Terra-Cotta Warriors

Xi'an was named Chang'an in the ancient times, which was one of most renowned four civilized metropolitans in the world and was the number one ancient city in China. As regards the number of dynasties and span of time, Xi'an served as an ancient capital beyond compare, which was thus the most influential in China's history.

From the 12 century B.C. onwards, Xi'an or its vicinity was established as the capital city by 21 states and dynasties successively, including four prosperous period of Western Zhou, the Qin, the Han, and the Tang. In 1981, UNESCO listed Xi'an as one of the "world's famous historical cities", and it is also one of the national historical and cultural cities approved by the State Council of China.

Xi'an was also named as "Xijing", "Xidu", "Fengcheng", "Doucheng" and so on in history. "Chang'an" was the most common seen and the most famous former name for Xi'an, which literally means "lasting peace and stability". The history of this place is more than 3100 years, while the history of the city Xi'an is over 1200 years. In Han and Tang Dynasties, Xi'an was the center of international exchanges in China, and also the starting point of the reputable Silk Road. It was also the earliest cosmopolitan city at that time with the population of more than one million. The saying "Just as there is Roman in the west, there is Chang'an in the east" is the portrayal of the importance of Xi'an at the time of its prosperity.

A Mosque

Xi'an boasts of many historical sites and places of interest, including the ancient city wall, the drum-tower, the Great Wild Goose Pagoda, the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, the Great Mosque, the Forest of Steles, the Site of the Daminggong Palace…Just name a few. Outside of the city, you can visit the world famous Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses, one of the World Wonders, as well as the Li Shan Mountain and Huaqing Hot Spring. The successive beautiful and unique sceneries will just dazzle your eyes.

Shredded Pancake in Mutton Broth and the "Ice Peak"

There are a great many of local snacks in Xi'an. The number is roughly estimated to as many as 1000 kinds. The most famous one is "the best pancake in the world"—the shredded pancake in mutton broth. Besides, there are Huang Guichou liquor, infilled dumpling, hot and sour soup with dumplings, qishan noodles with ground pork, chinese hamburger, crispy fried pastry, deep-fried persimmon pastry, crisp asparagus and the rose mirror cake.

Having a Distant View on the City Wall

Nowadays, Xi'an is the capital city of Shaanxi province, which is also the biggest and most important base of scientific research, higher education, national defense and high technology. It is also one of the most significant machinery manufactory centers, base of electronic information and aerospace industry in China. Xi'an is ranked as one of the largest central cities with the strongest scientific and technological strength and most completed industrial sectors. It is a dynamic new special economic zone in the inland China because of its great financial and transportation bearing on the Middle West and the North.