was discovered; it is shaped as the Chinese character zhong. In 1980, two bronze chariots with four horses were discovered. 
There are four main categories of figures: chariot warriors, infantrymen, cavalrymen, and horses. There are generals, middle ranking officers, lower ranking officers, ordinary soldiers, and armored warriors. The latter can be further divided according to their headgear into warriors with a square scarf, a cylindrical bun, or a flat bun. There are kneeling warriors as well.

The Bell Tower and the Drum Tower

The Bell Tower in Xi'an is situated in the very heart of the city and at the junction of four main roads. The original city Bell Tower was situated to the west of this site and the present construction was built in 1100% and restored in 1739.

There is a huge bell hanging on the roof of the tower which was traditionally used to tell the time by and there are other, smaller bells on exhibit in the tower too.
Today, the Tower can only be accessed form the Subway on Bei Dajie where visitors must also buy their tickets.
To the west of the Bell Tower is the Drum Tower. This is a smaller building, situated in a lively street which is filled with street traders and hawkers. This tower marks the entrance to the city's Muslim Quarter which is a lovely area to wander and observe. the felling here is almost of a "city within a city" and the streets around this district heading up to the Mosque are like a small village crammed with people selling all kinds of weird and wonderful things.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda

The Little Wild Goose Pagoda. Located on the grounds of the Felicity Temple, this structure gets its name because it is smaller than the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, although it is more stories high. It was completed in 709 A.D., when Buddhism was firmly established in China. The influence of Buddhism was so strong that Daoism, based on the teaching of Lao Zi, gradually adopted many of the Buddhist rituals in order to maintain popularity among the people. It is said that the Little Wild Goose Pagoda had lost several stories during an earthquake in the 1500s. However, it still looks complete. It has finer detailing in the brickwork than the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Above the arched doorways on the first tier are Tang engravings of ivy designs and Buddhist figures. The pagoda is part of a temple complex and monastery. It is also possible to climb to the top of this structure. 

Shaanxi History Museum

In the southern part of Xi'an about one kilometer northweat of the Greater Wild Goose Pagoda stands the Shaanxi History Museum，a large State-grade Museum，which covers an area of seven hectares.It consists of a group of magnificent Tanf-style palaces.The Museum houses more than 110，000 pieces of historical and cultural relics，of which the 3，000 objects on display are selected from a few hundred thousand unearthed objects in Shaanci and are deemed priceless treasures.The museum displays historical and cultural relics during the prosperous periods of Zhou，Qin，Han and tang dynasties and is an ideal place for learning about the origins and development of ancient Chinese history. 

Famen Temple

Famen Temple is located in Famen Town 120 kilometers northwest of Xi'an. Although this Temple is a fair distance from Xi'an, it is a fascinating place with an intriguing history and it is worth making the effort to get here.
Legend has it that in 147 AD King Asoka of India traveled throughout Asia, distributing Buddhist relics as atonement for his sins and war like attitude. In China, he built this Temple and left the fingers of Buddha to be enshrined here.
Tang Dynasty Emperors revered this sacred relic and regularly walked through the streets with the fingers followed by a huge worshipping procession. The Tang Emperors offered wonderful gifts to the fingers in an attempt to better their predecessors offerings. This legend was actually dismissed until 1981 when heavy rains revealed the crypt, shrine and underground palace completely by accident. The crypt contains the Buddha's fingers and gifts from the Emperors. The site is still seen as an important place of pilgrimage for Buddhists today.
The museum here is excellent and contains various objects from the Tang dynasty including sacrificial offerings and royal gifts.

The Huaqing Pool(Hot Spring)

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”.

Mount Huashan

At a height of 2,160 meters above sea level and about 120km/3hours east of Xi'an, Huashan, literally translated as Flower Mountain, is a sight for sore eyes. The mountain has for centuries been deemed as one of China's five sacred mountains (Wu ye), along with one Hengshan to the northeast, Songshan and Taishan to the east and another Hengshan to the southeast.
Huashan, also known as the Western Mountain (Xi yue) due to its geographical location in relation to the others, is famed as the most precipitous of the five. Along the 12km path leading from the foot of the mountain, where it starts at the Jade Fountain Temple (Yuchuan si), to its five peaks, you will get the chance to see some impressive scenes, including the strangely shaped granite peaks and the twisted pines, that make up this, one of the lesser visited of the holy mountains.
The peaks from above are said to resemble the petals of a huge plant, with the middle peak as the corolla, hence the mountain's name. Of the five peaks it is the southern peak (2,100 meters) that is the largest, closely followed by those in the east and west. The ascent provides not only natural scenery, but also a number of man-made constructions that, for better or worse, are now a part of the mountain's tourist culture. The route to conquer the peaks passes by temples, shrines, pavilions, terraces, carvings, statues, food stalls and hawkers, that appear interspersed between the stark granite paths and forested margins. Along the Green Dragon Ridge (Bilong ji), which connects the northern peak with the remaining peaks, the way is cut along a narrow rock ridge with steep cliffs on either side. Some of this route can be a little dangerous, despite the iron chains that are linked on the more precipitous sections.

Mount Lishan

Mount Lishan is on the north side of Mount Qinling and at its highest peak reaches 1256 meters above sea level.The shape of the mountain is said to resemble a horse, hence the name which translates as "Black horse Mountain".

The mountain first became a popular retreat during the Tang Dynasty when the Emperors enjoyed climbing (or more likely being carried in their sedan's!) up here and taking in the wonderful view, the Hot Springs and the various statues and pavilions en route.On the east of the hill is also the spot where the Emperor Xuanzong and his concubine Lady Yang made solemn promises to love one another for ever!

How to get there: Mt. Lishan is approximately 30 minutes by bus from Xi'an. The Green Bus Eastern tour passes by the Mountain and the climb from top to bottom should take about two hours. There is also a cable car for those feeling lazy! The Green Bus leaves at regular intervals throughout the day from the Bell Tower in Xi'an.

BanPo Neolithic Village

The BanPo Neolithic Village (banpo yizhi)is six kilometers east of Xi'an. This excavated site of a village dates back to 4500 BC and was discovered in 1953. The village during this period was called Yangshao and 45 houses, 6 pottery kilns, 200 storage pits, 250 adult's tombs and children's burial jars, 10,000 tools and utensils were unearthed. The distinct culture of these villagers was known as Yangshao culture. The most interesting aspect of this is that Yangshao culture was very matrifocal. There are more female tombs and graves here than male, and the women's graves contain more objects and valuables than their male counterparts do.

Today, the site itself is pretty flat and uninspiring. It takes a lot of imagination to picture how this place used to be and the Disney-style "Yangshao Village" which has been reconstructed at the site makes this area less appealing.

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.

Xi'an Ancient City Wall

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.