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Xi'an is the capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populous city in Northwestern China. Its total population was 12.95 million as of the 2020 census, including an urban population of 9.28 million.
Known as Chang'an throughout much of its history, Xi'an is one of China's Four Great Ancient Capitals, having held the position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including the Western Zhou, Qin dynasty, Western Han, Sui dynasty, Northern Zhou and Tang dynasty. Xi'an is now the second-most popular tourist destination in China. The city was one of the terminal points on the Silk Road during the ancient and medieval eras, as well as the home of the 3rd-century BC Terracotta Army commissioned by Emperor Qin Shi Huang—both of which are listed as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
Since the 1980s, as part of the economic growth of inland China especially for the central and northwest regions, Xi'an has matured into a cultural, industrial, political and educational, and research and development hub. Xi'an currently holds sub-provincial status, administering 11 districts and 2 counties. In 2020, Xi'an was ranked as a Beta- (global second tier) city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and, according to the country's own ranking, ranked 17th; it is also one of the world's top 100 financial centers according to the Global Financial Centres Index. Xi'an is ranked by the Nature Index as one of the top 20 cities globally by scientific research output, and is home to multiple prestigious educational institutions, such as Xi'an Jiaotong University, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xidian University and Northwest University.
The area of present-day Xi'an has been the site of several important former Chinese cities. The capital of the Western Zhou were the twin cities of Feng and Haojing, known collectively as Fenghao, located on opposite banks of the Feng River at its confluence with the southern bank of the Wei River in the western suburbs of present-day Xi'an. The Qin capital Xianyang was erected north of the Wei during the Warring States period and was succeeded by the Western Han capital of Chang'an (), meaning "Perpetual Peace", which was located south of the Wei and covered the central area of present-day Xi'an. During the Eastern Han, Chang'an was also known as the "Western Capital" (), named for its namesake position relative to the main capital at Luoyang. Under the Sui dynasty, its name became Daxing (, "Greatly Prosperous") in AD 581. Under the Tang dynasty, the name reverted to Chang'an in 618. Under the Mongol Empire Yuan dynasty (13th & 14th centuries), it held a succession of names: Fengyuan Anxi "Peaceful West") and Jingzhao The Ming name "Xi'an" was changed back to Xijing ("Western Capital", as above) between 1930 and 1943.
In 202 BC, the founding emperor Liu Bang of the Han dynasty established his capital in Chang'an County; his first palace, Changle Palace (長樂宮, "Perpetual Happiness") was built across the river from the ruin of the Qin capital. This is traditionally regarded as the founding date of Chang'an. Two years later, Liu Bang built Weiyang Palace (未央宮, "Never Ending Palace") north of modern Xi'an. Weiyang Palace was the largest palace ever built on Earth, covering , which is 6.7 times the size of the current Forbidden City and 11 times the size of the Vatican City. The original Xi'an city wall was started in 194 BC and took 4 years to finish. Upon completion, the wall measured in length and in thickness at the base, enclosing an area of . In the year 190, amidst uprisings and rebellions just prior to the Three Kingdoms period, Dong Zhuo, a powerful warlord from nearby Xiliang, moved the court from Luoyang to Chang'an in a bid to avoid a coalition of other powerful warlords against him.
In 582, shortly after the Sui dynasty was founded, the emperor of Sui ordered a new capital to be built southeast of the Han capital, called Daxing (大興, "Great prosperity"). It consisted of three sections: the Imperial City, the palace section, and the civilian section, with a total area of within the city walls. At the time, it was the largest city in the world. The city was renamed Chang'an by the Tang dynasty. In the mid-7th century, after returning from his pilgrimage to India, the Buddhism monk Xuanzang established a translation school for Sanskrit scriptures.
Construction of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda began in 652. This pagoda was in height, and was built to store the translations of Buddhist sutras obtained from India by Xuanzang. In 707, construction of the Small Wild Goose Pagoda began. This pagoda measured tall at the time of completion, and was built to store the translations of Buddhist sutras by Yijing. The massive 1556 Shaanxi earthquake eventually damaged the tower and reduced its height to .Kiang, 12.
The Nestorian Stele is a Tang dynasty stele erected in 781 that documents 150 years of early Christianity in China.Hill, Henry, ed (1988). Light from the East: A Symposium on the Oriental Orthodox and Assyrian Churches. Toronto, Canada. pp. 108–109 It is a 279 cm tall limestone block with text in both Chinese language and Syriac language describing the existence of Christian communities in several cities in northern China. It reveals that the initial Nestorianism church had met recognition by the Tang Emperor Taizong, due to efforts of the Christian missionary Alopen in 635.
