Xi'an

Museum of Qin Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses

The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses are around 1.5 kilometers east of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum, Lintong County, Shaanxi province. Several peasants uncovered some pottery while digging for a well nearby the royal tomb in 1974, and the result of this discovery shocked the whole world. It was listed by UNESCO in 1987 as one of the world cultural heritages.

When Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor, ascended the throne at the age of 13 (in 246 BC) had begun to prepare for his mausoleum. It took 11 years to finish. It is believed that many treasures and sacrificial objects had been buried with the emperor in his after life. It caught the attention of archeologists immediately. But till now the first Qin Emperor’s Mausoleum can not be opened to the world. And it is still a myth.

The museum, built in 1975, covers an area of 16,300 square meters, divided into three sections: Pit 1, Pit 2, and Pit 3 respectively. They were named in the order of their discoveries. Pit 1 is the largest, first opened to the public on China's National Day, 1979. It is the main part of the army hiking forward. Pit 2, found in 1976, is 20 meters northeast of No. 1 Pit. It contained over a thousand warriors and 90 chariots of wood. It was unveiled to the public in 1994. And Pit 3 is 25 meters northwest of Pit 1. It seemed to be the command center of the armed forces. It was open to public in 1989, with 68 warriors, a war chariot and four horses. Altogether over 7,000 pottery soldiers, horses, chariots, and even weapons have been unearthed here. Most of them have been restored to their former grandeur.

The Terracotta Warriors and Horses is known as the eighth wonder in the world and has come to be a unmissed sight both for home and abroad.

Huashan Mountain

Huashan Mountian is located some 240 kilometers away from Xi'an, approximately a two and half hours drive. It is one of the five sacred mountains in China. Huashan Mountain is well-known for its sheer cliffs and plunging ravines. It is the most dangerous mountain in China for climbers.

There are five peaks in the mountain, among which the most famous three are Sunrise Peak( East Peak), Lotus Flower Peak( West Peak), Falling Goose Peak( South Peak). The Sunrise Peak is a fine place to enjoy the sunrise view in early morning, which is frequented by travelers. Huashan means flower mountain and it got the name from the Lotus Peak, which resemble a beautifully blooming lotus flower. The falling Goose Peak is the highest among the five. The two other less visited are Jade Maiden( Middle Peak, legend goes that a jade maiden once saw riding a white horse among the mountains hence the name) and Cloud Stand Peak( North peak).. The path to the 2158 summit is nearly vertical, which now is equipped with iron chains to protect climbers. The climb to its summit makes it clear how the impenetrable mountain repelled those invaders over centuries. 

Huaqing Pool

Situated at the northern foot of Mt. Lishan in Lintong County, 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from Xian City, Huaqing Hot Spring is famed for both its dainty spring scenery and the romantic love story of Emperor Xuanzong (685-762) and his concubine Yang Guifei in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Its long history and location among the wonderful landscapes of Xian should entice any visitor to visit and bathe in this hot spring.

It is said that King You built a palace here during the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC-711 BC). Additions were subsequently made by the First Emperor Qing (259 BC-210BC) and Emperor Wu during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24). During his reign, the Emperor Xuanzong spent dizzying amounts of his funds to build a luxurious palace, changing its name to Huaqing Hot Spring or Huaqing Palace. Over the course of 41 years in his days, he visited the palace as many as 36 times. The palace thus has a history of 3,000 years and the hotspring a history of 6,000 years! Ranked among the Hundred Famous Gardens in China, it also has the status as a National Cultural Relic Protection Unit and a National Key Scenic Area.

Entering the gate which bears the inscription 'Huaqing Chi' (Huaqing Hot Spring) by Guo Moruo, a noted literary  man in China, visitors are greeted by two towering cedars. By continuing inward passing two symmetrical palace-style plunge baths and turning right, you will see the Nine-Dragon Lake.

Despite the fact that the lake is artificial with an area of 5,300 square meters (6339 square yards), it constitutes one of the main enchanting sceneries in the Huaqing Palace. You will see lotus floating on the water and emitting sweet fragrance, and a white marble statue of Yang Guifei - recognised as one of the four most beautiful women in ancient China - stands tall by the lake like a shy and appealing fairy. Mirrored in the lake you will see a surrounding complex of constructions interspersed with willows and rocks, including Frost Flying Hall (Feishuang Hall) in the north, Yichun Hall and Chenxiang Hall respectively in the east and west as well as Nine Bend Corridor and Dragon Marble Boat. The magnificent Frost Flying Hall used to be the bedroom of Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Guifei, with red supporting pillars and fine-patterned carving. Living in a place so full of spice must have made the inhabitants invigorated and pleased.

