Xi'an Travel Guide | Xinjiang Travel

Xi’an Travel Guide

It’s often been said that “if you have not been to Xi’an, you have not been to China!”

Pronunciation: Xi’an (Chinese: 西安; pinyin: Xī’ān) is the capital of the Shaanxi province. The word Xi’an is the combination of two Chinese word Xi (West) and an (Peace) meaning “Western Peace” in English; Xi’an historically known as Cháng’ān, meaning Perpetual Peace.

Xi’an in Brief: Xi’an ranks first on the list of China’s Four Great Ancient Capitals because of its long-standing history and the capital city for 13 dynasties. It marked the starting point of the world famous Silk Road.

China today began in Xi’an when First Emperor Qin finished conquering and united the warring states in 221 BC. The entombed Terracotta Army stands as a monument to the power of Emperor Qin.

Since 1990’s, as part of the economic revival of interior China especially for the central and northwest regions the capital of Shaanxi Province, Xian is an important economic, cultural, industrial, scientific research and high educational centre in Western China. It provides visitors with unique experience by combining Xi’an’s ancient charm with modern atmosphere.

History in Brief

Xian is one of the birthplaces of the ancient Chinese civilization in the Yellow River Basin area. It served as the capital city for the Zhou, Qin (221-206 BC), Han (206 BC–220 AD), the Sui, and Tang dynasties (618–907). The continuous dynastic occupation kept the city beautiful and magnificent. It has more than 3,000 years of history, for over 1,100 years, in which 13 dynasties spread intermittently over a 1,100 years period, and a total of 73 emperors ruled Xi’an from 221 BC to 906 AD. More than two hundred and seventy palaces and temples were built during its heyday, such as the “Three Han Palaces” in the Han dynasty, namely Changle, Weiyang, Jianzhang Palaces, and numerous other palaces and watch towers. The most well known among these is the Tomb of Emperor Qin Shihuang (emperor, 221-c.206 BC), with the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses. The Lantian Man was discovered in 1963 in Lantian County, 50 km southeast of Xi’an, and dates back at least 500,000 years. A 6,500 year old Banpo Neolithic village Inn was discovered in 1954 on the outskirts of the city proper. Xi’an is also the starting point of the ancient Silk Road.

Geography

Xian is located in central-northwest China in the southern part of GuanZhong Plain in Shaanxi province, with the Qinling Mountains to the north and the Weihe River to the south. It is situated at the northern foot of Qinling Mountains to the centre of the Yellow River Basin. The terrain height drops from the southeast to the lower southwest and northwest.. Qinling Mountains is in the south of Xi’an, about 200 -km-long in the area under one’s jurisdiction, from north to south is about 4 – 10 kms wide, has an elevation of 1500- 200 meters. It is situated in the center of the Weihe Plain, bounded by the Weihe River in the north and the Qin Mountain Range in the south of Xi’an. It lies between the latitude 33 42 ‘ and 34°44’, during the 107 40 ‘ and 109 point 49 degrees ‘ east longitude.

Populations

Xi’an has 6,548,700 of people, of which 3,033,000 is urban population. The Han nationality accounts for 98.82% of the population, the main ethnic minority are Hui, Man, Mongolia, and etc.

Scenic Spots

Because of long and rich history of Xi’an, Xi’an has numerous ruins, museums, and cultural relics to be found; such as Terra Cotta Warriors, Xi’an City Wall, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Grand Mosque and so on…

Xi’an Weather

Xi’an has a continental climate with four distinct seasons. The average annual temperature is about 13.3 centigrade with annual 226 days of frost free period. The January considered coldest month of the year with average 0.4 centigrade, July is considered hottest month of year with average 26.6 centigrate. Annual average precipitation is 613.7 millimetres, 69.6% of annual average humidity.

Xi’an Yearly Average Temperature by Month
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Average Maximum Temperature (ºC)	4.8	7.7	14.0	20.4	25.8	31.6	32.0	31.1	24.7	19.3	12.1	6.1
Average Temperature(ºC)	-0.5	2.2	7.9	14.1	19.4	24.8	26.3	25.3	19.4	13.8	6.8	0.9
Average Minimum Temperature (ºC)	-4.2	-1.8	3.2	8.9	13.8	18.8	21.6	20.8	15.5	9.8	2.8	-2.9
Rainfall (mm)	6.4	10.7	26.4	49.5	65.4	51.0	92.8	66.7	107.5	65.6	25.6	5.5