Chang'an was devastated at the end of the Tang dynasty in 904. Residents were forced to move to the new capital city in Luoyang, and a small area in the city continued to be occupied thereafter.
In the era of the Song dynasty, Xi'an was an important cultural center of scholarship and innovation on matters such as science, as well as historiography, religion, and philosophy in China. The Northern Song era saw its people, political culture, and strategic location be directly utilized by the Song dynasty proper and its continued relevance to Muslims travelers into China and Chinese Muslim residents.
During the Ming dynasty, a new wall was constructed in 1370 which remains intact to this day. The wall measures in circumference, in height, and in thickness at the base; a moat was also built outside the walls. The new wall and moat would protect a much smaller city of .
Manchu bannermen from the Xi'an banner garrison were praised for maintaining Manchu culture by Kangxi in 1703. Xi'an garrison Manchus were said to retain Manchu culture far better than all other Manchus at martial skills in the provincial garrisons and they were able to draw their bows properly and perform cavalry archery, unlike Beijing Manchus. The Qianlong emperor received a memorial staying Xi'an Manchu bannermen still had martial skills, although not up to those, in the past in a 1737 memorial from Cimbu. By the 1780s, the military skills of Xi'an Manchu bannermen dropped enormously, and they had been regarded as the most militarily skilled provincial Manchu banner garrison. Manchu women from the Xi'an garrison often left the walled Manchu garrison and went to Huaqing Pool outside the city, and gained bad reputations for their sexual lives. A Manchu from Beijing, Sumurji, was shocked and disgusted by this after being appointed Lieutenant general of the Manchu garrison of Xi'an and informed the Yongzheng emperor what they were doing.YZMaZPZZ (Yongzheng chao Manwen zhupi zouzhe) 1 22 1, Sumurji, YZ7.R7.24. Han civilians and Manchu bannermen in Xi'an had bad relations, with the bannermen trying to steal at the markets. Manchu Lieutenant general Cimbru reported this to Yongzheng emperor in 1729, after he was assigned there. Governor Yue Rui of Shandong was then ordered by the Yongzheng to report any bannerman misbehaving and warned him not to cover it up in 1730, after Manchu bannermen were put in a quarter in Qingzhou. Manchu bannermen from the garrisons in Xi'an and Jingzhou fought in Xinjiang in the 1770s and Manchus from Xi'an garrison fought in other campaigns against the Dzungars and Uyghurs throughout the 1690s and 18th century. In the 1720s Jingzhou, Hangzhou, and Nanjing Manchu banner garrisons fought in Tibet.
For the over 200 years they lived next to each other, Han civilians and Manchu bannermen of both genders in Xi'
Demographic Research Volume 38, Article 34, Pages 929-966 Published 9 March 2018 http://www.demographic-research.org/Volumes/Vol38/34/ DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2018.38.34 Research Article Interethnic marriage in Northeast China, 1866–1913 Bijia Chen Cameron Campbell Hao Dong p 937
In October 1911, during the Xinhai revolution, revolutionaries stormed the Manchu fort in Xi'an. Most of the city's 20,000 Manchus were killed.Ernest Frank Borst-Smith, Caught in the Chinese Revolution: a record of risks and rescue. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1912. Hui (Muslims; then referred to as "Mohammedans") were divided in its support for the revolution. Those of Shaanxi supported the revolutionaries, while those of Gansu supported the Qing. The Hui of Xi'an (Shaanxi province) joined the Han Chinese revolutionaries in slaughtering the Manchus. Some wealthy Manchus survived by being . Wealthy Han Chinese enslaved Manchu girls and poor Han Chinese troops seized young Manchu women as wives. Hui Muslims also seized young pretty Manchu girls and raised them as Muslims.
A British missionary who witnessed the massacre commented that "Old and young, men and women, children alike, were all butchered... Houses were plundered and then burnt; those who would fain have laid hidden till the storm was past, were forced to come out into the open. The revolutionaries, protected by a parapet of the wall, poured a heavy, unceasing, relentless fire into the doomed Tartar (Manchu) city, those who tried to escape thence into the Chinese city were cut down as they emerged from the gates."
