Once the site of the Temple of Confucius during the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127), the Forest of Stone Steles Museum is situated on Sanxue Street, near the south gate of Xian City Wall. It was initially established in AD 1087 when some precious stone steles were moved here for safe keeping, including the 'Classic on Filial Piety' written by Emperor Xuanzong in AD 745 and 'the Kaicheng Stone Steles' carved in AD 837. With an area of 31,000 square meters, the Forest of Stone Steles used to be the principal museum for Shaanxi Province since 1944. Then because of the large number of stone stele…more>>

The Bell Tower, is a stately traditional building, that marks the geographical center of the ancient capital. From this important landmark extend East, South, West and North Streets, connecting the Tower to the East, South, West and North Gates of the City Wall of the Ming Dynasty.The wooden tower, which is the largest and best-preserved of its kind in China, is 36 meters (118 feet) high. It stands on a brick base 35.5 meters (116.4 feet) long and 8.6 meters (28.2 feet) high on each side. During the Ming Dynasty, Xian was an important military town in Northwest China, a fact that is reflected …more>>

The Banpo Museum is located in the eastern outskirt of Xian City, Shaanxi Province. As the first museum at the prehistoric site, it was built at the base of the excavations of the Banpo site. Since it opened to the public formally in 1958, two million people have visited it. The Banpo Site is a typical Neolithic matriarchal community of the Yangshao Culture dating back about 6,000 years. At that time, the Banpo people used tools made primarily of wood and stone. Women, the crucial labor force, were responsible for making pottery, spinning, and raising the family, while men fished.The approxima…more>>

Shaanxi History Museum, a large modern museum of the national level, is situated 1km away, northwest of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. It is a giant architectural complex in the Tang-dynasty style. It occupies an area of 70,000 square metres, and the construction area being more than 50,000 square metres. It focuses on the highlights of the Shaanxi culture and depicts the development of the Chinese civilization.Exhibited in the main exhibition hall are over 2,700 works of art. The exhibition space is dcut into such halls as an introductory hall, permanent exhibition hall, special exhibition hall, …more>>

The City Walls, ramparts, gates and watchtowers form one of the oldest and most complete city defences still around. Built in the 13th century on the foundations of the original Tang Forbidden City surrounding the city centre you can walk, rent a bike or take an electric cart around the full 14km circuit, with great views of the city on either side.The Tang dynasty built its capital Chang'an 7km/4.5 miles north-west of where Xi'an lies today. Its defensive walls, 22km/14 miles in length, formed an irregular quadrilateral with twelve gates, each with three entrances. The main gate was reserved …more>>

In 221 B.C., Emperor Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty established the first centralized feudal dynasty in China. (Centralization was particularly important in the Yellow and Yangtze regions because flooding periodically wiped out years of work and coordinated planning was required to build canals and avoid political as well as geographical fragmentation.) After his death, he was buried at the northern foot of Lishan Hill in the east of Lintong county. The tomb has been reduced to half its size after 2,000 years of water and soil erosion, but still impressive--76 meters high and a fundamental s…more>>

Xian is the capital of Shaanxi province, located in central of China, between the Weihe river in the north and the Qinling Mountains in the south. Xian is in a favorable geographical location surrounded by water and hills. It has a semi-moist monsoon climate and there is a clear distinction between the four seasons. Except the colder winter, any season is relatively suitable for traveling.Xian is lies on a major rail route which runs from Lianyungang on the Yellow Sea via Urumqi in the Autonomous Region of Xinjiang and on to Kazakhstan. There are direct rail links with Beijing and Shanghai, an…more>>