Attractions

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, also the Great Temple of Benevolence and Kindness (Da Ci'en si) bears imperial hallmarks. The most magnificent and prominent Buddhist temple, it was commissioned by Li Zhi, son of the Taizong Emperor (r. 627-649) and the future Gaozong Emperor (r. 650-689) of the Tang Dynasty to memorize his mother, the Emperess Wende. While legend has it that there were many murals in the Great Temple of Benevolence and Kindness (Da Ci'en si) by Yan Liben, Wu Daozi, and other Tang Dynasty (618-907) master painters, the temple was the imperially designated scripture translating venue, and the largest one of the Tang empire, taking up nearly half the neighborhood. At its heyday it encompassed 13 courtyards accommodating 1,897 rooms. Lofty pavilions, Buddhist sculptures, and meditation abodes comprised a majestic view of ancient Chang'an. The remaining part of the temple is only an enclosure of the pagoda in the west of the original site. The current Great Temple of Benevolence and Kindness dates to 1466, as an expansion built up on the Tang pagoda enclosure.

The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda is esteemed as the symbol of ancient capital Xi'an. It was situated inside the Great Temple of Benevolence and Kindness as a construction project supervised by the Buddhist monk Xuanzang (602-664). It is believed to be the place where he delved into the translation of the immense volumes of Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures he brought from his ambitious journey to India to study the fountainhead of Buddhism. A bronze statue of him now stands in front of the temple square. The pagoda, as a heritage site along the Silk Road Chang'an-Mount Tianshan corridor, is inscribed in the UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Daming Palace National Heritage Park

Based on historical research and the location’s geographical features, Daming Palace National Heritage Park is divided into three parts—the Front Garden, Palace and Back Garden—so as to better display and manage the cultural relics.

Front Garden: This area stretches from Danfeng Gate to the south of Hanyuan Palace as the political and historical theme exhibition area, presenting the history and culture of Chang'an in the Sui and Tang Dynasties and Daming Palace. Key cultural heritage sites include Danfeng Gate, Jianfu Gate, Wangxiantai Temple, Shangchao Road, trench, bridge ruins, walls and roads.

Palace: The palace itself stretches from Hanyuan Palace to Zichen Palace as the archaeological site’s protection theme exhibition area, mainly displaying advanced archeology processes and achievements as well as theories, methods and techniques applied in protecting the place’s cultural heritage. It is the key demonstration zone for relics protection and exhibition. The important relics include Hanyuan Palace, East Chaotang Hall, West Chaotang Hall, Xuanzheng Palace, Zichen Palace, Yanying Palace, Zhaoqing Gate, Hanyao Gate, Guangshun Gate and Chongming Gate.

The Daming Palace Ruins Region, covering 3.2 square kilometers is 4.5 times the area of the Beijing's Forbidden City and 8 times the area of the Louvre, was put under national protection in 1961. As Daming Palace was the most luxurious palace in Chinese history, people are still debating aspects of the plan.

Within the 3.2 square kilometers of the Daming Palace Ruins Region, 3.5 million square meters of buildings were dismantled, involving 100,000 inhabitants. Ancient and dainty "Daming Palace Pavilion" stands at the Urban Best Practices Area of Expo Garden. Daming Palace National Heritage Park is divided into three parts—the Front Garden, Palace and Back Garden—to better display and manage the cultural relics.Daming Palace Pavilion, located in the north part of the Shanghai Expo, is a replica of Daming Palace.

Emperor Qingshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum 

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Mausoleum of Qinshihuang - the first emperor of China - is China's largest and most opulent imperial tomb as well as a "gold card" for traditional Chinese civilization. The Terracotta Warriors discovered at the tomb are known as the "Eighth Wonder of the World," and have become a symbol of Chinese culture abroad, with many countries eagerly seeking to put them on display through joint exhibitions to showcase their diversity and mystery.

Located at the northern foot of Lishan Mountain, 35 kilometers northeast of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, Qinshihuang Mausoleum is the tomb of Emperor Qinshihuang, founder of the first unified empire in Chinese history during the 3rd century BCE. Begun in 246 BCE the grave mound survives to a height of 51.3 meters within a rectangular, double-walled enclosure oriented north-south. Nearly 200 accompanying pits containing thousands of life-size terra cotta soldiers, terra cotta horses and bronze chariots and weapons - a world-renowned discovery - together with burial tombs and architectural remains total over 600 sites within the property area of  56.25 square kilometers. According to the historian Sima Qian (c. 145-95 BCE), workers from every province of the Empire toiled unceasingly until the death of the Emperor in 210 in order to construct a subterranean city within a gigantic mound.

As the tomb of the first emperor who unified the country, it is the largest in Chinese history, with a unique standard and layout, and a large number of exquisite funeral objects. It testifies to the founding of the first unified empire- the Qin Dynasty, which during the 3rd BCE, wielded unprecedented political, military and economic power and advanced the social, cultural and artistic level of the empire.

Bell Tower, Drum Tower

The Drum Tower is located northwest of the Bell Tower, across the Bell Tower and Drum Tower Square. Both of them are called the 'sister buildings' or 'morning bell and dark drum'. In ancient China, especially from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the drums were used to signal the running of time and on occasion were used as an alarm in emergency situations.

The Drum Tower in Xian was initially built in 1380 during the reign of Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and was renovated twice in 1699 and 1740 in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It is a two-storied post and panel structure, 34 meters (about 112 feet) high and 52.6 meters (about 172 feet) long from east to west as well as 38 meters (about 124 feet) wide from north to south. The architecture style of the Drum Tower is a combination of the styles of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the Qing Dynasty. However, the Drum Tower also has some innovative features. For example, it should be mentioned that there is no iron nail used anywhere in the Drum Tower.

Xi'an's City Walls 

The city wall of the Xi'an City is located at the urban district of Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province. It had been built from the 3rd to the th year of Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty (1370-1378). It was extended on the base of Chang'an imperial city of the Sui and Tang Dynasty, as well as the Fengyuan City of the Yuan Dynasty.

In the year of 370, Zhu Yuanzhang sent out imperial decree to build Xi'an City. The city wall Xi'an then utilized the old ramparts of the imperial cities of the Sui and Tang Dynasties at the west and south parts, and extended about /3 to the east and north. It had lasted for eight years, which established the basic structure and scale of the Xi'an City wall.

Xi'an city wall had been maintained well through Ming and Qing Dynasties, with several times reparation, 1 of which were of relatively large scale. The original Xi'an city wall was only made of tamped earth. In the 2nd year of the Ming Dynasty Longqing Period (1568), blue bricks were laid on the top and external side of the walls. In the 46th year of the Qing Dynasty Qianlong Period (1781), the second large-scale maintenance was made. Drainage and crenels, etc were added at this time. The structure of the present city wall of Xi'an mostly came from this reparation. In year 1983, Xi'an's municipal government went through another comprehensive maintenance for the city wall. Part of the building was recovered, such as 1 Yangmacheng (tower where the late sheep and horses can rest at night), 1 Zhalou (the sluice tower), 1 Kuixinglou (the dipper tower), 3 Jiaolou (corner tower) and 3 Dilou (defence tower). The breaking parts of the rampart were changed into gates, and the moat was restored. In May 2005, the Xi'an ramparts were all connected.

On Mar. 4th, 1961, the State Council of the People's Republic of China announced the Xi'an rampart as one of the heritage sites under the national protection of the first batch.