In 1936, the Xi'an (then "Sian") Incident took place in the city during the Chinese Civil War. The incident helped to bring the Kuomintang (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party to form the Second United Front in order to concentrate on fighting against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War.Guo Rugui, 《中国抗日战争正面战场作战记》 ,第二部分：从"九一八"事变到西安事变 绥远抗战的巨大影响和军事上的经验
On March 11, 1938, an aerial battle broke out for the first time over Xi'an as Imperial Japanese Army Air Force aircraft attacked the city, and was engaged by Chinese Air Force I-15 fighter planes, led by Lt. Cen Zeliu of the 5th Pursuit Group, 17th Squadron. While repeatedly attacked by air, Shaanxi was heavily fortified by units of the Eighth Route Army; Xi'an was never taken by the Japanese forces.
On May 20, 1949, the Communist-controlled People's Liberation Army captured the city of Xi'an from the Kuomintang force.
During the Mao era, Xi'an was further developed as part of the Third Front Construction. (2025). 9780300268836, Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300268836
Xi'an made headlines for being one of the many cities where the 2012 China anti-Japanese demonstrations occurred.
In 2022, Xi'an witnessed the largest COVID-19 community outbreak since the initial months of the pandemic hit China. From December 23, 2021, the city was put into strict lockdown after local authorities reported more than 250 cases, traced to the Delta variant by authorities. This led to stressed healthcare and delayed or insufficient food deliveries to some part of the city. Restrictions of Xi'an were lifted on January 24.
The city borders the northern foot of the Qin Mountains (Qinling) to the south, and the banks of the Wei River to the north. Mount Hua, one of the five sacred Taoist mountains, is located away to the east of the city. Not far to the north is the Loess Plateau.
At the beginning of Han dynasty, the Chief of Staff Zhang Liang advised the emperor Liu Bang to choose Guanzhong as the capital of the Han dynasty: "Guanzhong Plain is located behind Mount Xiao and Hangu Pass, and connects Long (Gansu) and Shu (Sichuan). The area can be called an irony castle spreads for thousands of miles, and is rich in harvest like the nation of heaven." (关中左崤函，右陇蜀，沃野千里，此所谓金城千里，天府之国也) Since then, Guanzhong is also known as the 'Nation of the Heaven'.《史记·留侯世家》
The Xi'an metropolitan area was estimated by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) to have, , a population of 12.9 million,Linked from the OECD here [2] of which 5,740,000 is urban.
| + Breakdown of Xi'an population by district and county ! scope="col" class="unsortable" rowspan=2 | Division !! scope="col" colspan=3 | Permanent residents !! scope="col" rowspan=2 | Hukou system residentsPeople's Republic of China County-level Division Population Statistics (). |
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A bicycle sharing network started operating in Xi'an from the year 2013 and today has 52,000 bikes, used by over 200,000 people per day. Taxi services are numerous, but many citizens of Xi'an still commute to work using the city's 270 official municipal bus routes serviced by a fleet of over 7,800 buses, with an average system-wide ridership of over 4 million people per day. The bus network is complemented by a rapidly expanding subway system that carries over 1.5 million commuters per day. There are more than 2 million registered automobiles in Xi'an; the growing number of personal automobiles also means traffic jams are a common urban issue.
Line 16 opened on June 27, 2023, and is 15.03 kilometers long, and runs from Qinchuangyuanzhongxin to Shijingli with 9 stations. Four more lines are currently under construction, including an extension of Line 1.
The subway system covers some of the most famous attractions, such as Banpo Museum (Banpo Station, Line 1), Bell and Drum Tower (Line 2), Fortifications of Xi'an (Line 2), the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda (Line 3 and Line 4), the Daminggong National Heritage Park (Line 4) and Shaanxi History Museum (Line 2, 3 and 4), etc. "Xi'an Transportation" ChinaTour.Net Accessed December 4, 2014
The first metro departure time for Line 1, 2, 3 and 4 is 6:00, the last metro departure time for Line 3 and 4 is 23:00, for Line 1 is 23:30, and for Line 2 is 23:50.
On December 30, 2008, a fire accident occurred that was extinguished within an hour and all workers evacuated safely. Sixty-six hours later, on January 2, another fire occurred at another station on Line 2.
Xi'an railway station is located just north of Xi'an's walled city and is the main hub of conventional rail services in Shaanxi Province. It covers , has 6 passenger platforms and 11 passenger tracks. It provides 112 services to 80 000 people daily. Among the destinations served by direct trains from Xi'an are Beijing, Zhengzhou, Lanzhou, Baoji, and Mount Hua.
and are large stations now under construction to serve new high-speed lines being built, such as the Xi'an–Chongqing HSR and the Wuhan–Xi'an HSR.
The city's other stations include , , Sanmincun, and Fangzhicheng.
