I can't help but write this letter to you to express my sincere thanks for the fantastic your company and the guides provide to us on our recent trip to Xian and around it...... Lenn Pitt
Xian is one of the old cities in the world. It serves as an ancient capital city beyond comparision wity regard to the number of dynasties and span of time. It is the center of politics, economy and culture in ancient times. Since the earliest societies, humanity lived and multiplied here.Between the 11th and 8th centuries BC, the Zhou Dynasty established their captial at Haojing, located a few miles west of present-day Xi'an.We can get brief understanding on early agricultural society by the remains of Haojing. In the year 221B.C.,Emperor Qinshihuang estabulished the first feudal enpire in Chinese history.At that time,the techniques of metallurgy,machinery,pottery-making,spinning and leathwe-making are advanced in the world, which can be proved by the Museum of Terra Cotta of Warriors and Horses. Tang dynasty reached the peak of the fudal society, which is considered by many historians as China's golden age.Painting, literature, and music all flourished, as did the more sybaritic art of gracious living. We can get a brief review of the prosperous Tang dynasty by seeing the Big and Small Wild Goose Pagoda and the Forest of Stone Tablets. Many religious coummunities, such as Buddhist, Zoroastrian, Muslim, Manichaean and Nestorian ones,in which Buddhist is the strongest one. At the same time, Chinese commodities spreaded over the wrold through Silk Road which reached Persia, Byzantium, and the Middle East. One can discover the ancient trade by our tailor-made Silk Road exploration. Now, Xian is the regional center in the northwest and one of the major tourist cities in China.
There are many famous people in Xi'an history. They contributed themslves to the development of the Chinese culture, arts, economy,politics and other fields. Prehistory 1. (1000,000B.C.) The earliest man standing erect in Asia----the Lantian Man lived and multiplied here,thus opening a historical chapter of the life of the primitive human in the Old Stone Age. 2. (4,000B.C.) The Banpo Man is a typical representative of the communal nature of the Chinese matriarchal clan at its most prosperous period. For the details, please see the Banpo Museum 3. (2,800B.C.) According to the legend, the Hua Xia tribe unified China under the leadership of Huang Di( the Yellow Emperor), who invented the compass and was revered as the earliest ancestor of the Chinese nation. For the details, please see the the Mausoleum of Yellow Emperor Western Zhou Dynasty (1134 B.C.---- 249 B.C.) 1. (1134B.C.----1116B.C.) Wu Di(Emeperor Wu) estabulished the Western Zhou Dynasty. Then during the three hundred years, the western Zhou Dynasty created a most brilliant culture and laid down the basic policy of “building the country through the development fo agriculture” in ancient China, bringing the slave society to its peak of prosperity. Xi'an began to be a capital and a center of politics, economy and culture for the next one thousand years. Qin Dynasty(249B.C----207B.C.) 1. (221B.C.) The First Qin Emperor estabulished the first multiethnic feudal society unified under central authority in ancient China. China during the Qin Dynasty was one of the largest countries in the world. China entered an important stage in its history. During his regin, on Mount Lishan,the First Emperor of Qin built for himself a grandiose mausoleum with an emormous horde of treasures buried inside. For the details,please see the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor and the museum of Terracotta Warriors and hosrses Han Dynasty(206B.C.---220A.D.) 1. Liu Bang(206B.C.----195B.C.)founded the Western Han Dynasty and made Chang'an(the old name of Xi'an) its capital. The Western Han Dynasty reached its peak through shrewd diplomacy, liberal domestic policies,exclusive adoption of Confucian ideology and victories in the battlefields against the Huns. To this day, the majority of Chinese people still take the word Han as the name and symbol of Chinese culture and traditions. 2. Wu Di(141B.C.---87B.C.)expanded the territory and opened the Silk Road which contributed to making the Western Han Dynasty the strongest and the most prosperous country in the world. For the detail, please see the Maoling Mausoleum and Maoling Mesuem. 