The two Chinese characters in the name "Xi'an" literally mean Western Peace. The local Xi'anese pronunciation of Xi'an is almost the same as the Standard Mandarin pronunciation in Hanyu Pinyin. 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 (丰镐) in the Zhou (周) Dynasty beginning around 1046 BC. The city was named Xianyang (咸阳) during the Qin (秦) Dynasty, or rather the State of Qin in 383 BC. It was renamed Chang'an (长安) during the Han (汉) Dynasty in 206 AD. It was then renamed as Daxing (大兴) during the Sui (隋) 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 (奉元), then Anxi (安西), then Jingzhao (京兆) during the Yuan (元) 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 (西京) in 1930. It was once again reverted back to its Ming era name of Xi'an in the year 1943.
Xi'an's abbreviations in Chinese are Hao (镐) or Tang (唐). The former is derived from the ancient name Fenghao of the Zhou Dynasty. The latter is derived from the name of Tang Dynasty.
Xi'an is known as "the Cradle of Chinese Nationality".
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 (蓝田县; pinyin: Lántián Xiàn), 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 (半坡) in 1954, just outside the current city limits to the east.
Qin Dynasty
Xi'an became a cultural and industrial center of China in 11th century BCE, with the founding of the Zhou Dynasty. The capital of Zhou was established in Fēng (沣/灃) and Hào (镐/鎬), 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 was Xianyang (咸阳), 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 city's suburb.
In 202 BCE, the founding emperor Liu Bang of the Han Dynasty established Chang'an County as the capital; his first palace Changle Palace (长乐宫/長樂宮, 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 built Weiyang Palace (未央宫) 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 km². 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
Following another few hundreds of years of unrest, 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 (大兴/大興, 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 km², 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 (大雁塔, 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 (小雁塔, 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 Spring 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 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, Chinese characters (on which Japanese characters were based on). Some Japanese even lived out their lives in Chang'an. Following the Japanese envoys 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 citywall of the world.
In late Qing Dynasty, foreign troops attacked Beiping (modern-day Beijing). The queen mother Cixi escaped from Beiping to Xi'an, living in Huaqing Palace at Lishan. Local officials wanted to please her and built a building named Liangbao Lou (亮宝楼) to place her jewels in the West Street.
Siking Mass, local newpaper published on 13/12/1936, a day after the Xi'an Incident
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. The urban area of Xi'an, located at 34°16′00″N, 108°54′00″E (34.1600, 108.5400).[1]
Xi'an is nested between a flood plain created by the eight surrounding rivers and streams, most of which have been too polluted to be used as sources of fresh water.
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.' ("关中左崤函, 右陇蜀, 沃野千里, 此所谓金城千里, 天府之国也" 《史记·留侯世家》) Since then, Guanzhong is also known as 'Nation of the Heaven'.
Mountains and Rivers
The city borders the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains to the south, and the banks of 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.
National Time Service Centre
It's Shaanxi Astronomical Observatory was established in 1966. In 1975, according to the Geodetic Origin Report, the People's Republic of China: 'in order to avoid bias in the mensuration as much as possible, the Geodetic Origin would better in central mainland China.' Jingyang (泾阳), a town near Xi'an was chosen. Since 1986, Chinese Standard Time(CST) has lauched from NTSC. The location of NTSC at Jingyang is 36km away from Xi'an. It is 880km to the North boundary, 2500km to the Northeast, 1000km to the East, 1750km to the South, 2250km to the Southwest, 2930km to the West, and 2500km to the Northwest.
National Time Service Center (NTSC), the Chinese Academy of Sciences is an institute which is mainly engaged in the service and research on time and frequency. NTSC takes charge of generating and maintaining the national standard time scale, disseminating the time and frequency signals. The autonomous standard time scales of universal time and atomic time and the dissemination techniques with LF radio and HF radio were established successively during 1970’s and 1980’s, which meet all the requirements for different applications on the whole, such as the scientific researches, national economy, et al.
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.
At the end of 2005, Xi'an had a population of 8.07 million[2]. Compared to the census conducted in 2000, the population increased by 656,700 persons from 7.41 million.[2] There were 4.17 million (51.66%) males and 3.90 million (48.34%) females[2]. For every 100 females in the city there were 106.88 males.[2] The district with the most population is YanTa Qu, with 1.08 million inhabitants.[2]
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 MuslimHui 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 amount of migrant workers from the rural areas every year.
