Xi’an Ancient City Wall

--- The most intact ancient Chinese City Wall in existence

If you come to Xi'an by train, then the first landmark you will encounter is Xi'an ancient city wall. It stretches round the old city. The northern side runs parallel to the railway.

The Ancient City Wall is the most intact ancient Chinese wall in existence. It encircles and protects the ancient Xi'an, the capital city of 13 dynasties in China. Now, the wall is dividing the Xi'an into two parts, the inner part (the ancient Xi'an city)and outer part. The wall is massive-tall, long and thick. The South Gate and North Gate are the two main entrances to the inner city. The city itself is neatly arranged along the city wall.

The City Wall as seen today was first constructed on the foundations from the Sui (581-617) and Tang (618-904) Dynasties, so the wall is an extension of the old Tang Dynasty structure. During the reign of Emperor Hongwu (1370-1378) of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1627), the wall enlarged. So the wall you see now is 12-14 meters across the top, 15-18 meters thick at bottom and 13.7 kilometers in length. There is a rampart every 120 meters. The ramparts are towers that extend out from the main wall, the top of the rampart being at the same level as the top of the wall. The ramparts were built to allow soldiers to see enemies who would try to climb the wall. The distance between two ramparts is just within the range of arrow shot from either side. This allowed soldiers to protect the entire wall without exposing themselves to the enemy. These features make up an integrated city defense system. In 1983 Shaanxi Province decided to do a large scale restoration of the wall to restore it to its original appearance. They added a park around the outside of the wall and restored its ancient gate towers.

The Ancient City Wall of Xi'an is one of the major sites of interest to visitors to Xi'an and is rarely missed. Since the wall is intact, you can rent a bicycle and ride around the ancient city on the top of the wall. It gives you a chance to look into the ancient city and imagine what life would have been like for its ancient inhabitants. The park surrounding the ancient City Wall is beautiful and is worth a look. At night, the City Wall is lit up and looks quite stunning.

back to Xian

• Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses
• Big Wild Goose Pagoda
• Great Mosque
• Bell Tower
• Famen Temple
• Forest of Steles
• Huaqing Hot Spring
• Mt. Huashan
• Farmers Cave Houses
• Tang Dynasty Show

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