The Many Attraction of Xi'an / by J. Doyle White a BlueMarbleXpress "China Connection" special report Images licensed by Fotolia.com unless otherwise notated. Copyright 2014 by J. Doyle White, BlueMarbleXpress.com. All rights reserved. Published in the United States by J. Doyle White. First edition.
The Many Attractions of Xi'an Xi'an is an ancient city in China and is where the famous Terracotta Army resides. The Emperor Qui, the first emperor of China in 221 BC commissioned the creation of the Terracotta Army, a life size replica that would go with him after he passed away. Other outstanding features of Xi'an are the Wild Good Pagodas, Bell Tower, City Wall, and the Drum Tower. What to See in Xi'An The Ancient City Wall - When entering the beautiful city of Xi'an the first thing you will come across is the Ancient City Wall, built in the 14th century during the Ming Dynasty, commissioned by the Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. This wall runs alongside the railroad. Xi'an originally a walled city is now an open city with a nice big landmark. The Emperor Zhu wanted privacy and had the walls erected to keep the country unified. The city was once well fortified back in the time of the Ming and Tang Dynasty. The Ancient City Wall has a rich history of construction. The first wall was created out of a mixture of glutinous rice extract, earth, and quick lime. The wall was later covered by bricks along with a deep wide moat complete with drawbridges to keep people from entering or leaving the city except through the drawbridge. The wall is enormous standing a tall twelve meters. It is equally as thick at up to eighteen meters at the base and up to fourteen meters at the top. The Ancient Wall has three gates posted at each direction. Each gate has three gate towers, which controls the drawbridge and help to protect the city from all angles. The towers are connected by tunnels, which held soldiers ready to fight at one time. The tunnels are big enough for horses as well. A total of eleven tunnels connects around Xi'an. The four corners of the Ancient City Wall have watchtowers, displaying the strategic locations during times of war and battle. One tower, the southwestern corner, is ornate and exemplifies the Tang Dynasty with its rounded corners. The other three watchtowers are different because they have a square shape. What's an Ancient City Wall without battlements? Battlements with some 5,984 crenels line the wall where arrows were shot during times of war and battles.
Banpo Museum - The Banpo Museum sits just east of Xi'an. This museum holds some of the oldest discoveries in China. It is the site of the half slope or Banpo Village that was a thriving culture about 6000 BC. The Banpo is the largest of the sites discovered in and around the Basin of the Yellow River. It was during the construction of a power plant in 1953 that the excavations revealed this site. In 1958, it opened as an official public museum. It covers around 50,000 square meters of space. Found were a cemetery, pottery making area, and living area. Around 46 buildings as well as places for animals including storage pits, and many other spots the Banpo people dwelled. Bell Tower - The Bell Tower was erected in 1384 as commissioned by the Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty. The tower sits 36 meters high and has three layers of eaves on top. The gilded ornament sits on top and shines bright all around in the sunlight.
The bell that hangs in the tower now is a replica of the Jingyun Bell. The original Jingyun Bell resides at the Forest of Stone Tablets Museum since 1953. Big Wild Goose Pagoda is China's most famous Buddhist pagoda. The Pagoda was built during the Tang Dynasty. Today it stands at seven stories high, completely restored after the big earthquake of 1556. The Caotang Temple, also called the Straw Hut Temple, honors the famous Buddhist monk Kumarajiva who lived from 344 to 413 AD. The Chinese Herb Market provides people with the herbal medicines that only the Chinese has perfected. This area offers all the many herbs, fruits, and vegetables grown in the area.
Daming Palace National Heritage Park came into existence during the Tang Dynasty. It originally sat in Changan, an ancient walled city that is now a part of Xi'an. It is currently being reconstructed and remolded, but is still worthy of a visit to see the models of ancient architecture in miniature form. This photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. The Daxingshan Temple was erected during the Jin Dynasty around 265-316 AD. While this is a place for tourists to see it is still a place of worship for the Chinese Buddhist. The temple has been modernized but still the grounds are as beautiful today as it was in the beginning. Drum Tower - Another tower for which China is well known dates back to the fourteenth century around 1380 during the Ming Dynasty. The tower stands two stories high having its last renovation in 1996.