Subdivision
Xi'an is subdivided into 13 districts. source:refers to 'Brief Administration Region,the People's Republic of China,2006'(<中华人民共和国行政区划简册>).(Population dues to 2004)
The urban and suburban areas of the city are divided into seven (7) districts:
District
Population (2000 census)
Area (km²)
Beilin District (碑林区: Bēi Lín Qū)
700,000
22.0
Yanta District (雁塔区: Yàn Tǎ Qū)
690,000
152.0
Weiyang District (未央区: Wèi Yāng Qū)
410,000
26.1
Baqiao District (灞桥区: Bà Qiáo Qū)
450,000
32.2
Xincheng District (新城区: Xīn Chéng Qū)
490,000
31.0
Lianhu District (莲湖区: Lián Hú Qū)
600,000
38.00
Chang'an District (长安区 : Cháng ān Qū),Chang'an Xian until 12th,Sep,2002
930,000
1583
City proper + inner suburbs
4.27 million
1,884.3
The following two(2) districts encompass the more distant suburbs and satellite towns, constituting part of the metropolitan area:
District
Population (2000 census)
Area (km²)
Yanliang District (阎良区: Yán Liáng Qū)
240,000
240.0
Lintong District (临潼区: Lín Tóng Qū)
670,000
898.0
Outer suburbs
0.91 million
1,138.0
The other four(4) districts and the two counties located further out govern semirural and rural areas:
District
Population (2000 census)
Area (km²)
Lantian Country (蓝田县: Lán Tián Xiàn)
640,000
1,977.0
Zhouzhi Country (周至县: Zhōu Zhì Xiàn)
630,000
2,956.0
Hu County (户县:Hù Xiàn)
590,000
1,213.0
Gaoling County (高陵县: Gāo Líng Xiàn)
230,000
290
Peripheral areas
2.09 million
6,436.0
Transportation and Infrastructure
Underpass around the Bell TowerXi'an Railway Station
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 offers easy transportation in and around the city for many residents. Taxi services are robust, however many citizens of Xi'an still commute to work on one of the 200+ bus routes.
Subway
Currently there are major constructions along Chang An street for the first subway system in Xi'an, designed 6 lines, to be completed by 2011.
The 2nd route will start to be built in 2009, while rest of the routes are planned to start in 2013 and finish around 2020.
Taxi
The main models of the taxis are Santana made in Shanghai, BYD auto made in Xi'an and CITROEN made in Wuhan. Taxis serve 24 hours a day. The Taxi Management Bureau of Xi'an City strengthens the work of management by forming strict system and announcing telephone of complaints to the society. They provide canonical service, and charge according to the price meter.
There are 6 passenger transport railway stations in Xi'an at present, and the Xi'an Railway Station is one of the eight national important railway stations. Xi'an Railway Station is the main railway station serving the city. Others include Xi'an West, Xi'an East, Xi'an South,Sanmincun, Fangzhicheng railway stations. Xi'an North Railway Station is under construction.
Xi'an Railway Station has a coverage of 597 thousand square meters, 5 passenger platforms, and 24 rails. It actually provides 112 trains and its daily transportation of passengers is 80 thousand person times. In the Xi'an Railway Branch, there are excursion trains from Xi'an to Zhengzhou, from Xi'an to Lanzhou, from Xi'an to Baoji,and from Xi'an to Mount Hua. CRH2(China Railway High-speed 2) is an express service running from Xi'an to Baoji, the total running time is less than 90 minutes.
Xi'an currently has two ring road systems, the Second Ring road and the Third Ring road encircle the city. These ring roads are almost built like freeways, except that there are traffic signals on the Second Ring road.
As a famous tourist city, Xi'an built expressways to Lintong, Tongchuan and Baoji,High class roads built on the famous scenic spots from Xi'an to its suburban counties and the north slope of the Qin Mountains, transfixion of the 2nd Ring, widening of the three-bridge New Street and North Avenue and other projects provide very convenient conditions of traffic for visitors to Xi'an.
Expressways spread in all directions from Xi'an. In September 2007, the newest completed Xi-Han Expressway connects Han Zhong and Xi'an through the Qinling Mountains. The ZhongNan Shan Tunnel is the longest tunnel in Asia at 15 kilometers long.
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.
