Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province in the People's republic of 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 because it has been the capitalof 13 dynasties, including the Zhou, Qin, Han, the Sui dynasty, 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, made during the Qin Dynasty. The city has more than 3,100 years of history. The ancient city of Chang'an is within Xi'an's borders, but is offset from the existing walled city of Xi'an.
Since the 1990s, as part of the economic revival of interior China especially for the central and northwest regions, the City of Xi'an has re-emerged as 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.
Origin of Name
The two Chinese characters in the name "Xi'an" literally mean Western Peace This name derives from the period of the Ming Dynasty when the city's name changed from its former title of "Chang'an". In fact, the naming conventions used for the city have often changed throughout time. The city was named Fenghao in the Zhou Dynasty beginning around 1046 BC. It was renamed Chang'an during the Han Dynasty in 206 AD. It was then renamed as Daxing during the Sui Dynasty in 581 AD, while it was again renamed Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty beginning in 618 AD. It was given other names in later periods as well, such as Fengyuan , then Anxi, then Jingzhao during the Yuan Dynasty. Finally, it was named Xi'an in the year 1369 AD - the first time that it was called Xi'an - during the Ming Dynasty. It retained the name of Xi'an until 1928, until it was named Xijing in 1930. It was once again changed back to its Ming era name of Xi'an in the year 1943.
Xi'an's abbreviations in Chinese are Hao or Tang. The former is derived from the ancient name Fenghao of the Zhou Dynasty. The latter is derived from the name of Tang Dynasty.
History
Xi'an has a rich history of cultural significance, both natural and man-made. The Lantian Man was discovered in 1963 at Lantian County, just 50 km southeast of Xi'an. This finding dates back at least 500,000 years ago, and was followed by the discovery of a 5,000 year old Neolithic village at Banpo in 1954, just outside the current city limits to the east.
Qin Dynasty
Xi'an became a major cultural and industrial centre of China in 11th century BCE, with the founding of the Zhou Dynasty. The capital of Zhou was established in Fēng and Hāo, 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 became Xianyang, 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 modern city's suburb.
Han Dynasty and the Silk Road
In 202 BCE, the founding emperor Liu Bang of the Han Dynasty established Chang'an County as the capital. His first palace Changle Palace (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 build Weiyang Palace 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 km˛. 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.
Sui Dynasty
After a period of disunion, 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 (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 km˛, The main street Zhuque Avenue measured 155 m in width. It was the largest city in the world.
Tang Dynasty
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 (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 (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 Springs 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 emperor 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, and Chinese characters (on which Japanese characters are based). Some Japanese even lived out their lives in Chang'an. Following the Japanese envoys was 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.
Ming Dynasty
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 city wall in the world.
Modern History
In late Qing Dynasty, foreign troops attacked Beijing. The empress dowager Cixi escaped from Beijing to Xi'an, living in Huaqing Palace at Lishan. Local officials wanted to please her and built a building named Liangbao Lou on West Street for the purpose of holding her jewels.
In 1936, just before the final outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, but during a period when Japan occupied much of Dongbei (NE China), the famous "Xi'an Incident" took place inside the city walls. General Yang Hucheng and General Zhang Xueliang ("The Young Marshall") arrested Chiang Kai-shek in order to force him to cooperate with the forces led by his enemy Mao Zedong in fighting the Japanese. The result was a temporary truce between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China and a shaky coordination in the fighting against the Japanese.
Geography and Climate
Xi'an lies on the Guanzhong Plain in the central part of China with the average elevation of 400 meters above sea level. Its annual precipitation is 1100 millimeters.
Xi'an is nested between a flood plain created by the eight surrounding rivers and streams, most of which are too polluted to be used as sources of fresh water. The Hei river provides potable water to the city.
The city borders the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains to the south, and the banks of the Wei River to the north. Hua Shan, one of the five sacred Taoist mountains, is located 100 km away to the east of the city.
In the beginning of Han Dynasty, Prime Minister Zhang Liang suggested the emperor, Liu Bang, to choose Guanzhong as the capital area of Han :
- "Guanzhong Plain, which is located behind Xiao Pass and Hangu Pass, connects Long Plain and Shu Plain. Land, of thousands miles and rich in harvest, can be found here, as if this place is belongs to the nation of the heaven". Since then, Guanzhong is also known as "Nation of the Heaven".
Climate
Xi'an has a continental climate. The region is characterized by long, hot summers, and cold, dry winters. Spring and autumn are brief in between. Xi'an receives most of its annual precipitation from August to late October in the form of rain. Summer seasons also experience frequent but short thunderstorms.
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.
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.
During World War II, Xi'an became a destination for many refugees from other provinces of China, especially the neighboring Henan Province, as Xi'an was quite far inland and the invading Japanese army only managed a few aerial assaults on the city. As a result, Xi'an suffered minimal destruction. After 1949, the central governmental aimed to balance the development in different regions of China, factories and universities were moved from other cities to Xi'an, including Xi'an Jiaotong University from Shanghai. Like other major Chinese cities, Xi'an receives a fair number of migrant workers from the rural areas every year.
