Capital · Historic city · Cultural centre · Shaanxi
Xi'an
西安
Chang'an, imperial capital of Qin, Han and Tang
Xi'an is the capital of Shaanxi and, as Chang'an, was the seat of the Western Han, Sui and Tang dynasties and the eastern end of the Silk Road. It keeps the most complete Ming city wall in China, the Tang pagodas of Xuanzang and the Muslim Quarter, and on its eastern edge lies the mausoleum of the First Emperor with the Terracotta Army.
Key facts
Overview
Xi'an lies in the middle of the Guanzhong Plain, between the Wei River and the Qinling Mountains. For more than a thousand years, on and off, it was the political centre of China: the Western Zhou, the Qin at nearby Xianyang, the Western Han and the Sui and Tang all ruled from here. Tang Chang'an, laid out on a vast grid, was a cosmopolitan city of merchants, monks and envoys from across Asia.
The name Xi'an, “Western Peace”, dates from 1369. Today it is a sub-provincial city and one of the largest in western China, with a strong university and research sector, aerospace, electronics and car-making industries, and one of the country's busiest tourist economies.
Names and nicknames
长安
“Perpetual Peace”
Name of the Han and Tang capital, still used for a district, a street and countless institutions.
镐京
The Western Zhou capital on the Feng River south-west of the city, the first of the capitals on the site.
十三朝古都
“ancient capital of thirteen dynasties”
A local count of the states and dynasties that ruled from the Xi'an area, from the Western Zhou to the Tang.
History
After the Tang the city shrank to a regional centre, and the present walls enclose only the old Tang imperial city. The Ming rebuilt the walls between 1370 and 1378 and added the Bell and Drum towers. In the late Qing the city was the refuge of the Empress Dowager Cixi after the Boxer War (1900–1901). In December 1936 the Xi'an Incident, the detention of Chiang Kai-shek at the Huaqing hot springs, forced a truce between Nationalists and Communists.
c. 1046 BCE
Western Zhou capital Haojing
King Wu of Zhou built his capital on the Feng River; the site lies in today's Chang'an district.
202 BCE
Han Chang'an founded
Liu Bang made Chang'an his capital; the earthen walls of the Weiyang Palace survive north-west of the modern city.
582
Sui city of Daxing
Emperor Wen of Sui laid out a new capital on a grid; the Tang renamed it Chang'an and enlarged it.
652 and 707
The Wild Goose pagodas
The Great Wild Goose Pagoda was built to hold Xuanzang's scriptures, the Small Wild Goose Pagoda for the monk Yijing's.
781
The Nestorian Stele
A stone recording the arrival of the Church of the East in 635 was erected in Chang'an; it now stands in the Stele Forest.
1370–1378
Ming city wall
The present 13.7-kilometre wall, with moat, gates and towers, was built on the line of the Tang imperial city.
1900–1901
Refuge of the Qing court
The Empress Dowager Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor fled to Xi'an after the Eight-Nation Alliance occupied Beijing.
12 December 1936
Xi'an Incident
Chiang Kai-shek was detained by his own generals until he agreed to a united front against Japan.
1974
Terracotta Army discovered
The find near Lintong turned Xi'an into one of the principal tourist destinations in China.
Landmarks
Historic site
Terracotta Army
兵马俑
Three excavated pits of life-size clay soldiers, horses and chariots guarding the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang in Lintong district.
Historic site
City Wall
西安城墙
The Ming wall around the old centre, walkable and cyclable along its full circuit.
Temple or shrine
Great Wild Goose Pagoda
大雁塔
Tang brick pagoda in Da Ci'en Temple, where Xuanzang translated the scriptures he brought from India.
Museum
Shaanxi History Museum
陕西历史博物馆
One of China's major museums, strong on Zhou bronzes, Han and Tang gold and silver, and Tang tomb murals.
Museum
Stele Forest
碑林
More than a thousand inscribed stones, including the Kaicheng stone classics and masterpieces of calligraphy, in a former Confucian temple.