The culture of Xi'an is inherited from the traditions of one of the world's earliest civilizations. The Guanzhong Ren (关中人/關中人) were the cultural antecedent of Xi'anese, their cultural features are drawn from the Ten Specialities of Guanzhong Ren (关中十大怪/關中十大怪). Another major part of this culture is Eight Great Sights of Chang'an (长安九景/長安九景), 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 (秦汉风格), the architecture of Tang Dynasty (唐风) and at last the architecture of Ming and Qing Dynasties (明清风格). 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 (民国风格) 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 (苏式风格), 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 (现代风格) — most notably in the areas of High-Tech Zone and Economic-Development zone.
At present, a new Chinese architectural form called New Tang Style (新唐风) can be mainly found in Qujiang (曲江), 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.
Classical Folk House,Gao Mansion, Beiyuan Men, Xi'an
Drama and Literature
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. It is also "random pluck"(乱弹), is the main type of drama in Shaanxi area and also the most ancient existing one in dramatic arts of the country. As the earliest ancestor of Beijing Opera, Yu Opera, Chuan Opera and Hebei Opera, it has formed its own system with unique vocal music, spoken parts, types of facial makeup, posture, role, category and acting.It can be traced to Xi Qinqiang (西秦腔, Voice of West Qin) in Qin Dynasty. It went on to blossom until Qing Dynasty, and influenced Jingju (京剧, Chinese Opera) directly.
The dialect of Xi'an, Shaanxi Hua, is strongly influenced by Standard Mandarin. However, it still retains a lot of grammar and pronunciation from the Classical Chinese.
Yisu She (易俗社) is one of the oldest Drama society in China. Today it is still vigorous.
Contemporary writers like Chen Zhongshi (陈忠实), Lu Yao (路遥), Jia Pingwa (贾平凹), who contributed greatly to Chinese literature, are also from Xi'an.
Chang'an School (长安画派) is a very important modern Chinese school of traditional arts.Main artists are Zhao Wangyun (赵望云), Shilu (石鲁), He Haixia (何海霞), Liu Wenxi (刘文西)。Zhao and Shi are outstanding.They are the masters of Chang'an School.
Just like 'Beijing 798' and 'Shanghai 1933', Xi'an has a place called Spinning town (纺织城). It's not a real town because since 1950s, there're several big spinning factories there; the population in that area is almost equal to a town. Today, it is no longer a centre for spinning industry but a new art factory with A,B,C and D--4 big workshops in total. Since March 2007, more than 40 artists have taken apart in. It's thought as a signal of new creative industry in Xi'an.
Xi'an is also famous for Rock Music. Actually, it's one of the vigorous underground musical centres in China. The other three are Beijing, Kunming and Chengdu. Dozens of young people with dreams are popular in many nameless pubs or bars. A few Chinese Stars at present are from here. Xuwei (许巍), Zhangchu (张楚), Zhengjun (郑均) are Xianese Rock Music Stars
Not only Zhang Yimou (张艺谋) and Gu Changwei (顾长卫) are directors from Xi'an, but Xi'an is also the only city in China that wins Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival) twice. The first film is Red Sorghum; the second one is Tuya's Marriage. They are produced by Xi'an Filmmaking Factory (now called Xi'an Qujiang Filmmaking Group) and Xi'an Filmmaking company respectively.
Both traditional customs and exotic ones are popular in Xi'an. The picture on the left shows the Lantern Show on Yuanxiao Jie (元宵节). The right one is about Christmas Eve in Xi'an. It is almost a new Carnival for young people. On Christmas Eve, students in the Universities go out together to celebrate until mid-night, it's not the same as it is in the West, but a special day for people to relax and have some fun with their friends. It seems more exciting when it happens in the oldest city in the East.
Impersonating charactors by dressing special made costumes refer to cartoon books(esp.Japanese comics)is trendy among the youth. It is called 'Cosplay'.Meanwhile, traditional Han people's clothes are advocated by the new generation,too.
A Poetic City
The number of poems that describe the beauty/stories of city in the history are countless
长安陌上无穷树, 唯有垂柳道离别： Even trees by the road side in Chang'an are rich. Only willows whisper Goodbye. (in the past, willows were everywhere in the city)
总为浮云能蔽日, 长安不见使人愁: I thought the clouds would cover the sun, but still felt sad because Chang'an was out of my view.
