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History of Xi'an

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Xi'an was among the most important cities of China before 1000 AD. It remains a major regional centre. Xi'an was known as Chang'an in ancient times.

  • Zhou Dynasty established its capital in Feng (灃/沣) and Hao (鎬/镐) between the late 11th century BC and 770 BC, both located west of contemporary Xi'an. In 770 BC, the capital was moved to Luoyang due to political unrest.[1]
  • 202 BC: Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, established Chang'an province as his capital; his first palace Changle Palace (長樂宮/长乐宫) was built across the river from the ruin of the Qin capital. This is traditionally regarded as the founding date of Chang'an and Xi'an.
  • 194 BC: Construction of the first city wall of Chang'an began, which did not finished until 190. The wall measured 25.7 km in length, 12–16 m in thickness at the base. The area within the wall was ca. 36 km².
  • 190 AD - The most powerful tyrant of the time, Dong Zhuo, moved his court from Luoyang to Chang'an in a bid to avoid a coalition of powerful warlords going against him.
  • 582: Emperor of Sui Dynasty ordered a new capital to be built southeast of the Han capital, called Daxing (大興, great excitement). It consisted of three sections: the palace, the imperial city, and the civilian section. The total area within the wall was 84 km², The main street Zhuque Avenue measured 155 m in width. It was at the time the largest city in the world. The city was renamed Chang'an (長安, Perpetual Peace or Eternal Peace) by the Tang Dynasty.[2]
  • 652: Construction of Great Wild Goose Pagoda began. It measured 64 m in height. This pagoda was constructed for the storage of the translations of Buddhist sutras obtained from India by the monk Xuan Zang.
Bell Tower of Xi'an
  • 904: The end of the Tang Dynasty brought destruction to Chang'an. Residents were forced to move to Luoyang, the new capital. Only a small area continued to be occupied after the destruction.
  • 1370: The Ming Dynasty built a new wall to protect a much smaller city of 12 km². The wall measured 11.9 km in circumference, 12 m in height, and 15–18 m in thickness at the base.

See also

References

  1. ^ "China's six major historical capitals - Xi'an's cultural history". Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  2. ^ "History of Xi'an" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  3. ^ "Public Government Policy" (in Chinese). City of Xi'an. Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2011.