Once known as Chang'an, Xi'an is the
political, economic, cultural and transportation center of Shaanxi Province,
with its jurisdiction over five counties including Chang'an County. Located in
the middle of the Central Plains of the Yellow River Basin, Xi'an stands between
Qinling Mountain to the north and the Weihe River to the south. It is an
important birthplace of the Chinese nationality as well as one of the places of
human origin and prehistoric cultural centers in Asia. Its long history and rich
cultural heritage has covered the old city with a mysterious veil.
As a world-famous ancient capital, Xi'an has
been designated as the capital of 13 ancient Chinese dynasties such as the
Western Zhou, Qin, Xihan, Xinmang, Eastern Han, Western Jin, Former Zhao,
pre-Qin, post-Qin, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui and Tang dynasties. Many
important historical events took place here, such as the Red Eyebrow Peasant
Rebellion at the end of the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-8AD), the Huangchao
Peasant Rebellion at the end of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and Li Zicheng
Peasant Rebellion at the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) all once
established temporary political powers in Xi'an. it also witnessed the famous
Xi'an Incident in modern history. All these have left with Xi'an a lot of
cultural relics. In Xi'an there are altogether 314 key cultural relics sites
under protection, of which 84 belong to state or provincial level. Unearthed
cultural relics reach 120,000, many of which are rare treasures in the world,
including the Stele Forest, the two Wild Goose Pagodas, the Clock Tower, the
remains of Banpo Village and the city wall of the Ming Dynasty. In addition,
there are ancient sites such as Han City, Tang City, Efang Palace, Weiyang
Palace and Daming Palace, as well as the Huaqing Pond and pits of Qin Emperor
Shihuang's Terra-Cotta Soldiers and Horses. Xi'an is a great place of
revolution, and the Site of the Office of the Eighth Route Army can clearly
demonstrate this. Located in Xi'an are also a number of universities and
research institutions, including Xi'an Jiaotong University, Northwest University
and Northwest Polytechnical University.
Xi'an is the biggest processing industrial
base and the largest trade center in the central and western part of North
China, as well as the starting point of the Silk Road. The Silk Road has become
a wide road connecting China and other countries. It is a road to civilization,
friendship, trade and cultural tourism.