Transportation and infrastructure
For a large metropolis Xi'an has many areas that are easily accessible on foot. At many heavily zoned commercial, residential, educations areas in the city, there are underpasses or overpasses for the safety and convenience of pedestrians, especially in the shopping and entertainment districts around the Bell Tower. However many intersections still lack sufficiently visible traffic lights and the right-of-way is virtually non-existent except at large intersections with traffic police and signals.
There has been a significant increase in the number of privately-owned vehicles to the middle and upper class households in Xi'an. Electrical bikes are very popular among students and offer easy transportation in and around the city for many residents. Taxi services are numerous but many citizens of Xi'an still commute to work on one of more than 200 bus routes.
Airport
Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is the major airport serving the city and is the largest airport in the northwest region of China. The airport is located to the northwest of the city, between Xi'an and Xianyang. Chang'an Airlines and China Eastern Airlines are the main airport tenants.
International Routes: There are direct flights from Xi'an to many major cities in Asia, including Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kyoto, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Pusan.
Germany's Fraport, the operator of Frankfurt Airport, has paid 490 million yuan to obtain a 24.5-percent stake in the Xianyang International Airport, offering opportunities to upgrade and expand the facility.
Culture
The culture of Xi'an is inherited from the traditions of one of the world's earliest civilizations. The Guanzhong Ren were the cultural antecedent of Xi'anese, their cultural features are drawn from the Ten Specialities of Guanzhong Ren. Another major part of this culture is Eight Great Sights of Chang'an, storied scenic areas in the region.
Architecture
Seven styles of architecture predominate in urban Xi'an, the first three which include the architecture of Qin and Han Dynasties, the architecture of Tang Dynasty and at last the architecture of Ming and Qing Dynasties. These three styles are all Chinese traditional, but they could be differed from the colors of the roof and certain details. For Qin and Han Style, the roof is black, and no decorations are used under the roof. For Tang style, people began to use a lot of the colour red but still prefer the black or dark green roof, and the buildings were all divine and huge to show off the power of the country; when the history went into Ming and Qing dynasties, roof's color changed to yellow, and people value tremendously on details, such as drawings and prints under the roof.
After Qing dynasty, it's Republic of China style before PRC was established. It is perhaps best exemplified by the People's Showplace. Then, there is what is sometimes referred to as the Sino-Soviet style, built between the 1950s and the 1970s, which was under the help of U.S.S.R., mostly centralized in the western part of the city where there are lots of factories. Also, there are much more modern architectural forms - most notably in the areas of High-Tech Zone and Economic-Development zone.
At present, a new Chinese architectural form called New Tang Style can be mainly found in Qujiang , which inherits the soul of tradition and develops itself on the base of modern architecture; Shaanxi History Museum and Xi'an Museum are examples of this style.
Commerce
There are three commercial centres in the city. The most important one revolves around the Bell tower commercial circle, covering an area about 1km2 which includes the West Street, the East Street, the South Street and Jiefang Road varies from each other. The east street is the main street. Ginwa is a local advanced shopping centre. It also has branches in Beijing and Urumqi. Golden Eagle, which comes from Nanjing, is the group's first northern shopping centre. Parkson is a Malaysian brand, with more than 40 stores in Mainland China. Mansion Mode, based in Hong Kong has five stores in Shanghai, Xi'an, Chongqing, Beijing and Chengdu.
Sites
Historical
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 and his Terracotta Army are located 40 km to the east, in 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.
Natural
- Mount Hua is one of the most visited and steepest mountains in the country.
- Mount Zhongna
- Mount Taibai
- Lishan
Sister cities
Xi'an's sister cities are :
- Nara, Japan. (1974)
- Kyoto, Japan. (1974)
- Edinburgh, United Kingdom. (1985)
- Pau, France. (1986)
- Kansas City, United States. (1989)
- Esfahan, Iran. (1989)
- Dortmund, Germany. (1991)
- Lahore, Pakistan. (1992)
- Funabashi, Japan. (1994)
- Gyeongju, South Korea. (1994)
- Iaşi, Romania. (1994)
- Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine. (1995)
- Istanbul, Turkey. (1996)
- Kathmandu, Nepal. (1996)
- Brasília, Brazil. (1997)
- Québec City, Canada. (2001)
- Cķrdoba, Argentina. (2006)
- Pompei, Italy. (2007)
- Birmingham, United Kingdom.
- Cusco, Peru.
From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi%27an
Text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License
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Qin Mausoleum
The Terracotta Army in Xi'an
 | Rear guard
Soldiers
Dynastie Qin
Anonymous
near 210 B.C.
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 | Soldiers
Soldiers
Dynastie Qin
Anonymous
near 210 B.C.
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 | Soldiers
Soldiers
Dynastie Qin
Anonymous
near 210 B.C.
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Xi'an
 | Impérial Hall
Building
Ming Dynasty
Anonymous
approx. from 1392 to 1398
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 | Wash Room
Building
Ming Dynasty
Anonymous
approx. from 1392 to 1398
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 | Worship Hall
Building
Ming Dynasty
Anonymous
approx. from 1392 to 1398
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