3. In 138B.C.,Zhang Qian was sent on a diplomatic mission to the Western Regions. The silk Road starting from Chang'an and stretching over the Asian Continent was officially open with his long and arduous trip. For the details, please see the Silk Road and the Zhang Qian Mausoleum 4. As an outstanding general, Huo Qubing went to the border to fight agaisnt the Hun invader six times. Each time he won a victory, he opened the Hexi corridor and guaranteed the saftey of the northwestern frontier and the Silk Road. For the details, please see the Huo Qubing Mausoleum. 5. The earliset paper-making technology was discovered by use of fibers by Cai Lun. For the details, please see the Cai Lun Mausoleum. 6. Sima Qian complied the general history with a biographical type that is the first in China---Records of the Historian, an immortal masterpiece of history literature. For the details ,please see the Sima Qian Temple. 7. During this period, Zhang Heng invented the seismograph, the earliest instrument for earthquake forcasting in the world. Jin Dynasty(265----420) 1. The famous monk Fa Xian went west for Buddhist scriptures, becoming a pioneer of the Chinese monks to go to India in pursuit of the learning of Buddhism. 2. Kumarajiva, an eminent monk of the time, translated Buddhist classics at the Caotang Temple. For the details, please see the Cao Tang Temple. Qin Dynasty(618---907) 1. Li Yuan made himself emperor and named Daxing Chang'an again. The city of Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty was then the largest international metropolis with a population of more than one million. For the details, please see the Chang'an city of Tang Dynasty. 2. In 628, the famous monk Xuan Zang, by way of the western Region, went to India for Buddhist scriptures. He returned home after a seventeen-year journey. On his advice, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda was built to enshrine the scriptures and the statue of the Buddha. For the details , please see the Xingjiao Temple and the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. 3. Sun Simaio, “king of medicine,” wrote golden Prescriptionsand put forward a classification system for medicines. For the details, please see the Yao Wang Moutain( king of medicine mountain) 4. Monk Yi Xing became the first man in world astronomical history to come up with the calculation results of the length of the meridian. 5. In 641, princess Wen Cheng married a Tibetan prince, taking with her Tang culture and arts to the Tibetan people. 6. In 690, Wu Zetian,first empress in China, ascended the throne in Chang'an. For the details, please see the Qian Mausoleum. 7. During the Tang Dynasty,calligraphy, painting and poetry reaxhed the unparalledled apex and a great number of writers and poets emergese including for example Yan Zhengqing, known as the “Calligrapher of Strength”, Wu Daozi, the “Painting Sage”and Li Bai, the “Immortal Poet”. For the details ,please see the Forest of Steles in Xi'an. Song Dynasty(960----1279) 1. During the North Song Dynasty Lu Dazhong moved some classic stone tablets such as the “Kaicheng Stone Platform”, and numerous calligraphy works to what is now the Forest of Steles in Xi'an. Ming Dynasty(1368---1644) 1. Zhu Yuanzhang estabulished Ming Dynasty in 1368. In orde to honor the moslems who took part in Zhu Yuanzhang's uprising , the government estabulished the Great Mosque. For the details, please see the Great Mosque in Huajue Lane. 2. Zhu Yuanzhang sent his second son, Prince Qin, to govern and defend Xi'an. Constrction was on the rise again. The present structures such as the City Wall, Drum Tower and Bell Tower were all built in the Ming Dynasty. After the Qing Dynasty -------1949(the People's Republic of China was found) 1. From 1935 to 1948, the Communist Party of China and Chairman Mao Zedong led the Chinese revolution in Northern Shaanxi. And from here, they went to the final victory, laying a foundation for the People's Repulic of China. For the details, please see the Revolutionary Memorial Sites in Yan'an such as Fenghuang Shan(Fenghuang Mountain), Yangjia Ling, Zao Yuan, Baota Shan(Bao Ta Mountain), etc.. 2. On December 12,1936,the “Xi'an Incident” lead by Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng took place, an event that shook the world. For the details, please see the Zhang Xueliang Mansion, Yang Hucheng Mansion , Xi'an Incident Memeorial and Huaqing Hot Springs. Now , people in Xi'an is changing the city by changing ourselves. We welcome people from all over the world to experience this ancient and new city
Xian is one of the old cities in the world. It serves as an ancient capital city beyond comparision wity regard to the number of dynasties and span of time. It is the center of politics, economy and culture in ancient times.