Walking southwards through Dragon Marble Boat and several pavilions, you will find the Site of Imperial Pool, which is the only one of its kind to be discovered in China. The five remaining pools are the Lotus Pool, Haitang Pool, Shangshi Pool, Star Pool and Prince Pool. The lotus-like Lotus Pool was made for the Emperors' bath, the Haitang Pool resembling a Chinese Crabapple was intended for concubines, and the Shangshi Pool was designated for officials. It is said that the former Star Pool had no roof and nothing to cover its four sides. There, must have been possible to truly experience the eternal beauty of Yang Guifei.

Huan Garden is the former garden of the Huaqing Palace. There lie the Lotus Pavilion, Viewing Lake Tower (Wanghu Lou), Flying Rainbow Bridge (Feihong Qiao), Flying Glow Hall (Feixia Ge), and Five-Room Hall (Wujian Ting). In popular legend, the Flying Glow Hall was once the place where Yang Guifei would overlook the scenery and cool down her long hair. The Five-Room Hall was built in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It was the shelter of Empress Dowager Cixi after the Eight-Power Allied Force captured Peking in 1900, and was also the temporary residence of Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party during the world-famous Xian Incidence in 1936. The Huan Garden also features a large-scale mural carrying the inscription 'Yang Guifei Was Summoned to Serve the Emperor in Huaqing Hot Spring'. Composed of 90 white marbles, the mural is 9.15 meters (30 feet) long and 3.6 meters (11.8 feet) high. Depicting the scene of the feast in which Emperor Xuanzong summoned Yang Guifei, it reflects the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. Odes of Huaqing Hot Spring are also witnesses of past politics, economy and art.

By visiting the Huaqing Hot Spring, you will not only enjoy the scenery, but also taste the joy of imagining yourself back in the days of the Tang Dynasty.

The first pleasure to experience is to have a bath in the imitational Guifei Pool. With an even temperature of 43 degree (109 F), the ever-flowing water of the hot spring contains minerals and organic materials that have therapeutic effects on the skin. Water originating from four spring reaches a discharge level of 112 tons per hour. In the bath pool, you can experience the same comfort as did the Emperor Xuanzong or Yang Guifei.

After the discovery of remains of Tang operas and entertainments, the Exhibition Hall of Tang Art was built in 1995. Here, you can enjoy dance performances imitating the Tang style and a Chinese tea ceremony in the teahouse.

In the palace of Huaqing Hot Spring, visitors who are interested in calligraphy will be delighted to discover the inscriptions collected there. Currently, the inscriptions include in total 7 steles, 16 stones with poems, 7 stone inscriptions, 4 stone carving, and an additional 69 tablets discovered in 1949. All of them represent elite work in the field of calligraphy art and materials of their kinds.

Shaanxi  History Museum

Shaanxi Province is the birthplace of the ancient Chinese civilization. Xian City was the capital city in thirteen dynasties which in total lasted over 1100 years. Consequently, the ancient history of Shaanxi is to some degree the ancient history of China. The Shaanxi History Museum considers it an obligation to be a show case of ancient civilizations. It is situated in the southern suburb of Xian City, northwest of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.Since it was opened to the public in 1991, its architectural buildings, internal apparatus, and exhibits have made it famous as a first-class museum in China.

The museum occupies an area of 65,000 square meters (16 acres). It is a grand complex of buildings imitating the architecture style of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). A primary pavilion stands in the center, and secondary pavilions of varying heights are distributed orderly around it. With black, white and grey as the predominant colors, the buildings have a solemn and rustic charm. The museum is furnished with central air-conditioning and multi-functional lighting system to ensure the protection of the culture relics. It is a comprehensive museum with more than 370,000 exhibits of different times and kinds. The two-storied primary pavilion is divided into the following three main exhibition halls.

Qianling museum

The Qianling Tomb is where the third Tang-dynasty emperor and his empress were buried together. The third e peror was Li Zhi and his empress was Empress Wu Zetian. This is the most representative among the eighteen Tang-dynasty tombs and the best preserved. It is located on top of Liangshan (Liang Mountain), six kilometers north of Qian County City in Shaanxi Province, around eighty kilometers from Xi an. The scope of the tomb is very large with the precincts of the tomb and gardens totalling an area of 2,400,000 square meters.