Other than linking to most Chinese cities, the airport also has flights to several major international destinations, including Tokyo, Seoul, London, Paris and Sydney.
Liangpi (cold rice noodles; ) are wheat or rice noodles served cold with vinegar and chili oil.
Biangbiang mian, also known as youpo chemian (), are thick and long hand-pulled noodles, typically served with red hot pepper.
Roujiamo (meat buns; ) is a bun filled with pork.
Baptist missionaries from England ran a hospital in Xi'an.Fleming, Peter (1936) News from Tartary. London: Jonathan Cape; pp. 46–48 In 1892, Arthur Gostick Shorrock and Moir Duncan founded the Sianfu Mission, in present-day Xi'an.
In 2020, Xi'an was ranked as a Beta- (global second tier) city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Xi'an is also one of the world's top 100 financial centers, according to the Global Financial Centres Index.
Important industries include equipment manufacturing, tourism, and service outsourcing. The manufacturing industry had an annual output of RMB 36.5 billion, accounting for 44.5 percent of the city's total. Furthermore, as one of China's four ancient capitals, Xi'an's many cultural sites, including the Terracotta Army, the City Wall of Xi'an, and the Famen Temple, make tourism an important industry as well. In 2019, tourists visiting Xi'an exceeded 300 million, earning a total income of RMB 314.6 billion. On average, revenue increases by 36.4 percent per year, and foreign-exchange earnings (530 million in 2009) increase by around 35.8 percent.
Xi'an is also one of the first service outsourcing cities in China, with over 800 corporations in the industry. The city's output value from this sector exceeded RMB 23 billion in 2008. Employment in the sector doubled from 1997 to 2006, from a base of 60,000, and computer consulting also doubled from 16,000 to 32,000. As a result of the importance of the software-outsourcing industry, the city planned construction of a Software New Town, which is scheduled to be completed in 2015 with 30 billion RMB investment. Other major export goods include lighting equipment and automobile parts, while its major import goods are mechanical and electrical products. Internationally, Xi'an's largest trade partner is the United States.
The Xi'an International Trade and Logistics Park covers about thirty-five square miles and was conceived of as model for logistics-based urbanization.9780300266900, Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300266900 The park is a major dry port and rail container center. More China-Europe Freight Train (CEFT) rails depart from or return to Xi'an than any other city.
The growing economy of the city also supports the development of a software industry, and the city is a pioneer in software industry in China. The Xi'an Software Park within the Xi'an Hi-Tech Industries Development Zone (XDZ) has attracted over 1,085 corporations and 106,000 employees as of 2012. Xi'an is described as having" large pool of cheap human resources from the 100 universities in the area, it hoovers up around 3,000 computer graduates every year, each earning approximately $120 a month—half the wages for the equivalent job in Beijing." Bureau of Commerce of Xi'an Municipal Government
Apart from the core area, the base will cover Xi'an and the Guanzhong area and the expansion zone will reach other parts of Northwest China and Southwest China. It is expected that by 2012 the total industry output can reach 2.8 billion us dollars with about 10 to 20 brand products with intellectual property rights and 5 to 8 products with global competitiveness.
In 2008, after the launch of the initial aerospace center in Shanghai, the PRC is constructing another civil aerospace center in the Shaanxi province. The State Development and Reform Commission approved the planning of Xi'an National Civil Aerospace Industrial Base on December 26, 2007. The National Civil Aerospace Industrial Base of Xi'an, set to cover , will focus on developing satellites, new materials, energies, IT and other technologies for civil applications.
The city was ranked 138th globally by the QS Best Student Cities Rankings in 2023.
Xi'an is a world leading city for scientific research and as of 2023, it ranked among the world's top 20 cities and China's top 10 cities by scientific research output by the Nature Index. It ranked first in Western China region, with a combined population of almost 300 million. The city also hosted the 2011 World Horticultural Exposition. "Xi'an to Host World Horticultural Expo" China.org.cn
The city has many important historical sites, and some are ongoing archaeological projects, such as the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and his Terracotta Army. There are several burial mounds, tombs of the Zhou dynasty kings located in the city. Xi'an also contains some 800 royal and tombs from the Han dynasty, with some of them yielding hundreds of sculpted clay soldiers, and remains of sacrificial temples from the Han era. The city has numerous Tang dynasty pagodas and is noted for its history museum and its stele forest, which is housed in an 11th-century Confucian temple containing large stone tablets from various dynasties.
Some of the most well-known sites in Xi'an are:
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