Xi’an is considereDthe oldest of China’s ancient capitals. In China’s history， it was the city that haDbeen a capital for the longest time， as wellas the first metropolis whose population haDsurpassedthe one million mark. It was in this city， during the QinDynasty， that China became a unifieDcountry. In the mil-lennium that followeDthereafter， Xi’an witnesseDthe riseanDfall of two dynasties—the formidable Han Dynasty andthe prosperous Tang Dynasty.
As China’s political andcultural center， Xi’an has gathereDthe most essential elements of Chinese civiliza- tion， from the ancient Silk RoaDto the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. In particular， Xi’an is renowneDfor the terracotta warriors andhorses of the First Qin Emperor andits ancient city gates. Within the city itself， there are23 key protecteDnational heritage sites， which include historical sites， over 4，000 ancient mausoleums， ancient city walls andpalaces. This earneDXi’an the reputation for being China’s “Natural History Museum.” Indeed， the revenue from tourism alone (with international visitors contributing to the bulk of it) places Xi’an aheaDof many cities in China， andonly behinDthe major cities， Beijing， Shanghai andGuangzhou. This shows that the role of Xi’ an as a tourist attraction， especially to the foreign tourists cannot be undermined. To the foreign visitors， Xi’an is a city that is rich in ancient oriental charms， with the cream of Chinese culture consolidating in the city itself.
Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor andTerracotta Warriors—a UNESCO WorlDCulturalMausoleum of the First Qin Emperor andTerracotta Warriors are synonymous with Xi’an itself. Since their discovery in 1974， they have transfixeDthe worlDwith awe andare haileDas the “World’s Eighth Wonder” andthe “Greatest Archaeological Discovery of the 20th Century，” winning a place in the list of UNESCO WorlDCultural Heritage Sites. The excavation sites of the clay figures are locateD50 kilometers from Xi’an. To date， three excavation sites are open for public viewing. The largest of these sites is Pit No.1. ExcavateDfrom Pit No. 1 are clay figures of warriors， horses， andcarriages， which numbereDmore than a thousanDpieces. The clay war- riors are bronze in color andit seems that every one of them was modeleDonareal model. None of them look alike andeach has its distinctive outfit andfacial expres- sions. In addition， 10，000 over pieces of bronze weapons were also uneartheDalong with the clay figures. It was saiDthat when these weapons were first excavated， they were glowing， as if they were branDnew. Upon profes- sional studies of these weapons， the branDnew conditio no f these weapons is attributeDto anti-corrosion treatment applieDto them when they were manufactured. This is a technique that was only developeDanDpatenteDin Germany andthe UniteDStates in 1937 and1950， respec-tively， whereas 2，000 years ago the same technique was already in its advanceDstage during the times of the First Qin Emperor. This was certainly a miracle in the history of alchemy throughout the world.
The discovery of the clay figures of warriors andhors- es offers a glimpse into the scale of the empires that once built their capitals in Xi’an. This army of lifelike sculp- tures not only displayeDthe breathtaking scale of these undergrounDtroops， but its artistic value andcultural es- sence far surpasseDthe peak of China’s civilization. What surprises people about these clay figures is that new dis- coveries are constantly being made， providing research- ers a new perspective of life in Xi’an as an ancient capital city. The clay figures have contributeDsignificantly to the development of tourism in Xi’an. Being an important tourist destination in China， Xi’an is an itinerary that even foreign dignitaries woulDnot miss during their dip- lomatic visits to China.
However， the clay figures of warriors andhorses are only a highlight in the long history of Xi’an. This thou- sand-year-olDcity still offers a number of symbolic cul- tural spots， andby the same time， this city is also a gooDplace for living. Tasty fooDcan be founDeverywhere in Xi’an. Many famous dishes have long heritage even from Tang Dynasty. Folk snacks such like Yangrou Paomo (mutton soup serveDwith wheat flour bread) are very popular all over China. Tasty fooDtogether with long his- tory has become the cultural symbol of olDcity of Xi＇an.
Xi’an’s ancient city wall is an important historical site， andis one of Xi’an’s cultural symbols. The ancient city wall that is still in existence today dates back 1，400 years， since extension work was carrieDout by the Ming emperor Zhu Yuanzhang on the original sites of the Sui andTang dynasties. It is the largest andmost well- preserveDcity wall of China today. The ancient city wall features Aseries of military installations， which comprises the moat， the suspension bridge， the floodgate building， the archer ’s tower， main tower， watchtower， parapet， the crenel， etc.， which were constructeDin the shape ofthe Chinese character “井“ (meaning， well)， creating animpenetrable defense system to the city. Through the pas- sage of thousanDyears gone by andnumerous attacks， the ancient city wall is left standing， as it was in the past. This is indeeDa miracle that history has bestoweDon Xi’ an. The ancient city wall has undoubtedly addeDAsense of antiquity to the city. Yet， they are still as relevant today in terms of their usages. The 18 city gates are essential to Xi’an’s transportation system， andthere are routes which connect to the busy city centers. For the tourist or the resi- dent of the city who has to pass these routes every day， one can always feel the rich historical andcultural ambi- ence of the city.