On the grounds of the Qianling Tomb, what one mainly sees today are extremely beautiful stone carvings that stand on top of the hill. They are arrayed in a line leading from the 'crimson sparrow gate' to the north and mark the 'way of horses and grooms,' the double line of statues leading up to the tombs.

Qiangling museum is actully located in the tomb of Princess Yongtai, This tomb is situated 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) south east of the Qian Mausoleum and was built to the same specifications as those of an empress' tomb. Once again, this tomb is renowned for the quality of the many items found in it as well as the extremely fine wall paintings.

The murals have been removed to the Shaanxi Provincial Museum for safekeeping and replaced with replicas. This tomb had been subject to raids and many grave goods have been stolen. However, some 1046 pieces have survived intact. Ceramic figures, tri-color figures and wooden figurines represent 878 of these pieces. Among them, 700 ceramic figures include heavenly kings, male, female and ethnic equestrians, musicians complete with their musical instruments and animals. The tri-color figurines are of many subjects in a variety of poses. By contrast there are thirty carved wooden figures that are all male.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Da Ci’en Temple

As the symbol of the old-line Xian, Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a well-preserved ancient building and a holy place for Buddhists. It is located in the southern suburb of Xian City, about 4 kilometers (2.49 miles) from the downtown of the city. Standing in the Da Ci'en Temple complex, it attracts numerous visitors for its fame in the Buddhist religion, its simple but appealing style of construction, and its new square in front of the temple. It is rated as a National Key Cultural Relic Preserve as well as an AAAA Tourist Attraction.

This attraction can be divided into three parts: the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the Da Ci'en Temple, and the North Square of Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Originally built in 652 during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), it functioned to collect Buddhist materials that were taken from India by the hierarch Xuanzang.

Xuanzang started off from Chang'an (the ancient Xian), along the Silk Road and through deserts, finally arriving in India, the cradle of Buddhism. Enduring 17 years and traversing 100 countries, he obtained Buddha figures, 657 kinds of sutras, and several Buddha relics. Having gotten the permission of Emperor Gaozong (628-683), Xuanzang, as the first abbot of Da Ci'en Temple, supervised the building of a pagoda inside it. With the support of royalty, he asked 50 hierarchs into the temple to translate Sanskrit in sutras into Chinese, totaling 1,335 volumes, which heralded a new era in the history of translation. Based on the journey to India, he also wrote a book entitled 'Pilgrimage to the West' in the Tang Dynasty, to which scholars attached great importance.

First built to a height of 60 meters (197 feet) with five stories, it is now 64.5 meters (211.6 feet) high with an additional two stories. It was said that after that addition came the saying-'Saving a life exceeds building a seven-storied pagoda'. Externally it looks like a square cone, simple but grand and it is a masterpiece of Buddhist construction. Built of brick, its structure is very firm. Inside the pagoda, stairs twist up so that visitors can climb and overlook the panorama of Xian City from the arch-shaped doors on four sides of each storey. On the walls are engraved fine statues of Buddha by the renowned artist Yan Liben of the Tang Dynasty. Steles by noted calligraphers also grace the pagoda.

As for the reason why it is called Big Wild Goose Pagoda, there is a legend. According to ancient stories of Buddhists, there were two branches, for one of which eating meat was not a taboo. One day, they couldn't find meat to buy. Upon seeing a group of big wild geese flying by, a monk said to himself: 'Today we have no meat. I hope the merciful Bodhisattva will give us some.' At that very moment, the leading wild goose broke its wings and fell to the ground. All the monks were startled and believed that Bodhisattva showed his spirit to order them to be more pious. They established a pagoda where the wild goose fell and stopped eating meat. Hence it got the name 'Big Wild Goose Pagoda'.


Da Ci'en Temple

Da Ci'en Temple is the home of Big Wild Goose Pagoda. In 648, to commemorate the dead virtuous queen, royalty ordered the building of a temple named 'Ci'en' (Mercy and Kindness), for which the status and scale far exceeded all others. Today, with an area of 32,314 square meters (38,648.5 square yards), one seventh of the original area, it still retains its grandeur.

Before the temple, there stands a statue of hierarch Xuanzang, the meritorious hierarch. Walking on and across a small bridge, visitors will see the gates of the temple. With guarding lions, the temple seems stately for lions were said to function as talismans.

