Xi’an

This is to respond to Frizztext the Story Challenge: Letter “X”.

Xi’an (Chang’an) is one of the four ancient capitals (other three are Rome, Athens, and Cairo) in the world history. “West Rome, East Chang’an ” is the portrayal of ancient historical status in the world.

The City:

The city is famous for the Terracotta Army –one of the Eight Wonders of the world.
It is recognized by UNESCO as one of the historic cities.
Xi’an is the cradle of Chinese civilization.
It has over 6,000 years of history of the founding of the city.
It has the longest history 1,200 years as a capital of 13 dynasties including the Qin Dynasty–the first emperor of Qin ordered to link all the walls in different regions into the Great Wall.
Between 206 BC and 9 AD, Xi’an was the world economic and cultural exchange center when the “Silk Road” was developed.
It is located in the northwest part of China, approx. 679 miles west of Beijing.

The Fortifications of Xi’an:

The first city wall was constructed in 194 BC, but the wall that we see today was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644).
The fortifications of Xi’an is one of the oldest and best preserved city walls, 39-52 ft. (12-16 meters) in thickness at the base and 39 ft. (12 meters) in height, and 16 miles long.

The City Wall has 18 gates, south has 7, north 6, west 2, and east 3.

The top of this city wall was built to allow 8 to 10 horses marching in line.

Note: Qin Dynasty unified China (221-206 BC) at the time when Roman Republic was established.

I haven’t visited Xi’an, but have been fascinated with the ancient Chinese history. We plan to visit this great ancient city and other historical places in China next summer. 🙂 The above photos are from the Wikipedia Commons.

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