Xi’an overview 西安

About Xi'an

A first walk can stay within the old centre, where the Bell Tower fixes the main street axes and the Drum Tower leads towards the Hui neighbourhood. The monumental tombs around Lintong are separate outings. Begin with the compact urban core before adding the larger archaeological landscapes outside it.

Ancient capitals stood in or near the present city: the Western Zhou capitals of Feng (丰) and Hao (镐) lay southwest of today's centre, Qin's Xianyang stood north of the Wei River (渭河), Western Han Chang'an lay northwest of the city, and the Sui Daxing (大兴城) and Tang Chang'an cities covered most of today's main urban area. It was the first city in Chinese history called a capital (京), with over 3,100 years of urban history and more than 1,070 years as a dynastic capital.

Xi'an's old centre retains a complete Ming dynasty city wall with its gates, moat and bridges, corner towers, barbicans and arrow towers. Further ancient remains lie in and around the city, including the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇陵), the Han Yangling mausoleum (汉阳陵), and the sites of the Han Chang'an city (汉长安城遗址) and the Tang Daming Palace (唐大明宫遗址). The city holds two entries comprising six sites on the World Heritage List.

Xi'an lies at the centre of the Guanzhong Wei River plain. The Wei River, the Yellow River's largest tributary, flows along the city's north side from southwest to northeast, joined by the Chan (浐河), Ba (灞河) and Jing (泾河) rivers, in what is called ‘eight waters encircle Chang'an’. The city borders the Qinling Mountains (秦岭) to the south.

What to look for

• The Bell and Drum towers, which anchor the civic centre inside the city wall.
• The lanes of the Hui neighbourhood and the Great Mosque’s courtyard architecture.
• The city wall’s gates and moat, outlining the later imperial city.

Location & getting there

Getting to Xi'an

For a first central visit, use Zhonglou metro station beneath the old city’s main crossroads.

• Choose accommodation and onward transport with your actual arrival station in mind; the city centre and Lintong’s imperial sites are separate areas.