The Xi'an drum tower

Xi'an (Chinese: 西安; pinyin: Xī'ān; Wade-Giles: Hsi-An; literal meaning: "Western Peace") is the capital of Shaanxi province, in China and a sub-provincial city. It was one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China because it has been the capital of 13 dynasties such as Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang. Xi'an is the eastern end of the Silk Road. The city has more than 3,100 years of history. It was called Chang'an (长安, 長安 pinyin: Ch�ng'ān), meaning "Perpetual Peace", in ancient times.

Xi'an is the largest and most developed city in the northwestern part of China and is ranked among the 10 largest cities in the nation.

History

• Zhou Dynasty established its capital in Feng (沣) and Hao (镐) between the late 11th century BC and 770 BC, both located west of contemporary Xi'an.

• Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206 BC) constructed its capital in the north shore of Wei River, which was burned by Xiang Yu at the end of the dynasty.

• 202 BC: Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, established Chang'an County as his capital; his first palace Changle Palace (长乐宫) was built across the river from the ruin of the Qin capital. This is traditionally regarded as the founding date of Chang'an and Xi'an.

• 200 BC: Emperor Liu Bang built Weiyang Palace (未央宫) in Chang'an.

• 194 BC: Construction of the first city wall of Chang'an began, which did not finished until 190 BC. The wall measured 25.7 km in length, 12-16 m in thickness at the base. The area within the wall was ca. 36 square km.

• AD 582: Emperor of Sui Dynasty ordered a new capital to be built southeast of the Han capital, called Daxing (大興, great excitement). It consisted of three sections: the Palace, the Imperial City, and the civilian section. The total area within the wall was 84 square km, The main street Zhuque Avenue measured 155 m in width. It was the largest city in the world. The city was renamed Chang'an (長安, everlasting peace) in Tang Dynasty.

• 7th century: Buddhist monk Xuan Zang established a sizeable translation centre after returning from India with Sanskrit scriptures.

• AD 701: Construction of Da Yan Pagoda (大雁塔, Great Wild Goose Pagoda) began. It measured 64 m in height. This pagoda was constructed for the storage of the translation of the Buddha Sutra obtained from India by the monk Xuan Zang.

• AD 707: Construction of Xiao Yan Pagoda (小雁塔, Little Wild Goose Pagoda) began. It measured 45 m in height. After the earthquake of 1556 AD, its height was reduced to 43.4 m.

• AD 904: The end of Tang Dynasty brought destruction to Chang'an. Residences were forced to move to Luoyang, the new capital. Only a small area continued to be occupied after the destruction.

• AD 1370: Ming Dynasty built a new wall to protect a much smaller city of 12 square km. The wall measures 11.9 km in circumference, 12 m in height, and 15-18 m in thickness at the base.

• This city was the site of the Xian Incident in 1936 during World War II. The Xi'an Incident brought the Communist Party of China and Kuomintang to a truce so the two forces could concentrate on fighting against Japan.

Geography

The city is nested between a flood plain created by 8 surrounding rivers and streams, most of which have been too polluted to be used as sources of fresh water.

Xi'an borders the northern foot of the Qinling Mountain Ranges to the south, and the banks of Wei River to the north.

The city covers approximately 16,808 km� of urban area.

Demographics

Its population is around 7.5 million. About 4 million people live in the city area. Xi'an has a large Moslem quarter which is home to the beautiful 1250 year old Great Mosque of Xi'an.

Culture

Qinqiang is one type of Chinese opera with a long history.

Sights

On top of the city wall looking down the main street towards the Bell Tower

• The city is surrounded by a well-preserved defensive wall which was re-constructed in Ming Dynasty.
• The Tomb of Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) and his Terracotta Army are located 40kms to the east of the city's suburbs.
• The city's Moslem quarter 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 1000 years old and have mostly survived great earthquakes.
• 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.

Economy

An underpass around the Bell Tower

Xi'an's GDP per capita was �27893 (ca. US$3397) in 2003, ranked no. 39 among 659 Chinese cities. Xi'an is the most industried and developed city in the western part of China.

Public Transportation

A subway construction project was planned in 2002 to be completed by 2006. The projected Xi'an subway (No. 1 line) would start from the northwest area of Xi'an city and stop at the Xi'an Textile City with a total length of 19.74km. However, the project was never carried out.

Miscellaneous

Xi'an is the sister city with Kyoto, Japan and with Pau, France.

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)
• Northwest Sci-Tech University of Agriculture and Forestry (西北农林科技大学)
• Northwestern Polytechnical University (西北工业大学)
• Shaanxi Normal University (陕西师范大学)
• Xi'an Jiaotong University (西安交通大学)
• Xidian University (西安电子科技大学)
• Fourth Military Medical University(第四军医大学)
• Northwest University (西北大学)
• Noorthwest University of Political Science and Law
• Shaanxi Institute of Education
• Shaanxi University of Technology
• Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts
• Xi'an Conservatory of Music
• Xi'an Institute of Post & Telecoms
• Xi'an Institute of Technology (西安理工大学)
• Xi'an International Studies University
• Xi'an Physical Culture Institute
• Xi'an Shiyou University
• Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology
• Xi'an University of Engineering Science and Technology
• Xi'an University of Technology

Private

• Xi'an Eurasia University
• Xi'an Fanyi University
• Xi'an Peihua University (西安培华学院)
• Xi'an Siyuan University

Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.

External links

• Municipal government website (http://www.xa.gov.cn/) (Chinese)

da:Xian de:Xi'an es:Xi'an fr:Xi'an ja:西安 nl:Xian ro:Xī'ān zh:西安