The City of Xi'an, otherwise Chang'an (ever - lasting peace) in ancient times and situated in the middle of the Guanzhong Plain, is the capital of Shananxi Province.Xi'an is a noted city and was one of the oldest cities. Beginning in 1126 B. C., the Western Zhou, the Qin, the Western Han, the Sui and the Tang, altogether 12 dynasties, set up their capitals in Xi'an for more than 1000 years. So, there are many cultural relics and historic sites both on and under the ground.

Major Scenic Spots

Qin Terra - Cotta Soldier and Horse Figures
Another indication of the probable magnitude and grandeur of the not - yet - excavated mausoleum is the vaults containing an army of guards for the first emperor which have been discovered 1500 meters to the east of the tomb. Commune members digging an irrigation well made the first discovery by chance in 1974 of what is now called Vault No. 1, a huge underground chamber containing six thousand terracotta soldiers and their horses and chariots, as grand as Qin Shi Huang's actual conquering army. This is the most important revelation in recent Chinese archaeology, both for its vast scale and for the realistic detail and aesthetic achievement of the buried sculptures.

Qianling Tomb
Emperor Taizong's son Li Zhi, who became the third emperor of the Tang Dynasty and reigned from 650 until 683, was known as Emperor Gaozong. Upon his death his ruthless wife intrigued to depose the next two rightful heirs to the throne and established herself as Empress Wu Zetian (reigned 691 - 705). Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian were buried together at the Qianling Tomb.

Qin Shihuang's Cemetery
Qin Shihuang (259 - 210 B.C.) founded the first unified centralized feudal dynasty in China in 221 B.C. After his death, he was buried at the northern foot of Lishan Mountain at Lintong District, 35 kilometers away from the city of Xi'an. This is a tomb hill built by ramming the earth and up to now there remains an earth tomb 47 meters in height with the bottom of 485 × 515 meters. The cemetery is divided into the inner and outer cities with the inner one 2525.4 meters in girth and the outer one 6294 meters in girth. There is a great abundance of exotic treasures in the ground palace of the inner city.