Tourism
Long holidays are usual during Spring Festival, Labor Holiday (1-7 May), and National Holiday (1-7 October). The number of travellers is often greater during Summer (May-August), although the most pleasant season for visiting Xi'an is Autumn.
Sites
Because of the city’s many historical monuments and a plethora of ancient ruins and tombs in the vicinity,[1] tourism has been an important component of the local economy, and the Xi’an region is one of China's most popular tourist destinations.[1]
The city has many important historical sites, and some are ongoing archaeological projects, such as the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and his Terracotta Army. There are several burial mounds, tombs of the Zhou Dynasty kings located in the city.[3] Xi'an also contains some 800 royal mausoleums and tombs from the Han Dynasty,[11] with some of them yielding hundreds of sculpted clay soldiers, and remains of sacrificial temples from the Han era.[11] The city has numerous Tang Dynasty pagodas and is noted for its history museum and its stele forest, which is housed in an 11th-century Confucian temple containing large stone tablets from various dynasties.[11]
Some of the most well-known sites in Xi'an are:
- The city is surrounded by a well-preserved City wall of Xi'an which was re-constructed in the 14th century during the early Ming Dynasty and was based on the inner imperial palace of Tang Dynasty.
- The Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) and his Terracotta Army are located 40 km to the east of the city center, in the city's suburbs.
- The Bell Tower and Drum Tower, both are located at the city's central axis.
- The city's Muslim quarter, which is home to the Great Mosque of Xi'an.
- The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda and Small Wild Goose Pagoda are both spectacular towers and both are well over 1,000 years old and have survived great earthquakes. The former is next to a large square with the largest fountain in Asia which projects water high into the air, rising and falling in time to music during one of the daily performances (usually at noon and soon after sunset). They protected Buddhist writings in the past.
- The Stele Forest is famous for its numerous historic inscriptions and stoneworks
- The Famen Temple and its towering pagoda located on the city's outskirt
- Xi Ming Temple
- Wolong Temple at Kaitong lane
- Xingjiao Temple at Shaolin Yuan (where Xuanzang's Tomb lies)
- Jianfu Temple
- Blue Dragon Temple
- Wangji Temple
- The Banpo Neolithic village is located on the outskirt of the city proper
- The Qianling Mausoleum, one of the many Tang Dynasty era tombs located in Xi'an
- The Shaanxi History Museum has a large collection of artifacts both modern and ancient.
- Mount Hua (华山) is one of the most visited and steepest mountains in the country
- Mount Zhongnan (终南山)
- Mount Taibai (太白山)
- Lishan (郦山)
Major museums
- Terracotta Army Museum
- Shaanxi History Museum
- Hanyang Tomb Museum, the 1st modern underground museum in China, opened in 2006
- Forest of Steles (Xi'an beilin)
- Xi'an Museum: October 20, 2006, international council of monuments sites (ICOMOS) international protection center (IICC) was formally established here
National parks
- Mount Cuihua, National Geological Park, Xi'an (西安翠华山国家地质公园)
- Lishan National Forest Park, Xi'an (西安骊山国家森林公园)
- Zhuque National Forest Park, Xi'an (西安朱雀国家森林公园)
- Mount Zhongnan National Forest Park, Xi'an (西安终南山国家森林公园)
- Mount Taibai National Forest Park (太白山国家森林公园), Mount Taibai lies both in Xi'an (西安) and Baoji (宝鸡)
- Wang Shunshan National Forest Park, Xi'an (西安王顺山国家森林公园)
Other parks
- Xi'an Qujiang Ocean Park
- Xi'an City Sports Park
- Qinling Mountains National Botanical Garden
- Xi'an Qingling Wildlife Park
- Tang Paradise