冲天香阵透长安, 满城尽带黄金甲: Chang'an immenses itself in the scent, and the city dresses golden likes wearing a corselet.
向长安，对秋灯, 几人老: ahead the direction of Chang'an, face to the lamp in the fall, time hastens people's life.
长安城中秋夜长, 佳人锦石捣流黄: autumn night in Chang'an is much longer, beauties wash clothes by the river side.
举目见日, 不见长安: raise the head I see the sun, but not the Chang'an that I missed.
红尘紫陌, 斜阳暮草, 长安道, 是离人: after sunset, people on the road of Chang'an are saying goodbye
秋风吹渭水, 落叶满长安: winds blow river Wei, then leaves shatter on the ground
三月三日空气新, 长安水边多丽人: on third of March (Chinese Lunar Calendar), thousands of beauties are enjoying Spring in Chang'an.
暗闻歌吹声, 知是长安路: when you hear the music, you know it's Chang'an ahead.
百千家似围棋局, 十二街如种菜畦: this poem points out the feature of the city, streets and roads are very orderly and regular, just like the I-go.
九天阊阖开宫殿, 万国衣冠拜冕旒： this poem shows the scene of Daming Palace in the morning. Officials were waiting outside the palace.
渭水收暮雨, 处处多新泽. 宫苑傍山明, 云林带天碧: this poem means the rain after sunset drips into River Wei (a river near Chang'an), and new pools on the ground are everywhere. The palace snuggles up to the mountain is becoming brighter, and the thick forest has the pretty color as the sky
却惜京华不可见, 烟花二月过长安. 长安通衢十二陌, 出入九州横八极: these sentences mean the transportation in Chang'an is very convenient.
风舞槐花落御沟, 终南山色入城秋: Flower of the locust trees dances with the wind, then fall into the royal river, let's enjoy the beautiful autunm and the scenery of Mount Zhongnan seen from the city
长安大道连狭斜, 青牛白马七香车: the carrige passes the street of Chang'an, leaving a delicate fragrance
西北望长安, 可怜无数山: to the North west, it's Chang'an. How lovely the mountains around it!
秋寒可自长安到? 再忆长安已太迟: Could autumn come into Chang'an by itself? It's already too late to miss Chang'an.
长安雪后似春归, 积素凝华连曙辉: it seems like spring after snowing in Chang'an, can you see the snowflake sparkle in the rosy down?
长安渭桥路, 行客别时心: the bridge over the Ba River, the feeling we separate from each other.
恐逢故里莺花笑, 且向长安度一春: I'd rather spend my spring in Chang'an than to face the oriole-flower smelling in my hometown
何处可为别? 长安青绮门: where is the place we could say goodbye at last? It's Qingyi Gate in Chang'an
长安道, 一回来, 一回老: when you first passed Chang'an, you were young; the second time you passed by, you are already old.
花萼楼前雨露新, 长安城里太平人: in front of the buiding, the rain is fresh, the flower as well, the life of people who live in Chang'an is peaceful.
年年今日谁相问, 独卧长安泣岁华: Nobody could answer my question at this time every year, I have to stay myself in Chang'an, weeping bitter tears over my lost youth
长安城中月如练, 家家此夜持针线: the moon in Chang'an is very bright tonight, every family is sewing.
忆长安, 九月时: it's September, it's the time to miss Chang'an
滞雨长安夜, 残灯独客愁: it's raining all night. Lamp is the only thing to accompany with, what a lonely passenger, no words can express the grief
红尘白日长安路, 马走车轮不暂闲: the wheels of the carrige are very busy on the road in Chang'an
碧池新涨浴桥鸦, 分锁长安富贵家:
豪家沽酒长安陌, 一旦起楼高百尺:
长安九城路, 戚里五侯家:
长安大道沙为堤, 早风无尘雨无泥: the streets in Chang'an are made of sand. There's no ash in the morning wind and no mud in the rain.
长安回望绣成堆, 山顶千门次第开: turn back and find the beautiful natural sights behind Chang'an.
长相思, 在长安: the place we are pining for is Chang'an!
一为迁客去长沙, 西望长安不见家: once I moved to Chang'sha, it's another city far away from Chang'an. From then on,I couldn't see my hometown to the west.
忆来唯把旧书看, 几时携手入长安: when I miss her, I read the old books. Who can tell me when could I go back to Chang'an with her?
