destinationXi'an City Wall

Xi'an City Wall

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The Xi'an City Wall is a landmark landscape in the ancient capital of Xi'an and one of the most well - preserved ancient city walls in China to date. With a total length of about 14 kilometers, it was built on the basis of the Tang Dynasty imperial city and includes a series of facilities such as moats and watchtowers. ### Historical Background The Xi'an City Wall is also known as the Ming - Dynasty City Wall of Xi'an. The existing wall is a Ming - Dynasty structure, with a total length of 13.7 kilometers. It was started in the third year of Emperor Taizu's Hongwu Reign (1370 AD) and completed in the eleventh year of the Hongwu Reign (1378 AD). Under Emperor Taizu's policy of "building high walls, storing plenty of grain, and delaying proclaiming oneself king", it was built on the basis of the Sui and Tang imperial cities. Later, Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang enfeoffed his second son Zhu Shang as the Prince of Qin, and both the fief and the prefectural seat were in the same city. Therefore, the city was large - scale and sturdy. Coupled with subsequent repairs and expansions during the Ming and Qing dynasties, it has been well - preserved to this day. In early 2004, during the construction of the city - wall road project along the Hanguangmen section in Xi'an City, the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage was commissioned by relevant departments to conduct an archaeological survey on the exposed city - wall cross - section. It was found that the wall has a complex structure, spanning from the Sui and Tang dynasties to modern times and has undergone five major constructions, making it highly valuable in historical terms. ### Wall Structure The buildings on the city wall are divided into: enemy platforms, main towers, arrow towers, sluice towers, and corner towers. - **Enemy Platforms**: After the expansion in the Ming Dynasty, an enemy platform was built every 120 meters on the Xi'an City Wall, protruding outside the wall with its top level with the wall surface. It was specifically designed to shoot at enemies climbing the wall. The distance between enemy platforms is such that the middle point falls within the effective range of bows and arrows, facilitating the shooting of attacking enemies from the side. There are a total of 98 enemy platforms on the city wall, each with an enemy - watching tower for troops. - **Main Towers, Arrow Towers, and Sluice Towers**: In the era of cold weapons, when weapons were backward and city gates were the only access points, gates were the key defense points carefully managed by the defenders. Each of the four gates (east, west, south, and north) of the Xi'an City Wall has three levels of city towers: the main tower, the arrow tower, and the sluice tower. The sluice tower is on the outside and is used to raise and lower the drawbridge; the arrow tower is in the middle, with square windows on the front and sides for archery; the main tower is on the inside and is the main entrance of the city. - **Corner Towers**: There are corner platforms protruding outside the city at the four corners of the Xi'an City Wall. Except for the south - west corner, which is circular (possibly to preserve the original corner shape of the Tang imperial city), the other corner platforms are square. A taller "corner tower" was built on each corner platform, indicating its important position in warfare. - **City Gates**: There are currently 18 city gates on the Xi'an City Wall. Starting from Yongningmen and moving clockwise, they are: Yongningmen, Zhuquemen, Wumumen, Hanguangmen, Andingmen, Yuxiangmen, Shangwumen, Anyuanmen, Shangdemen, Jiefangmen, Shangjianmen, Shangqinmen, Chaoyangmen, Zhongshanmen, Changlemen, Jianguomen, Hepingmen, and Wenchangmen. Only Yongningmen has all three city - wall structures intact. This was due to military defense needs at that time. Anyuanmen, Changlemen, and Andingmen only have two city - wall structures left due to the passage of time. The doorways beside the city wall were built during the Republic of China era, and the remaining fourteen city gates were built later. - **Yongningmen**: Commonly known as the South Gate, it is one of the city gates in Xi'an that has been in use for a long time. It was built in the early Sui Dynasty (582 AD). It was originally the eastern - most of the three southern gates of the imperial city, called Anshangmen. It was renamed the South Gate when the new city was scaled down at the end of the Tang Dynasty and was renamed Yongningmen in the Ming Dynasty. It is also one of the most completely restored city gates on the Xi'an City Wall. The newly completed underground passage allows tourists to safely enter the gate for a visit. - **Hepingmen**: It is on the same north - south axis as the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Dachashi, Xi'an Railway Station, and the Hanyuan Hall of the Daming Palace. It was opened in 1953. To express the longing of the Chinese people, who had suffered from wars, for world peace, it was named Hepingmen (Peace Gate). Inside the gate is Heping Road, and outside the gate is Yanta Road. - **Hanguangmen**: It was the western - most south gate of the Chang'an imperial city in the Tang Dynasty. When the Xi'an City Wall was renovated in 1984, the Hanguangmen site was excavated, revealing granite column bases and carved thresholds. Now, artificial lighting and air - conditioning systems have been installed inside for tourists to visit. New arched - hole city gates have been built on the east and west sides of the site, with an appearance consistent with the city wall. Inside, there is a museum dedicated to the Hanguangmen site of the Tang imperial city wall, which can be accessed from the city wall. - **Andingmen**: Commonly known as the West Gate, it was originally the middle west gate of the Tang imperial city. Its location was slightly moved south during the expansion of the city wall in the Ming Dynasty and was named Andingmen, meaning the western border would be peaceful and stable. This gate originally had three levels of city towers: the main tower, the arrow tower, and the sluice tower, and three city - wall structures. The main tower was on the inside, the arrow tower in the middle, and the sluice tower on the outside. There were arched - hole doorways under each tower, with a height and width of 6 meters. There was a square barbican between the main tower and the arrow tower, which was an access passage in normal times and a defensive stronghold in times of war. There is an observation platform on the north side of the main tower, built when the Emperor of Japan visited Xi'an, and it is open to tourists. It is a national key cultural relic. - **Anyuanmen**: Commonly known as the North Gate, it was built when the city wall was constructed in the Ming Dynasty. The formal name is Anyuanmen. The two characters "Anyuan" inherit the policy of the Han - ethnic - group - dominated central court towards ethnic minorities in remote areas, aiming to show kindness and hope that they would submit to the court. During the 1911 Revolution, when the revolutionary army attacked the Qing government, fierce battles took place at Anyuanmen, and the north - gate main tower was burned down during the fighting. When the city wall was renovated in 1983, the original arrow tower was restored. - **Jianguomen**: It was named so because a new city gate was opened in the section of the city wall along Jianguo Road to commemorate the founding of the People's Republic of China. The road inside the gate is Jianguo Road, and outside the gate forms a T - junction with the Ring Road South. According to historical research, the famous Tang - Dynasty official Zhangsun Wuji lived on what is now Jianguo Road. The mansion of General Zhang Xueliang, a key figure in the Xi'an Incident that shocked China and the world, is also located here. Now, Zhang Xueliang's mansion has been listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit. - **Changlemen**: Commonly known as the East Gate, it was built when the Ming - Dynasty city wall was constructed, with the formal name Changlemen. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng invaded Xi'an through the East Gate. Seeing the "Changlemen" plaque hanging on the gate, Li Zicheng said to his generals, "If the emperor has long - lasting happiness, the common people will have long - lasting suffering." His subordinates then set fire to the tower, which was rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. Before the Xi'an Incident, General Zhang Xueliang established a teaching corps and a student - soldier corps on the East - Gate city tower. This site has been restored as a memorial to the Xi'an Incident.
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