Xi'an

Xi'an, was once called "Chang'an" in the Han Dynasty. The connotation of this name is "permanent peace". Xi'an marked the starting point of the world famous Silk Road. It obtained its present name in the year 1369.
 

Xi'an ranks first on the list of the country's seven largest ancient capitals. From 11th century B.C. onwards, Xi'an or its vicinity has been established as the capital city by 15 kingdoms or feudal dynasties successively, including the Western Zhou, the Qin, the Han, the Sui and the Tang. It serves as an ancient capital city beyond comparison with regard to the number of dynasties and span of time. And it was regarded as one of the "Four Ancient Civilizations of the World", the other three being Rome, Athens, and Istanbul. Xi'an is situated in the middle of the Yellow River reaches and at the center of the Central Shannxi Plain. Within Xi'an one can find a large number of historic attractions, such as the remains of Banpo Village, a Neolithic matriarchal clan community, the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, which has been listed in "the World Cultural Heritages", the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Small Wild Goose Pagoda built in the Tang Dynasty, the Bell Tower, Drum Tower and City Wall built in the Ming Dynasty, and the time-honored Forest of Stone Tablets. Walking around this old city is like going through thousands of years back in history. So there is no wonder why foreigners always say "He who has not visited Xi'an cannot be said to have visited China."