Romance
In Chinese history, many renowned love stories happened in the city.
The 1st one is a legend about Niulang (牛郎) and Zhinu (织女). Niulang is a common cattle man while Zhinu is a fairy in the heaven. They loved each other but this relationship was not allowed. So they received a punishment, they could only meet each other on 7th, July (Chinese lunar calendar) on the bridge over galaxy (galaxy was considered as a river in the sky). They still have their stone statues in Xi'an, which were built in Han Dynasty by the side of Kunming Lake (has already disappeared).
The 2nd one is the story between Tang Xuanzong (玄宗) and Yang Yuhuan (a dauphine of Xuanzong) (杨玉环) happend in Tang Dynasty.
在天愿做比翼鸟, 在地愿为连理枝: this is a famous sentence when people want to imply that how deep they love each other, firstly used on this story, means that they would like to be the birds flying together, or the branches of trees embraced each other forever.
Some other great love stories...
愿得一心人, 白头不相离: the writer was a beautiful woman named Zhuo Wenjun (卓文君) in Han Dynasty. She married her hunsband and some day she discovered that he seemed to fall in love with another woman. She's very sad and decided to write down a poem. This is one sentence of that poem, means I would like to win a man who only loves me, and I will follow him until all my hairs turn grey. Finally,her hunsband returned to her.
Another one happened at Hanyao (寒窑), Qing Dynasty, where the spoony woman was famous for waiting her lover for over 18 years.
Cuisine
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 known local food is the Xianese snack, which consists of both traditional food of the Han Chinese and Hui ethnic minority. Hui-style snacks feature beef and mutton because the Hui people, being Muslims, do not eat pork. Baked beef and mutton, buns with beef, and other such regional dishes that are usually spicy in nature and incorporate a lot of beef and mutton ingredients. Han-style snacks are popular across China, consisting of meat with pancakes and noodles. Cool noodles, made of rice or wheat, taste spicy and great. A historical famous Xi'an dish is pancakes and mutton soup, which can be traced back to the Song (宋) Dynasty.
Xi'an Dumplings Banquet
Xi'an Dumplings Banquet (德发长) is renowned throughout the city. It has already served dozens of Presidents who came to Xi'an, including Bill Clinton. Basically, 32 different types of dumplings for each customer, but if you would like to taste more, there're also a lot options, more than 120 types are waiting for you.
There is also a famous cultural noodle dance when a chef, instead of rolling out noodles, waves a long strip of dough around in a dance before cooking the noodles.
Religion
Buddhism
Buddhism was first introduced to China in the Han Dynasty. Then, it matured by absorbing Chinese elements, for example, it's combined with local ethics and local religion such as Daojiao together. Many classical scriptures were brought from India by Monk Xuanzang (玄奘)in the Tang Dynasty, and he contributed a lot to the translation project. Today, His tomb is still in the rural area of Xi'an, and his statue is facing to Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. Giant Wild Goose Pagoda was used for storaging the Scriptures. Buddhism in China is slightly different from India Buddhism and influenced Asian Buddhism deeply, it's called Chinese Buddhism (汉传佛教). Some of them were spread to Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia.
Chinese Buddhism could be grouped into northern Buddhism and southern Buddhism. It's also divided into eight branches (schools) by different perceptions on Buddhism; six of these schools were born in Chang'an. At present, these six schools' founder temples (祖庭) (founder: the first master of school) are still in Xi'an.
Strictly speaking, it's a branch of Buddhism. But because the region of Tibet is substantially different from other regions in China so whether the custom or the religion there is not the same as the rest parts of China. Guangren Temple is a case located in Xi'an.It is consecrated to Princess Wencheng(文成公主) (Tang Dynasty) who married the leader of Tibet. She promoted the relationship between Tang and Tibet, and brought developed technique from Tang to Tibet at that time.
Besides Buddhism, Xi'an is also an important place for Chinese local religion Taoism (道教).It has a founder's 'Daoguan' (道观) as well. 'Daoguan' is like a temple, a church or a monsque,just a specific name of place. Louguan tai (楼观台) is Daojiao's first Daoguan. Another 3 famous Daoguans in urban area of Xi'an are Eight Immortals An (八仙庵), Chenghuang Miao (城隍庙) and Xiangzi Miao (湘子庙). In Daojiao's legend, Eight Immortals (八仙) once stayed there so it's called ‘八仙庵’ ( 'An'and'Miao' also mean 'Daoguan').