Temple or shrine
Great Mosque
化觉巷清真大寺
Mosque laid out as a Chinese temple with courtyards, pavilions and a pagoda-like minaret, in the heart of the Muslim Quarter.
Historic site
Bell and Drum Towers
钟楼·鼓楼
Ming towers at the centre of the walled city.
Historic site
Daming Palace
大明宫遗址
Site of the principal Tang palace, now an archaeological park with reconstructed gate and hall platforms.
Park or garden
Huaqing Palace
华清宫
Hot-spring palace at the foot of Mount Li, linked with Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Guifei and with the Xi'an Incident.
Neighbourhoods
Muslim Quarter
回民街
Hui neighbourhood north-west of the Drum Tower, with mosques, bakeries and food stalls.
Datang Everbright City
大唐不夜城
Pedestrian boulevard of Tang-style buildings south of the Great Wild Goose Pagoda, busiest in the evening.
Shuyuanmen
书院门
Old street inside the south gate with shops for brushes, ink, paper and calligraphy.
Qujiang
曲江
District around the restored Tang pleasure lake south-east of the walls.
Food
Yangrou paomo
羊肉泡馍
Bread crumbled by hand into lamb soup; the defining dish of the city.
Roujiamo
肉夹馍
Flatbread filled with braised pork, or beef in the Muslim Quarter.
Biangbiang noodles
裤带面 — “trouser-belt noodles”
Belt-wide hand-pulled noodles, better known by the name biangbiang, whose character is one of the most complex in use.
Zenggao
甑糕
Sticky rice steamed with red dates and kidney beans, sold by the slice in the morning.
Hot and peppery soup
胡辣汤
Thick breakfast soup with meatballs and vegetables, spiced with black pepper.
Culture
Xi'an's cultural life draws on its imperial past: Tang-themed song-and-dance shows, calligraphy shops by the Stele Forest and the Xi'an drum music of its temples. Qinqiang opera is still performed at the Yisushe theatre, founded in 1912. The city's universities give it a large student population, and its Hui community, centred on the Muslim Quarter, has lived here since the Tang and Yuan.
长安一片月，万户捣衣声。Cháng'ān yī piàn yuè, wàn hù dǎo yī shēng.
“Over Chang'an, a single moon; from ten thousand homes, the sound of beating clothes.”
— Li Bai, “Autumn Song” from the Midnight Songs of Wu (子夜吴歌·秋歌), Tang dynasty
Getting around
- Xi'an Metro links the walled centre with the railway stations, the airport and the southern districts; the old centre inside the wall is compact enough to walk.
- Xi'an North is the high-speed station; Xi'an Station, just outside the north wall, handles many conventional trains.
- Xi'an Xianyang International Airport lies north-west of the city and is reached by metro.
- Buses from the railway station area serve the Terracotta Army and Huaqing Palace in Lintong.
Day trips
Mount Hua
华山
The steep granite mountain east of the city, reached by high-speed train to Huashan North.
Famen Temple
法门寺
Temple west of Xi'an whose crypt, opened in 1987, held a relic of the Buddha and Tang imperial treasures.
Qianling
乾陵
The mountain tomb of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian, with its avenue of stone figures.
Han Yangling
汉阳陵
Tomb of Emperor Jing of Han near the airport, with an underground museum of miniature figures.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Xi'an Municipal People's Government — Xi'an Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor — UNESCO World Heritage Centre (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor — UNESCO World Heritage Centre (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Xi'an — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
More cities in Shaanxi
- Xianyang咸阳Historic cityCapital of Qin and valley of the Han and Tang imperial tombs
- Baoji宝鸡Historic city · Industrial centreHomeland of the Zhou and Qin, city of bronzes
- Yan'an延安Historic city · Cultural centreLoess Plateau city of the Communist Party's wartime base
- Hanzhong汉中Historic city · Scenic areaWhere the Han dynasty took its name, between the Qinling and the Daba
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