The City Wall of Xi’an

    The City Wall of Xi’an is one of the most famous city walls in Chinese history. It is located in the central area of Xi’an City and has a history spanning over 600 years. It is the most well-preserved ancient city wall still standing in China. The city wall has a rectangular shape, measuring 2,590 meters along the east side, about 2,631 meters on the west, approximately 3,441 meters on the south, and 3,241 meters on the north side. Outside the city wall lies an 18-meter wide moat, serving as the first line of defense, which is connected with the city gates by drawbridges. Together, the moat, city wall and city gates form an integrated three-part defense system. The city wall contains various military facilities, making it invaluable for studying ancient Chinese city wall and military defense strategies. In 1961, the State Council of China named the City Wall of Xi’an as one of the first batch of the national key cultural relics protection sites. Today, the Xi’an City Wall has been developed into a grand yet simple park encircling the city, with the ancient wall as its centerpiece.

Based on the Discover China series published by Beijing Publishing Group and Beijing Publishing House, this column integrates Chinese history, customs, traditional culture and artistic treasures to introduce China's ancient capitals, cultural landmarks, humanistic and natural wonders.

    The editor of the Discover China series, Lin Detang, is the president of the Beijing Tourism Derivatives Association and a visiting professor at the School of Hotel Management of the China University of Labour Relations. Mr Lin has long been committed to theoretical research and entrepreneurial promotion of the integrated development of the cultural tourism industry.