There are three commercial centres in the city. The most important one revolve 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 Urumchi; Golden Eagle, which comes from Nanjing, is the group's first northern shopping centre; Parkson is Malasian brand, with more than 40 shops in Mainland China; Mansion Mode, based in Hong Kong has 5 stores in Shanghai, Xi'an, Chongqing, Beijing and Chengdu.
List of large shopping centres that already on business:
Parkson, the west street
Minsheng shopping centre, the west street
Ginwa shopping centre, the west street
Easter shopping centre, the east street
Parkson, the east street
Zhonghuan shopping centre, the west street
Kaiyuan shopping mall, the east street
Luomashi shopping mall, the east street
Sanli-Haida Spring shopping centre, the south street
Zhongda International, the south street
Maison Mode Chang'an, outside the south gate
Minsheng shopping centre, Jiefang Road
Golden Eagle international shopping centre, Keji Road
Ginwa shopping centre, Keji Road
Parkson, Chang'an Road
List of large shopping centres that will open in a year:
Newmart, Jiefang Road
Ciete shopping centre plus Tongluowan Square, the west street
Wanda Square, Yanta Road
Parkson, Xi'an Jiaotong University
List of large shopping centres that will open after 2 years:
Xi'an is the largest industrial center in China's mid-west and northwest. Xi'an has also consistently received one of the largest foreign direct investment amounts among cities in western China. The amount of import-export done by the industrial sector make up more than 60% of the city's total trading volume. As much as 97% of the industries in Xi'an is manufacturing.
Euro-Asia Economic Forum (欧亚经济论坛) is directly under the SCO. It's held every two years in China. Xi'an is its permanent site selection in China.
Fair
the largest fair in Xi'an is the Investment & Trade Fair for Cooperation between East & West China. It's successfully held each March since 1996.
Software and BPO
CBD, Tangyan Road, Xi'an
Xi'an, as a pioneer in software industry in China, has been retaining a sustainable and booming economy, which in turn upbores the development of software industry.
In 2005, the production value of software industry reached RMB 8.2 billion Yuan, with export revenue up to $US 42 million.
In recent years, service outsourcing industry in Xi'an has maintained robust growth. The outstanding contractor enterprises, rich human resources and preferential policies have paved a solid foundation for Xi'an to realize the objective of becoming the capital for service outsourcing.'
The third session of the annual China International BPO Conference, one of the most professional international conferences in software service outsourcing, began in Xi'an, the capital of southwest China's Shaanxi province on October 26, 2006
Xi'an as a second-tier city in China after the likes of Beijing and Shanghai already has a track record in the BPO field. And the local government is putting muscle behind the words in tax incentives and other incentives to companies that set up shop there and to professionals that choose to make their home in the district.
The Silicon.com article goes on to say, "But Xi'an is selling on its own merits - with a large pool of cheap human resources from the 100 universities in the area, it hoovers up around 3,000 computer graduates every year, each earning approximately $120 a month - half the wages for the equivalent job in Beijing."
People's DailyBureau of Commerce of Xi'an Municipal Government
Game industry
The largest net bar of the world with more than 3000 computers is located in Xi'an.As one of the biggest educational centres throughout the nation, because of the huge amount of undergraduate students,online games are very hot in the area.Xi'an has already hosted worldwide game competitions such as ACON5,CEG2006,and WCG2006,to name but a few.
National Aviation Hi-Tech Industrial Base
The Xi’an Yanliang National Aviation Hi-Tech Industrial Base (thereinafter referred to as National Aviation Industrial Base or Base) was approved by Chinese government (National Development and Reform Commission). National Aviation Industrial Base is divided into core district and expanding area. The planning area of core district is 40 square kilometers, with a completed area is 11.28 square kilometers, and the newly planned area is 28.72 square meters. The expanding area includes Guanzhong and Shaanxi Hanzhong area, including the aviation enterprises of Shaanxi surroundings and even the whole country. The construction of newly planned area of National Aviation Industrial Base commenced in March of 2005. The overall plan and controlled plan of 5 square kilometers’ start up area has been finished according to international standard, it is divided into different functional area namely manufacturing, R&D, aviation exhibition, education and training and business etc.
