Capital of Shaanxi Province, Xi’an has served as capital to 11 dynasties over a period of 4,000 years, including the Western Zhou, Western Han, Qin, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, and Tang. The Chinese trace its lineage back even further to the mythical Yellow Emperor, who made Xianyang his capital (2200 - 1700 BC). Xi’an peaked during the Tang Dynasty, when its position at the eastern end of the Silk Road transformed it into a bustling metropolis, luring foreign merchants and faiths, including Nestorian Christians, Muslims, Zoroastrians, Manicheans, and Buddhists. The city declined later but has some splendid sights and a thriving tourist economy.

Unlike many city walls in China including Beijing’s mighty ramparts, Xi’an’s walls are still intact, forming a 14 km long rectangle around the city center. In 1370, during the reign of Hongwu, the first Ming emperor, these walls were built on the foundations of the Tang imperial palace, using rammed earth, quicklime, and glutinous rice extract. The 12 m high bastions have bases up to 18 m thick. Visitors can climb the walls at several locations, particularly at the steps east of the South Gate or at the West Gate, for walks along the busy ramparts, where souvenir vendors gather. Though striking in themselves, the walls are modest compared to the mighty bastion that once encompassed 78 sq km of Chang’an, Xi’an’s name during the Tang era.

Southwest of the South Gate, the 43 m high Small Goose pagoda, Xiaoyan Ta, is attached to the remains of a temple, Jianfu Si. One of the city’s significant Tang relics, it was constructed to store sutras (scriptures) brought back to Xi’an from India along the Silk Road. Its brick tower, completed in AD 709, was meant to protect the sutras from fire, which often destroyed wooden temple buildings. The pagoda’s top was jolted off by one earthquake and another in 1487 sent a large fracture, about a foot wide, along its length. A tremor in the next century reversed the damage.

The pottery figures of warriors and horses in Mausoleum of First Emperor of Qin Dynasty, the most famous tourist attraction in Xi’an, was discovered in 1974 by peasants digging a well. The awesome ranks of life-size pottery figures, modeled from yellow clay, were made to guard the Mausoleum of First Emperor of Qin Dynasty (Qin Shi Huang), who unified China over 2,200 years ago. Excavations yielded three pits and over 7,000 soldiers, archers, and horses. Pit 1 contains the infantry; pit 2 (still being excavated) is filled with cavalry and soldiers; and pit 3 (unexcavated) seems to be the command center, with 70 high-ranking officers. Each warrior, originally colored with pigment and holding a weapon, has an individually crafted expression. Please read this article about the detail:
Mysterious Underground Kingdom — The Mausoleum of First Emperor of Qin Dynasty