The Epang Palace Theme Park was built by 700,000 slaves during the Qin Dynasty as the original palace for the First Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. Today it is a theme park with towers, a plaza, and the Qin soldiers statues. Forest of Stele Museum - This museum is located close to the south gate of the Ancient City Wall. The museum holds some over one thousand engraved stones from the Han and Qing Dynasty. Rich in culture and history this museum is 31,000 square meters in size and contains seven exhibition halls aptly named Hall One, Hall Two, and so on. This photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
The Fule International Ceramic Art Museums are a haven for ceramic arts lovers. The museum consists of 21 different museums from 21 countries including parts of North America and Europe. Gao's Grand Courtyard - This courtyard was build during the Ming Dynasty at the hand of emperor Chongzhen. Gao Yuesong is the original family to use the courtyard. It is open for tours year round all day and evening. General Zhang Xueliang's former residence is a place of attraction in Xi'an. It is now a nationally protected historical site and a museum. The Great Mosque - The Great Mosque is located in the center of Xi'an at Change Feeling. It is the gathering place for those in the Islamic religion. The Mosque began in 742 AD during the Emperor Xuanrong Tang Dynasty in the Tianbao Era. Several other dynasties added to the Mosque through the years including the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. The Mosque was designed to honor the Islam founders in China. The architecture of the Mosque covers six thousand square meters with a total of four courtyards. Each courtyard has a design that dates back centuries displaying both Islamic and Chinese art and architecture. This photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license. The Guanzhong Folk Art Museum is a wonderful place to see Shaanxi folk art and the art from the local Chinese folk artists. The museum propels folk art for all of China, keeping it alive. To see unique pieces enjoy a visit to this museum in Guanzhong.
Haujue Xiang is an alleyway that sits between the Great Mosque and the Drum Tower. It is a short 500 meters long lined with great stalls selling antiques and souvenirs. Sitting on about 750 acres is the Huangdi Mausoleum, the Chinese people's first mythical king. The beautiful park area is known as the Yellow Emperor Mausoleum Scenic Area and is a beautiful area with a pavilion amongst the red pillars. This photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Huaqing Hot Spring - Enjoy this 3,000 years old imperial bathing pool, which is one of the National Cultural Relics as well as a very famous China garden. The Hot Spring is about 35 kilometers outside of Xi'an to the east in the shadow of Li Mountain. First erected as a part of the Qin Dynasty is covers over 85,000 square meters of land. Though it was first started during the Tang Dynasty, it has been updated in the 1950's in keeping with the same architecture of the period. The famous emperor Xuanzong spent his winters here with Yang, his most favored concubine.
This photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Huashan Mountain or the Flower Mountain. This gorgeous creation of nature is named as one of the sacred mountains in China, one of the top five of the Taoist. You can find engraved scriptures, pavilions, and Taoist temples everywhere. The mountain is known for the height at 2100 meters at the highest peak. It is located about 120 kilometers from Xi'an. It boasts sheer drop-offs and deep ravines. People call it the most dangerous hiking mountain in the world. Hukou Waterfall has the distinction of being the only yellow waterfall in existence and is China's second largest waterfall. The waterfall occurs as the Yellow River pours over the Jinxia Grand Canyon, plunging forty-nine feet and up to 164 feet wide at times.
Lintong Museum holds over ten thousand artifacts and pieces that date back to the Stone Age. The artifacts date back at least three thousand years ago. The Louguantai Wild Animal Breeding and Protection Centre is located in Zhouzhi County about an hour and a half from Xian. You can spend about two hours seeing many wild animals and birds from the exotic to the rare. You can observe antelope, black bears, giant pandas, golden monkeys, giant salamanders, leopards, musk deer, owls, peacocks, vultures, and white lipped deer. The prize of the centre is the crested ibis, the Oriental treasure of China.
Maoling Mausoleum also called Mao Ling holds the Western Han Dynasty's Emperor Wu. This place has been called the Chinese Pyramid and it contains some of the most valuable funeral objects in China. The entire cemetery is 420 meters all around. The area is rich in history from as early as 259 BC. Mausoleum of Qinshihuang holds the great Emperor Qinshihuang who was the first Chinese emperor. Qinshihuang became the king at 13 years old amidst social chaos and as he matured, he declared himself to be the emperor over China. The mausoleum sits in a beautiful garden with the backdrop of the Lishan Mountains.
This photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Mizhi County is famous for the cave-houses in the ancient country in the Shaanxi province, which came about during the Song Dynasty. Muslim Street is the beginning of the Silk Road. Also called Huimin Street or Muslim Quarter, this is one of the largest attractions for Xi'an and shows a great display of Muslim culture. Beautiful blue flagstones lines the tree shaded streets, which have been around since the Ming dynasty. Qianling Mausoleum is the last resting place of Emperor Gaozong and Wuzetian built during the Tang Dynasty.
This photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license. Qianling Museum is right next to the Qianling Mausoleum and visitors often combine the tours together. The museum contains artifacts found during excavations of the nearby mausoleums including itmes from Empress Wu and Emperor Gaozong. Qinglong Si or Green Dragon Temple is a famous temple right from the Tang Dynasty and a training ground for the Buddhist monks. Shaanxi History Museum - The museum is near the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and is a huge tribute to the imperial past of Xi'an. The Shaanxi is a Chinese province of great importance as it held the ten dynasties from 221 BC to 904 AD, some eleven hundred years, serving as the capital of twelve dynasties. The 70,000 square foot building has over 37,000 historical artifacts and relics from the Province including some terracotta figures, murals in Tang tombs, and gold, silver, and bronze wares.