Xi'an Aircraft Industry(group) Company Limited(hereafter referred to XAC),the super-sized aviation industry enterprise integrated with scientific research and production,is a base of developing and manufacturing large and medium-sized airplanes in China. Being the state first grade enterprise,XAC has more than 20,000 employees and covers a total area of 3 million square meters.
it's established in 1958.Now XAC has become a high tech industry group integrated with aircraft automobile,architectural material,electronic products and import and export trade etc.Over 40 years,XAC has successively developed and manufactured more than 20 different types of aircraft,such as Chinese flying leopard,B6 family. Of which 30 airplanes in 5 types participated the 50th anniversary National Day military parade; the commercial airplanes are Y7 family and Modern Ark 60(MA60), which is designed and developed according to requirements of CCAR-25 and FAR-25; it's safety, reliability, comfort, economy and maintainability have reach to or close to the level of similar advanced commuter aircraft in the world.
In 1980, XAC took its first step in international aviation cooperation and joint-venture management with many world-famous companies of foreign countries, such as the U.S.A., Canada, Italy, France and Germany. The parts and components for foreign companies produced in XAC are mainly B737-700 vertical fins and B747 components for Boeing, Airbus doors and ATR42 wing box for Aerospecial, CL415 components for Canadair as well as ATR72 section 16 for Alenia etc.. Non-aero products are mainly Volov luxury bus,XIFEI brand aluminum extrusions, architectural metal panel, aluminum doors and windows series products, VCM film laminate plate, frequency variable ambiguity controller, morale bookshelf, anti-static floor board and so on.
Shaanxi Heavy-duty Automobile Group Co., Ltd owns 11 subsidiaries and holding companies. They are Shaanxi Heavy-duty Automobile Co., Ltd, Shaanxi Baoji Huashan Vehicle Co., Ltd, Shaanxi HanDe Axle Co., Ltd, Shaanxi Eurostar Automobile Co., Ltd, Shaanxi Heavy-duty parts and components Co., Ltd, Shaanxi Tongli Special Vehicle Co., Ltd, Shaanxi HuaHeng Radiator Co., Ltd, Shaanxi WanFang Auto parts and components Co., Ltd, Shaanxi Huazhen Industry and trade Co., Ltd, Shaanxi LanTong Shaft Co., Ltd, and Shaanxi Heavy-duty bus Affiliated Co. and so on.?Its products covered four sorts and more than 1,000 varieties with distinctive features of assorted specifications and reliable performance, include military heavy truck, bus (chassis), medium-size heavy truck, and heavy duty axles etc.
After introducing the advanced design and technology of heavy-duty truck from STEYR (Austria) and bus and bus chassis from MAN (Germany) since 1980’s, it has been studying the new technology continuously. In 2003, it signed the strategic cooperation agreement with Germany MAN Company, and become sole company introducing the tech of MAN F2000 and TG-A series which enjoys great popularity in world market, therefore owns brand-new upgraded Chinese heavy duty automobiles products. The new generation product F2000, which is the only heavy duty automobile awarded, won “The Best Advanced Technology” in first session of“ China 12 Vehicles (commercial vehicles).
Shaanxi Automobile Group Co., Ltd has exported to more than 10 countries and region such as Asia, Europe, America, Oceania, and Africa, approved as enlarging export enterprise by State Council. Products SX2150 and SX2190 military series participated in the world-renowned ceremonial parades of the 35th and 50th National Day respectively.At recent years, it becomes a well-known automobile enterprise group by keeping 40% average increase, and successfully jump in China top 500 enterprises, listed at 237th place; in China top 500 mechanical enterprises listed at 45th place by its integrated strength rapid increase, and named “The Most Influential Company”.
BYD AUTO
BYD AUTO is a subsidiary of BYD Company Ltd., which is a listed company in Hong Kong Stock Exchange.Xi'an BYD auto company is a branch of BYD COMPANY.BYD Company Ltd. made its debut from less than 30 people in 1995 and became the second largest rechargeable battery producer in the world in 2003.
Xi’an was granted the right to host the 2011 World Horticultural Exposition by the Association of International Producers of Horticulture (AIPH) at its 59th congress, held at Brighton, United Kingdom on September 4, 2007 The 2011 World Horti-Expo will be held from April 11 to October 11, 2011 as an exhibition of A2+B1 level, which permits local government to apply.The Expo is expected to bring some 10 million visitors to Xi’an. The venue will be located in a new district of the city, Chanba district.[3]
Long holidays are usual during Spring Festival, Labor Holiday (1st.May-7th.May), and National Holiday (1st. Oct-7th. Oct). Plus, Xi'an is more or less a northern city so the number of travellers is greater during summer (May-August). The pleasant season for visiting Xi'an is Autumn.