Entering the temple you will see two buildings-Bell Tower in the east and Drum Tower in the west. Inside the Bell Tower hangs an iron bell 15 tons (14.76 gross tons) in weight. It was molded in 1548 in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Along the central axis are arranged the Hall of Mahavira, Sermon Hall, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, and the Hall of Xuanzang Sanzang. In the Hall of Mahavira are three carved statues of Sakyamuni, and 18 arhats as well as Xuanzang. The Sermon Hall is where Buddhist disciples would listen to a sermon. A bronze statue of Amitabha is dedicated and a Buddha statue is collected by Xuanzang as oblation. The Hall of Xuanzang Sanzang is north of Big Wild Goose Pagoda. In this hall are Xuanzang's relic and a bronze statue of a seated Xuanzang. The inner wall is chiseled with murals depicting this hierarch's story. Renowned as the contemporary Dunhuang Buddhist storehouse praised by UNESCO, it is the biggest memorial of Xuanzang.

The Museum of Stele Forest

Stele Forest Xi'an Stele Forest Museum or Xi'an Beilin Museum, is a museum for steles and stone sculptures which is located in Xi’an, China. Its name comes from its huge collection of steles, reminiscent of a forest.

The Stele Forest began with the Kaicheng Shi Jing Steles and Shitai Xiao Jing Steles, two groups of steles both carved in the Tang dynasty and displayed in the temple to Confucius in Chang’an. In 904, a reble army sacked Chang’an and the two stele were evacuated to the inner city. In 962, they were again moved to the rebuilt temple to Confucius, in the Song Dynasty (1807), a special hall, with attached facilities, was built to house and display the two Stele groups. It was damaged during the Ming Dynasty, in the 1556 Shaanxi earthquake.

It collects nearly 3000 steles and it is the biggest museum for steles in China. Most of its collection are steles of the Tang Dynasty. Ink rubbings of the steles are available for sale. Among the unusual examples is a 18th-century stele depicting a Yangtze River flood control project. Another appears to be a bamboo forest, but on examination the leaves and branches form a poem.

The Great Mosque

The Great Mosque of Xian is the largest and best preserved of the early mosques of China. Built primarily in the Ming Dynasty when Chinese architectural elements were synthesized into mosque architecture, the mosque resembles a fifteenth century Buddhist temple with its single axis lined with courtyards and pavilions.

The mosque occupies a narrow lot about 48 meters by 248 meters, and the precinct walls enclose a total area of 12,000 square meters. Unlike many Chinese mosques, it has the layout of a Chinese temple: successive courtyards on a single axis with pavilions and pagodas adapted to suit Islamic function. Unlike a typical Buddhist temple, however, the grand axis of the Great Mosque of Xian is aligned from east to west, facing Mecca. Five successive courtyards, each with a signature pavilion, screen, or freestanding gateway, lead to the prayer hall located at the western end of the axis.

If you are interested in the Islamic culture of China, then the Great Mosque is a must for you to see, and I am sure it will definitely not let you down.

Banpo Museum

Banpo Museum is an archaeological site located just east of xi’an, China and contains the remains of a Neolithic village. Banpo is the type-site associated with Yangshao Culture. Archaeological sites with similarities to the first phase at Banpo are considered to be part of the Banpo phase (5000 BC to 4000 BC) of the Yangshao culture. Banpo was excavated from 1954 to 1957 and covers an area of around 50,000 square metres.The settlement was surrounded by a moat with the graves and pottery kilns located outside of the moat perimeter. Many of the houses were semisubterranean with the floor typically a meter below the ground surface. The houses were supported by timber poles and had steeply pitched thatched roofs.According to the Marxist Paradigm of Archeaology that was prevalent in the People’s Republic of China. during the time of the excavation of the site, Banpo was considered to be a matriarchal society; however, new research contradicts this claim, and the Marxist paradigm is gradually being phased out in modern Chinese archaeological research.

Bell tower

Known as the symbol of Xi'an, its history can be traced back to the Ming dynasty. Each Ming city had a bell tower and a drum tower. The bell was sounded at dawn and the drum at dusk. The Bell Tower was originally set at the intersection of Xi Dajie (West Street) and Guangji Jie (Guangji Street) in the Yingxiang Temple, which was the center of the site of the old Tang Imperial City. It was removed to its present place in 1582 in the center of the southern section of the walled city and was restored several times.

