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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. One of the most important cities in Chinese history, Xi'an 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: Cháng'ān), meaning "Perpetual Peace", in ancient times.

Xi'an is the largest and most developed city in the central to 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 km².

• 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 km², 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, well-known as Tang Sanzang in China, 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 km². 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 km² 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 Muslim quarter which is home to the beautiful 1250 year old Great Mosque of Xi'an.

Culture

Historically, Xi'an has been one of the most important cities in the world. The culture of Xi'an is inherited from the traditions of one of the world's earliest civilizations. The Guanzhong Ren (關中人) were the cultural antecedent of Xi'anese, their cultural features are drawn from the Ten Specialities of Guanzhong Ren (關中十大怪). Another major part of this culture is Eight Great Sights of Chang'an (長安八景); storied scenic areas in the region.

The drama of the original Xi'anese culture, Qinqiang (秦腔, Voice of Qin) is the oldest and most extensive Chinese Opera of the four major types of Chinese opera. The dialect of Xi'anese is Shaanxi Hua, which is being assimilated by Standard Mandarin, but still retains much grammar and pronunciation from the Classical Chinese. Because of its long development as a culture, the cuisine of Xi'an is extensive as well. It is the representative of food of Northwestern China. The most well know local food is the Xi'anese snack, a traditional food of the Hui people.

Sights

• The city is surrounded by a well-preserved defensive wall which was re-constructed in Ming Dynasty.
• The Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) and his Terracotta Army are located 40 km to the east of the city's suburbs.
• The city's Muslim 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 Bell Tower and Drum Tower, located at the city center.
• 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

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 industrialized and developed city in the Northwest 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 19.74 km. The previous feasibility study didn't get the approval from the Beijing Central Government. In 2004 a new Feasibility study was carried out by the Spanish consortium SUE (Spanish United Engineering) integrated by INOCSA, EUROESTUDIOS and PROINTEC, with a total length of 26.22 km, including 15 stations, a train depot and a multifunction base. According to this Study, the Line 1 will be completed in 2009.

Miscellaneous

Xi'an is the sister city with Kyoto (Japan), Pau (France), Québec (Canada), Lahore (Pakistan), and Dortmund (Germany)

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

• Xi'an Jiaotong University (西安交通大學)
• Chang'an University (長安大學)
• Northwest Sci-Tech University of Agriculture and Forestry (西北農林科技大學)
• Northwestern Polytechnical University (西北工業大學)
• Shaanxi Normal University (陝西師範大學)
• Xidian University (西安電子科技大學)
• The Fourth Military Medical University(第四軍醫大學)
• Northwest University (西北大學)
• Northwest University of Political Science and Law (西北政法大學)
• Shaanxi Institute of Education
• Shaanxi University of Technology

Xi'an Institute of Finance and Economics

• Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts
• Xi'an Conservatory of Music
• Xi'an Institute of Post & Telecoms (西安邮电学院)
• Xi'an Institute of Technology (西安理工大学)
• Xi'an International Studies University (西安外国语学院)
• Xi'an Physical Culture Institute
• Xi'an Petroleum University (西安石油大学)
• Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology (西安建筑科技大学)
• 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.

For details, see List of universities in mainland China

Additional Images

Bell and Drum Towers

Drum Tower

The Xi'an Drum Tower

Bell Tower at Xian Zhonglou

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

External links

• Municipal government website (http://www.xa.gov.cn/) (Chinese)
• Xian City Map (260kb, English) (http://www.chinaodysseytours.com/maps/xian_map.htm)
• Satellite images of Xi'an (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Xian+China&ll=34.265445,108.944550&spn=0.125879,0.202217&t=k&hl=en) (Google Maps)