Xi'an
Xi'an (Chang'an) developed its prominence as the eastern terminus of the Silk Road back in the 2nd century BC, at the start of the Han dynasty, when it was the imperial capital of China. It suffered several ups and downs over the succeeding centuries as power in China fluctuated between competing war-lords.
However, the ascendancy of the Tang dynasty early in the 7th century resulted in decades of prosperity and fame for Xi'an, reaching a peak in the middle of the 8th century when it was a cosmopolitan metropolis of about 2 million people, the biggest in the world at that time. It not only attracted foreigners from all over Asia but also from further afield, especially Persia and Turkey (at one point there were said to be 10,000 Turks living in the city). Several religions spread into China at this time along the silk road, especially Buddism, and Xi'an became the center of Buddhist learning in all of east Asia.
The relative importance of the silk road declined from the 8th century onwards as the sea routes directly to and from China (primarily Canton) became more developed, while the stability of the Tarim basin and/or central Asia declined making overland caravans more dangerous and riskier. In 880 the Emperor was forced out of Xi'an, China once again degenerated into a number of warring fiefdoms for the next several centuries, and Xi'an declined into a smaller provincial center.
However, the documentation of his journey by Marco Polo in the 13th century revitalized interest in Europe in trade and exploration of the east, even though he was by no means the first Venetian or European merchant to trade with China -- but he was the first to document and publish the details of his travels, which was was one of the major spurs to the subsequent European age of exploration. Xi'an was rebuilt in 1370 by the Ming dynasty (and given it's modern name of Xi'an), but it remained a isolated provincial city until the second half of the 20th century.
Today Xi'an is a rapidly growing industrial metropolis with a population of around 6 million people and it's center it still enclosed by the immense city walls and moat, rebuilt by the Ming dynasty at the end of the 14th century. Also dating from this period is the Great Mosque and its beautiful courtyards which, thankfully, escaped damage in the cultural revolution. The Big Goose Pagoda was originally founded in 652 and has been damaged, restored and expanded on several occasions over the intervening years -- most of the current hall and statues date from the 15th century.
X'an is probably most famous for the Terra-cotta Warriors, discovered in 1974 by local farmers digging a well!! In several pits (three of which have been excavated so far and of which the largest, pit 1, is estimated to contain 6000 warriors), thousands of clay warriors, horses and chariots serve as body-guards to the emperor Qin who died in 210 BC. The ranks of soldiers include infantry armed with swords and spears, archers, cavalry and charioteers, as well as generals and other officers. Although the bodies of each warrior are similar, the heads and facial features of each are distinctive and vary widely.
However, the ascendancy of the Tang dynasty early in the 7th century resulted in decades of prosperity and fame for Xi'an, reaching a peak in the middle of the 8th century when it was a cosmopolitan metropolis of about 2 million people, the biggest in the world at that time. It not only attracted foreigners from all over Asia but also from further afield, especially Persia and Turkey (at one point there were said to be 10,000 Turks living in the city). Several religions spread into China at this time along the silk road, especially Buddism, and Xi'an became the center of Buddhist learning in all of east Asia.
The relative importance of the silk road declined from the 8th century onwards as the sea routes directly to and from China (primarily Canton) became more developed, while the stability of the Tarim basin and/or central Asia declined making overland caravans more dangerous and riskier. In 880 the Emperor was forced out of Xi'an, China once again degenerated into a number of warring fiefdoms for the next several centuries, and Xi'an declined into a smaller provincial center.
However, the documentation of his journey by Marco Polo in the 13th century revitalized interest in Europe in trade and exploration of the east, even though he was by no means the first Venetian or European merchant to trade with China -- but he was the first to document and publish the details of his travels, which was was one of the major spurs to the subsequent European age of exploration. Xi'an was rebuilt in 1370 by the Ming dynasty (and given it's modern name of Xi'an), but it remained a isolated provincial city until the second half of the 20th century.
Today Xi'an is a rapidly growing industrial metropolis with a population of around 6 million people and it's center it still enclosed by the immense city walls and moat, rebuilt by the Ming dynasty at the end of the 14th century. Also dating from this period is the Great Mosque and its beautiful courtyards which, thankfully, escaped damage in the cultural revolution. The Big Goose Pagoda was originally founded in 652 and has been damaged, restored and expanded on several occasions over the intervening years -- most of the current hall and statues date from the 15th century.
X'an is probably most famous for the Terra-cotta Warriors, discovered in 1974 by local farmers digging a well!! In several pits (three of which have been excavated so far and of which the largest, pit 1, is estimated to contain 6000 warriors), thousands of clay warriors, horses and chariots serve as body-guards to the emperor Qin who died in 210 BC. The ranks of soldiers include infantry armed with swords and spears, archers, cavalry and charioteers, as well as generals and other officers. Although the bodies of each warrior are similar, the heads and facial features of each are distinctive and vary widely.
