Xi'an, also known as Chang'an in ancient times, is really a good place. It has the eighth wonder of the world, the Soldiers and Horses, and the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, one of the eight scenic spots. You can see the bright moon of Qin Dynasty and the Pass of Han Dynasty. Xi'an is really a good place to feel the glory of the Tang Dynasty and the five generations of smoke. The following are the famous tourist attractions in Xi'an that I have compiled. Welcome to read.
Qin Shi Huang Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum
The Qin Shi Huang Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum is the burial pit of Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum. More than a thousand terracotta warriors of soldiers were unearthed here, each with different expressions and postures. Standing in front of the huge underground military formation, you will feel the extraordinary momentum of the First Emperor who conquered the six countries and unified the world two thousand years ago.
When Qin Shihuang Yingzheng ascended the throne at the age of 13, he began to build his own cemetery. Hundreds of thousands of civilians were recruited all year round, which consumed a lot of national power. The construction took 38 years. In the spring of 1974, local farmers dug wells and dug out ceramic warrior heads, allowing the Terracotta Warriors to be rediscovered. Currently, three pits have been excavated.
Pit No. 1 of the Terracotta Warriors in the scenic spot is the earliest and largest pit excavated. Pit No. 2 and Pit No. 3 are on both sides of Pit No. 1. There are nearly 8,000 pottery figurines and horses in the three pits that are similar in size to real people and real horses. There are different types of troops such as chariots, cavalry and infantry, arranged neatly and orderly. There are also unearthed cultural relics exhibition rooms and the Qinling Bronze Chariots and Horses Exhibition Room in the scenic area, which display unearthed bronze weapons and two bronze carriages respectively.
The unearthed terracotta warriors and horses can be divided into general warriors, warriors, chariot warriors, etc. according to their different costumes, expressions, and hairstyles. Each pottery figurine has a different face shape, hairstyle, body posture, and expression. The pottery figurines and horses were originally painted, but due to subsequent fire and soaking, most of them have peeled off and changed color.
Muslim Street
Muslim Street is not just one street, it is the collective name for many streets in the Muslim gathering area in the center of Xi'an, including Beiyuanmen, Beiguangji Street, Xiyangshi , Dapiyuan and other streets. This is the gathering place for snacks in Xi'an. As a Muslim area with hundreds of years of history, you can still feel a strong Muslim atmosphere here.
This is also called Huifang and Fangshang. Here you can eat almost all Xi'an snacks, including: various kebabs, mutton steamed buns, soup dumplings, spicy lamb trotters, and water basin mutton. , fried rice with pickled cabbage, cured beef and mutton, cold skin, mutton cakes, eight-treasure sweet porridge, spicy soup, egg drop glutinous rice and so on.
There are many restaurants throughout Huimin Street, including many well-known stores recognized by the locals, such as: Jia Sanguan soup dumplings, Lao Tiejia Hu spicy soup, Southeast Asian rice cakes, Jia Yongxin cured beef and mutton, Laohuajia Cured beef and mutton, etc. After you have eaten and drank enough, you can also buy some local flavor cakes, dried fruits, preserves and other snacks to take home as gifts.
In addition to delicious food, this is also a Muslim neighborhood with hundreds of years of history and a profound Muslim culture. There are many mosques of different ages in the neighborhood, such as the Huajue Lane Grand Mosque, the Guangji Street Mosque, the Daxue Lane Mosque, etc. No. 7 in the top ten tourist attractions in Xi'an
Datang Furong Garden
Located on the southeast side of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the Tang Furong Garden was built on the site of the original Tang Dynasty Royal Furong Garden. Nowadays, it has the largest collection of imitation Tang Dynasty buildings in China. Come here to admire the magnificent imitation Tang Dynasty buildings, appreciate the beautiful scenery under the lights, and also watch the song and dance "Dream Back to the Tang Dynasty" with the style of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
The Tang Furong Garden takes Furong Lake as its geographical center, and many scenic spots such as Ziyun Tower, Lu Yu Teahouse, Fengming Jiutian Theater, etc. are distributed around the lake. The entire park is divided into twelve cultural theme areas, which reproduce the splendid civilization of the Tang Dynasty in terms of emperors, poetry, folk, food, song and dance features, etc.
