Xian Guide

Overview

 

Xian is one of the four major tourist cities in China and it is the largest city in in Shanxi Province, its long history can be traced back to more than 3000 years ago. From the earliest societies, people lived and multiplied here. As one of the six ancient capital cities in China, Xian was the capital for the longest time - it served 12 dynasties (more than any other city) for 1,120 years, including the well-known Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Sui and Tang, stretching over a total of more than 2000 years.

 

Xian China is also a world-famous tourist 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.

 

Video of Xian

 

 

Know More

 

Xian is the capital of Shaanxi province. And it is one of the four Great Ancient Capital Cities together with Athens, Rome and Cairo. It was the starting point of the Silk Road, where camels were loaded for their long and perilous journey to Central Asia. Xian's links to Central Asia goes beyond trade as Islam continues to have an influence on the local flavor through the Muslim Hui minority.

 

As dynasty after dynasty added their own mark to Xian, the relics of old palaces, temples and tombs abound throughout the city and surrounding countryside. The tyrannical Qin dynasty emperor Qin Shihuang, with his capital at Xianyang, close to present day Xian, left his indelible mark through the famed Terracotta Warriors. It is a must see attraction about Xian travel.

 

The Tang Dynasty is considered one of China's golden ages for its unmatched cultural achievements. Trade reached Central Asia and Europe, thousands of students from Japan and Korea arrived in Xian to study the Tang cultural, and Chinese monks traveled to India to copy Buddhist sutras. At its zenith during the Tang dynasty, Xian was the world's largest and more cosmopolitan city, measuring 84.1 square kilometers with over one million residents.

 

Though Xian was large, it was not affected by the incomprehensible twisting and turning lanes of similar cities of the era. As the first planned city in China, it was organized into a neat grid layout, highly symbolic in geomancy. The layout of Xian city would influence other cities such as Beijing, etc.

 

Nowadays, the Xian city's charm lies in its historic atmosphere, there's a palpable sense of past glories, vestiges of its history are ever present.

One can easily imagine the sights and sounds of Xian at the height of its glory when wandering along the city walls or strolling through the old Muslim quarter. Xi,an travel guide you to discover this ancient city.