The tower has a square-shaped brick platform, each side of which is 35.5 meters (116 feet) long and 8.6 meters (28 feet) high and on the top is a triple-eaved, two-storey wooden structure with carved beams and color-painted rafters, a further 27.4 meters (90feet) high. Colorful dougong -- a unique Chinese architecture of brackets inserted on the top of columns and crossbeams strengthen the building and enhance the artistic. The design of this kind is also perceptible from the engravings on bronze wares dating back to the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.). The inside is remarkable as an example of the very intricate roof truss system used in Ming and Qing wooden architecture. In a corner of the brick platform is a Ming-period bell.

On fine day, you may feast you eyes with panoramic view of the city from the parapet on the second floor.

Drum Tower

The Drum Tower, across the Bell Tower and Drum Tower Square, to the northwest of the Bell Tower is a similar structure to the Bell Tower. It was erected in 1380, also during the Ming Dynasty. The Drum Tower got its name from the huge drum hung within it. While bell was stricken at dawn, drum was beat at sunset to indicate the end of the day. 

The outside of the Drum Tower on its first floor, hangs many large drums. Each was decorated with some beautiful Chinese writing, which symbolizes good fortune. The impressive arrays of drums are only on show and visitors are not allowed to beat any of them. But there is a extra charge drum near the front entrance where you can have a try or pose for a picture for a small fee.

Inside the Drum Tower now is a drum museum, where a variety of drums are on display, some of which can be dated back a thousands years. A kind of drum show is performed here everyday. The top of the tower commands a panoramic view of the city.

Xi'an City Wall

The Xian City Wall is not only the most complete city wall that has survived in China despite of the constant changes and revolutions in various dynasties  but its also one of the largest and most complete ancient military systems of defense in the world. The city walls here were actually built on the fortifications of the Tang Forbidden City, which was than a great constructoin in the whole world.

Located in the central area of Xi'an city, the Xi'an City Wall which built in Ming Dynasty stands 12 meters high. It is 12- 14 meters across the top, 15-18 meters thick at bottom and 13.7 kilometers in perimeter or circumference. It is divided into several important parts such the rampart, the gate tower, the suspend bridge, the watch tower, the moat and so on. The Ming Dynasty City Wall formed a complex and well-organized system of defense. The city wall itself is a true display of the ability and wisdom of the working people in ancient times. It provides invaluable and substantial material for the study of the history, military science, and architecture of the Ming Dynasty.

Now, the city wall receive a substantial number of visitors every day and if you travel in China, this city wall might probably offer you something more than entertainment.

The Famen Temple

In China, many temples house treasures and artifacts, but the sheer quantity and quality of treasures in the Famen Temple is rare. Situated in Famen Town of Fufeng County, about 120 kilometers (about 74.57 miles) west of Xian, Famen Temple is renowned for storing the veritable Finger Bone of the Sakyamuni Buddha.

Famen Temple was established in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25--220), for carrying forward Buddhism. The most representative structures in the temple are the Famen Temple Pagoda and Famen Temple Museum.

At the center of the temple is the 13-tiered octagonal pagoda under which it is said, a sliver of the finger bone of Sakyamuni buried. In 1981, subsidence of the pagoda led to reconstruction, during which, an Underground Palace was discovered unexpectedly in 1987. Many royal treasures and jewellery were found here-more than 2,000 pieces surrounded the Tang mandala (geometric designs, usually circular, symbolizing the universe). The most precious one is the veritable Finger Bone of the Sakyamuni Buddha. At present, this is the biggest Buddhist underground palace so far discovered. From the grand architectural style, it is said to have been established in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). But why, and how such precious treasures were stored under the pagoda. Tracing back to a most flourishing time in Chinese history, formerly, Famen Temple was the royal temple during the Sui Dynasty (581-618) and Tang Dynasty. Emperors in Sui and Tang believed that enshrining and worshiping the bone of Sakyamuni would bring riches and peace to the land and its people. So an offering of treasure to the finger bone was made, it was housed in the Underground Palace.

Due to the appropriate collection and further expounding of the cultural connotations of the treasures to the public, the Famen Temple Museum was established in 1987, which includes most of the precious treasures from the Tang Dynasty removed from Underground Palace, including gold and silverware, colored glaze ware, porcelain and silks. Owing to more and more tourists and their curiosity to the relics, two new exhibition halls were established in 2000. The exhibition area expanded from 500 square meters to 3,000 square meters, which well caters for the interest of tourists.

Nowadays, Famen Temple, which is the most famous Buddhist temple, plays a sovereign role in Chinese Buddhism, and appeals to tourists from all over the world.