The night view in the garden is also very bright. Whenever night falls and the lanterns are turned on, you can visit the Tang Cultural Corridor, Fanglin Garden, Ziyun Tower and other places amidst the brilliant lights. Everything is dazzling. Against the backdrop of the moonlight and lights, the Tang Furong Garden is even more elegant and beautiful.
Various exciting programs will also be staged in the park, including prayers to heaven and drums, palace music and dance performances, and colorful costume performances. The world's largest water curtain movie, staged every night in the North Square of Ziyun Tower, will bring you a new three-dimensional shock.
Xi'an Forest of Steles Museum
Xi'an Forest of Steles Museum is located near Wenchangmen. The museum consists of forest of steles, stone carving art and other parts. Among them, the forest of steles composed of steles and epitaphs from past dynasties is the highlight of the museum. , including inscriptions by famous calligraphers such as Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan and Huai Su, as well as two Tang Dynasty inscriptions, "Shitai Xiao Jing" and "Kaicheng Shi Jing".
In the Forest of Steles Museum, you can appreciate the inscriptions and epitaphs from past dynasties. The collection of inscriptions and epitaphs here spans more than 2,000 years. Among the treasures are: "Yan Qinli Stele" and "Yanjia Temple Stele" by Yan Zhenqing, which are standard Yan style; Liu Gongquan's "Master Dada Mysterious Pagoda Stele" is the most typical representative work in Liu style; monk Huairen in the Tang Dynasty The Preface to the Tripitaka of the Tang Dynasty was selected from the ink written by King Xizhi of the Jin Dynasty; the famous cursive calligrapher Huai Su's "Thousand-Character Essay" was written with unrestrained writing style. In addition to the stone carvings by calligraphers, the two most popular among tourists are the "Shitai Xiao Jing" and "Kaicheng Stone Jing". "Shitai Xiao Jing" is a Confucian classic. The inscription was written by two emperors in four scripts, namely: Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and Li Longji wrote the inscription in official script, and also used regular script for small-character annotations. After the inscription was completed, he wrote it in running script on the side of the stele. The annotation is that the forehead of this stele was written in seal script by Li Heng, Suzong of the Tang Dynasty.
Shaanxi History Museum
Shaanxi History Museum is a good place to learn about the glorious civilization of ancient China. The museum houses bronzes from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, pottery figurines from past dynasties, gold and silver utensils from the Han and Tang dynasties, and Tang tomb murals and other treasures and cultural relics. Most of them are treasures from the heyday of the Han and Tang dynasties, and many of them are fine products that are prohibited from leaving the country.
The animal-headed agate cup, the silver pot with dancing horse's title cup pattern and the Queen's Seal in the collection are cultural relics that are prohibited from being exhibited abroad. If you want to see these, you can only come to Shaanxi Expo. The agate cup inlaid with gold animal heads is the only beautiful jade carving from the Tang Dynasty that has been discovered so far. It is carved from a rare piece of multicolored sardonyx; the silver pot with the cup pattern of dancing horses and its title witnesses the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty. The body of the pot is exquisitely crafted and has embossed patterns. Holding a cup for a dancing horse is a classic entertainment program in the palace; the Queen's Seal is the only jade seal of a Han Dynasty empress seen so far (suspected to be owned by Liu Bang's wife, Empress Lu Pheasant).
In addition, the cultural relics recommended to be visited in the museum include: the earliest and most complete extant tiger talisman for mobilizing troops during the Warring States Period, the gilt bamboo smoker used by Princess Yangxin, the sister of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and the gold bowl with mandarin duck and lotus petal patterns from the Tang Dynasty. , the golden monster on the hat of the leader of the Huns, etc. There are exhibition halls 1-3 in the central hall of Shaanxi Expo. The three exhibition halls take time as the main line, displaying various cultural relics and treasures unearthed in Shaanxi from the primitive times to the late Qing Dynasty.
Xi’an City Wall
Xi’an City Wall is the iconic landscape of the ancient capital Xi’an. The existing city wall was built in the early Ming Dynasty and is the most complete existing ancient city wall in China. The city wall has a total circumference of about 14 kilometers. It was built on the basis of the imperial city of the Tang Dynasty and includes a series of facilities such as moats and turrets.
