Xi'an City Wall

Xian Ancient City Wall

Xian City Wall was constructed in the early Ming Dynasty on the basis of the Imperial City of Chang An (Everlasting Peace) of the Tang Dynasty. It is also a symbol of great significance of the famous historic cultural city of Xian. One of the features of the Xian Wall lies in the fact that it has been preserved intact, which is rarely seen in the world. The construction of the Xian City was formally started in the seventh year of Emperor Hongwu%26#39;s reign (1374) and completed in the eleventh year of Hongwu%26#39;s reign (1378). The rectangular city wall is 13.7 kilometers in circumference and has 5,984 crenels and 98 places for the garriosn troops to stay in.

The City Wall has corner towers, ramparts, sentry towers, gate towers, battlements and a a number of city defensive fortifications with very strong defense capability. The inner city was once the living place of the King of Qin. It was constructed on the high land in the northeastern area of the city. There the whole city were under control by its advantage of high position. Two continuous walls and a protective moat surrounded the residence. The principal part of the architectural complex was constructed in the light of the traditional pattern of ';Palace in the front and bedchamber at the back';. There is a suspense bridge in front of the gate. Raising the bridge means, the way to enter the city or go out are cut out. In the Ming Dynasty the fort had become an grand and precise defense system and now is still a better ancient fort kept intact than any other.

After consistent repair and protection, the Xian City Wall now offers a good combination of the city wall, city moats, forest belt and city ring-routes. In early years, those ancient walls regarded as the obstacle to the modernization of the city, but now it is the pride, which offers great honor to the old city.

Now It%26#39;s very popular riding a bycycle around top of City Wall.