The museum is in four parts with the General Exhibition Hall, Local Themes Exhibition Hall, Temporary Exhibition Hall, and the Tang dynasty Tomb Murals Hall. This photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. A natural wonder of China, the Shaanxi Hongshi Gorge is worth the visit to see this natural Chinese landmark. You will see the lovely Yuntai Mountains as well as beautiful waterfalls and the cliff dwellings that make up this natural landmark. Small Wild Goose Pagoda is around 1300 years old, originally erected by the Tang Dynasty. It resides in the Jianfu Temple right at Xi'an. It is one of the most important Buddhist sites in China and is the partner site to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. This Pagoda is a part of the Xi'an Museum, which holds some very famous relics.
Guucancat grants anyone the right to use this photo for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law. The famous Terracotta Army - Literally hundreds of real-life sized soldiers made from clay who were there to form the first united China. The museum is near the Tomb of Qui Shihuang. The Terracotta Army was a desire of Shin to have an army to accompany in his death to the afterlife. He wanted the world to keep the memory of the way China first united. He fully believed the Terracotta army would come to life with him after death. His hope was to have this army by his side in the afterlife. The Terracotta Army was rediscovered during the twentieth century during an archaeological dig in 1974. The first discovery was by a simple farmer who wanted to find water and dig a well. The Tomb of the First Emperor is a World Cultural Heritage Site. The Terracotta Army contains the soldiers and the horsemen complete with their archers, longbow bearers, in the correct army formation of the time. Each soldier has their own features looking to be from all over China, even down to the detail of their clothing, gestures, hairstyle, showing the culture of the time. Each holds their own weapon from spears, swords, axes, and other such weapons. These weapons are the actual ones, remaining sharp, and corrosion free in spite of being buried for two millenniums.
Tomb of Crown Prince Yide is actually 18 mausoleums and tombs, left virtually untouched by archeologists. The ones tourists can visit are of Prince Yi De, Princess Yongtai, and Prince Yi De. The Crown Prince was put to death along with his sister after talking about his grandmother Empress Wu. The Crown Prince Yide was only 19 years old. They believe the entire area holds many valuable treasures yet discovered. The Tomb of Crown Prince Zhanghuai is a tourist attraction, one of the few tombs China allows visitors. Crown Prince Zhanghaui was the son of emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty. Li Xian (Prince Zhanghuai) lived for only 31 years. Tomb of Yangguifei is the tomb of The Tang Dynasty Emperor Xuanzong's concubine, Yang Guifei. This tomb is among one of the most popular tourist destination spots. Xi'an Eighth Route Army Office Museum was once a liaison office for the Chinese Eighth Route Army. It was in 1959 that the Chinese converted this into a museum. Xianyang Museum is another famous Chinese museum. It contains relics and artifacts from both the Han and Qin Dynasties dating back to 221 BC. There are nine halls total making up the areas including artifacts from the Terracotta Army. The largest sitting Buddha resides in three of the
halls from the Ming Dynasty. The Xianglu Temple sits on the Yellow River bank, giving the visitor of the temple a gorgeous view of the breathtaking river. Another name for it is "Censer Temple" and so named for the stone pillar, which has the shape of a censer. The temple was constructed during the Ming Dynasty in the 1600's. The Xingjiao Temple is the Temple of Flourishing Teaching, a temple started during the Tang Dynasty built to honor the Buddhist monk Xuanzang. Today the main five-story structure holds the ashes of monk Xuanzang. The place has many modern twentieth buildings including a library, a drum tower, bell tower, and a Great Hall of the Buddha as well as teaching buildings. This photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. The Xiangji Temple came about during the Tang Dynasty and the place to train the Buddhist monks in the Pure Land Buddhism doctrines. The temple today stands about ten stories high, a large monument but smaller than the thirteen stories it stood when originally built in 680 AD. The Xuanyuan Temple was constructed to honor Huangdi during the Ming Dynasty. It sits on the same 750 acres with the Huangdi Mausoleum. Huangdi was thought to have lived way back in
the latter 2600 BC through the 2500 BC. The stories of Huangdi are Chinese mythology. Yaozhou Ceramics Kiln Museum is a popular place to find quality clay pieces. The ceramics date back to the Tang Dynasty around 618 AD. Chinese ceramic pieces are a worldwide collector's item. Zhao's Martial Art School is the place to go to if you have an interest in martial arts. The Chinese are known for their excellent skills and discipline in the martial arts. This particular school is a school of Wushu, which is a modern form of martial arts. The school offers summer camps for children age eight and up. Zhaoling Mausoleum holds Li Shimin the Tang Dynasty's second emperor along with his wife dating back to 649 AD. Shimin reopened the trade with the rest on the Silk Road. The museum contains artifacts from the time and area from over 1400 years ago. If visiting Xi'an and any of the above tourist locations you can book your trip through the China Highlights website.