At present, there are eight places on the Xi'an City Wall where you can climb the city, namely: East Gate (Changle Gate), South Gate (Yongning Gate), West Gate (Anding Gate), North Gate (Anyuan Gate), Han Gate Visitors can visit Guangmen, Wenchangmen, Hepingmen and Shangdemen nearby. Among them, the south gate is the welcoming gate of Xi'an City, and it is also the gate most chosen by tourists to visit the city.
In addition to walking, riding a bicycle on the city wall is a very good way to visit. While riding, you will have a feeling of traveling through time. Currently there are bicycle rental services at the east, south, west and north gates. Bicycles can be returned at any of the above gates after the ride (scenic area regulations are subject to change, it is recommended to consult before renting). At the same time, these four gates also provide sightseeing car circumnavigation services. You can take a sightseeing electric car and go around the city wall for about 50 minutes.
When visiting the Xi'an City Wall, you will also have the opportunity to watch some unique performances, such as the antique city opening ceremony performance and the city wall folk custom performance. The performances are all at the south gate.
Huaqing Palace
Huaqing Pool has been a hot spring bathing resort since ancient times. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, it was a bathing place for the royal family and princes and ministers. The smooth hot spring water washes away the fat, which is a reflection of Yang Guifei bathing here. Today, the imperial soup pool used by Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei is preserved here. In addition, this is also the place where the Xi'an Incident occurred.
At present, the main attractions in the scenic area include: Tang Huaqing Palace Yutang Site Museum and landmark buildings such as Feishuang Hall, Zhaoyang Hall, and Changsheng Hall.
Among them, the Yutang Site Museum contains the ruins of Lotus Soup and Begonia Soup, which were the imperial soup pools used by Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty (Tang Xuanzong) and Concubine Yang Guifei. The lotus soup pool is shaped like a stone lotus and was used for the emperor to bathe; the begonia soup pool is shaped like a begonia and was used for noble concubines to enjoy. Currently, only two large pits made of stones can be seen.
In the Huaqing Pool Scenic Area, five halls (located in the south of the scenic area) at the former site of Chiang Kai-shek's Shixingyuan are still intact. The walls still retain bullet marks from the fierce battles between the soldiers. Behind the tiger spots on the mountainside of Lishan Mountain is the Bingjian Pavilion.
The scenic spot launched a large-scale real-life historical dance drama "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" in 2007, and in 2012 launched a multimedia video drama "Xuanjing Palace of Eternal Life". Among them, the performance of "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" is only from April 1st to October 31st. The ticket price for ordinary seats is between 200 and 300 yuan depending on the region.
Big Wild Goose Pagoda (Da Ci'en Temple)
The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is located in Da Ci'en Temple in the south of the city. Daci'en Temple was the most magnificent royal temple in Chang'an City during the Tang Dynasty. It was built during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. It was built by Prince Li Zhi in memory of his mother, Queen Wende. Master Xuanzang, who had returned from traveling to the west to seek Buddhist scriptures, served as the first abbot. During this period, the Master supervised the construction of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.
Master Xuanzang translated Buddhist scriptures and promoted Buddhism in Daci'en Temple for 11 years, and founded the Xiangwei Shi Sect of Buddhism, making Da Ci'en Temple the ancestral home of the Xiang Wei Shi Sect (also known as Fa Xiang Sect). During this period, the Master personally supervised the construction of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in order to enshrine the sutra statues and relics brought back from India.
Today’s Daci’en Temple was built in the Ming Dynasty on the basis of the west pagoda of the original temple. Most of the existing halls are from the Qing Dynasty.
The main buildings on the central axis of the temple are the Main Hall, Dharma Hall, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, and Xuanzang Sanzangyuan. Among them, the Buddha relics and the parietal bone of Master Xuanzang are enshrined in the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Xuanzang Tripitaka Courtyard respectively, which are the treasures of the Daci'en Temple.
To the east of the central axis of the temple is the pagoda garden. In the pagoda forest in the garden, there are nine relic pagodas, enshrining the relics of nine eminent monks of the temple since the Qing Dynasty.
There are squares in the south and north of Daci'en Temple. There are also attractions such as Shaanxi Museum and Tang Furong Garden nearby.