China Travel Guide: Xi'an

Author: Editorial Board of "China Travel Guide"
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-09-01
Features: Xi'an, known as Chang'an in ancient times, is one of the important birthplaces of ancient civilization on the Yellow River in China. It is renowned as one of the world's four great ancient capitals, alongside Athens, Rome, and Cairo. Xi'an is also the earliest and longest-lasting ancient capital in China, with a history spanning over 3,000 years. From the Western Zhou Dynasty (1134 BC) to the Tang Dynasty, a total of 13 dynasties established their capitals here. Xi'an is often called the "natural history museum of ancient Chinese society." It boasts the most complete and largest ancient city walls in the world, as well as the Four Great Sites of Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang, covering a total area of 108 square kilometers. Xi'an has 34 national key cultural relic protection units, 54 provincial-level ones, and 230 municipal-level ones, with a total of 2,944 registered cultural relic sites. The city has five national-level forest parks, such as Louguantai, and four provincial-level ones. It also has one national-level scenic area, three provincial-level ones, and 42 tourist attractions, including the Bell Tower and Stele Forest. Xi'an houses over 120,000 cultural relics, many of which are rare treasures found only in China and rarely in the world. Since ancient times, Xi'an has been a vital transportation hub. Today, railways, highways, and aviation networks form an extensive and interconnected transportation system. Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, one of China's four major international airports, operates over 100 routes. The Xi'an Railway Station, a first-class passenger station, is a key stop on the Eurasian Land Bridge. Xi'an has 2,800 kilometers of highways, with five national-level trunk highways passing through it. More than 40 roads radiate from the city center to various tourist attractions, including nine dedicated tourist routes. Xi'an offers a rich variety of tourist handicrafts, such as replicas of the Terracotta Warriors, ancient bronze wares, Tang Sancai, and Guanzhong paper-cutting. Its unique local snacks attract visitors from all over the world. The accumulation of history and culture, combined with the development of high technology, has made Xi'an a famous international tourist city.