Resorts
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 (秦始皇) and his Terracotta Army are located 40 km to the east of the city's suburbs.
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).
Mount Zhongnan National Forest Park, Xi'an (西安终南山国家森林公园)
Mount Taibai National Forest Park (太白山国家森林公园), Mount Taibai lies both in Xi'an (西安) and Baoji (宝鸡)
Wang Shunshan National Forest Park, Xi'an (西安王顺山国家森林公园)
Other parks
Xi'an Ocean Park
City Sports Park
the Qinling Mountains National Botanical Garden
Xi'an Qingling Mountains Zoo
Hotels and lodging
International chains
Westin, South Yanta Road, Xi'an, Opening January 1, 2010
Sheraton,No. 262 Feng Hao East Rd,Xian, 710077
ANA HOTEL,12 HUAN CHENG south Road, Xi'an, 710068
Holiday Inn, the east street, Xi'an
Shangri-la, Keji Road, Xi'an
Shangri-la, Ginwa Road, Xi'an
Sofitel, Renmin Square, Xi'an
Grand Mercure, Renmin Square, Xi'an
Mercure,Renmin Square, Xi'an
Hotel Ibis, Heping Road, Xi'an
HYATT, 158, Dongda Jie, Xi'an
Kempinski, River Ba, Xi'an
Howard Johnson, Ginwa Plaza, Xi'an
Days Hotel, Keji Road, Xi'an
International Youth Hostel:official website,China(English Versionhttp://www.yhachina.com/index.php?hostID=2
Local
Entertainment
Pubs & Bars
So many pubs in the city, but most Wonderful ones might be '1+1' (the east street), salsa (the west street), '823' (Jiefang Road), Night Cats (夜猫) and Babyface (the South Street), NoNo (the North Street).
Defu Xiang (德福巷) is a lane with more than 20 coffee bars. It's next to the South Street.
Cinema, Theater, and others
Xi'an Ginwa Cinema (Keji Road) and Oscar Cinema in Luomashi shopping mall (the east street) are the best in Xi'an. Some others: Northwestern Cinema, the East Street; Bell Tower Cinema, the East Street; Epang Palace Cinema, the first modern cinema of Xi'an(19/06/1932); Peace Cinema, the North Street; Hongguang Cinema, DongGuan; Sunshine Theater, Huancheng Road; Renming Theater, the North Street; Five-Four Theater, the North Street.
It was improved during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). First of all, the feather-stuffed ball was replaced by an air-filled ball with a two-layered hull. Also, two different types of goal posts emerged: One was made by setting up posts with a net between them and the other consisted of just one goal post in the middle of the field. Chang'an was filled with cuju football fields, in the backyards of large mansions, and some were even established in the grounds of the palaces...The level of female cuju teams also improved. Records indicate that once a 17-year-old girl beat a team of army soldiers. Cuju football even became popular amongst the scholars and intellectuals, and if a courtier lacked skill in the game, he could pardon himself by acting as a scorekeeper.
Xi'an is known as one of the academic centers in China. The number of institutions is in the third palace only after Beijing and Shanghai. The private institutions are famous in the country.
Blue Dragon Temple
Watch towers on the citywall
On the city wall
On the city wall
New Tang Style, Tang Paradise, Xi'an
Kyoto, Japan
Pompeii, Italy
Québec City, Québec (Canada)
Dortmund, Germany
Kansas City, Missouri (United States)
Edinburgh, Scotland
Pau, France
Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine
Iaşi, Romania
Brasília, Brazil
Córdoba, (Argentina)
Lahore, Pakistan
Kağıthane, Turkey
Esfahan, Iran
Kathmandu, Nepal
Gyeongju, South Korea
Yulang International, Jiefang Road, 2006
The South Gate
The Bell Tower (Zhonglou) in Xian
The Drum Tower
The Xi'an Drum Tower
Folk Music performance inside Bell Tower
Night view of the Bell Tower
Close up of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Big Wild Goose Pagoda, South Side
A large fountain show takes place near the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, several times a day
Small Wild Goose Pagoda
