11-Day China Relaxation Tour

The walls, ramparts, gates and watchtowers form one of the oldest and most complete city defenses still around. Built in the 13th century on the foundations of the original Tang Forbidden City, it s surrounding the city centre. You can walk or pay extra cost to rent a bike (CNY40 per person), rickshaw (CNY45 per person for 45 minutes) or an electric cart (CNY40 per person) around the full 14km circuit, with great views of the city on either side. If the weather is not good for biking on the city wall, we will substitute a visit to the Bell Tower. Your guide will be very glad to take you the Bell Tower after you have been to look at the city wall.

A General Introduction
The city wall we see today, the best preserved in China, was built from the 7^th to 11^th Year of Hongwu (1374-1378 AD), over six centuries ago according to the policy of the first Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang: “Build the city wall highly, store up foodstuff widely and claim supremacy slowly.” As a solid defense project, the thickness of the wall is more than its height, so military drilling could be held on the top. The whole city wall is indeed composed of a full range of military establishments including moat, suspension bridge, watch tower, arrow tower, turret and suchlike. The southern wall is 3, 4441.6 meters and the northern wall is 3,241 meters in length while the whole wall is 11.9 kilometers in total. The ancient weapons did not have the power to break through a thick stone and brick wall and the only way for an enemy to enter the city was to attack the gate of the city. This fact explains why complicated and strong gate structures were built for the defense of the whole city. In Xian, the city wall has four gates and they are respectively named as Changle (meaning eternal joy) in the east, Anding (harmony peace) in the west, Yongning (eternal peace) in the south and Anyuan (forever harmony) in the north. The south gate, very close to the Bell Tower and downtown Xi’an, is the most beautifully decorated one.

Scenic Spots

South Gate

Being the most ancient one, the South Gate was built in the start of Shui Dynasty (582 AD) and called Shangan Gate. It was called South Gate when the new imperial city was built by Han Jianshuo and renamed Yongning (permanent peace) Gate in Ming Dynasty. Today it is noted for its closeness to its original condition as compared to all the old city gates, but an arrow tower has been at its side. Every day cars, pedestrians and bicycles are going through the gate.

Zhuque (Red Sparrow) Gate

Before the Zhuque Gate, the main entrance of the Tang Forbidden City is the famous Zhuque Avenue, the Avenue des Champs Elysees of the ancient Xi’an, where the emperors of Shui and Tang often held various parades and ceremonies here thousands of years ago. The remains of the Gate were rediscovered in 1985 when the city wall of Ming Dynasty was opened. The depict of the gate in the literature works of Shui and Tang were testified by the unearthed site. As described, the gate was truly imposing and built by huge block of marbles and engraved with plenty of imaginative and pretty patterns. The new gate we see today was actually built in 1986 precisely according to its original look.

Hanguang Gate

The Hanguang Gate is in the west wing of the southern face of the imperial city. At the end of Tang when Han Jianshuo build the new city, the middle and west entries were closed down and only the east entry was left untouched. When the North Song Dynasty came a couple of centuries later, the east entry was also blocked out. In 1984 the ancient city wall was restored, and the Hanguang Gate relics was rediscovered whose doorsill, pillars and foundation are made of granitic rocks. Now the restoration of the whole site is still under process and will soon open to tourists.

West Gate

The West Gate, originally the central gate in the west wing of the Tang Forbidden City, was preserved after the construction of the new Forbidden City by Han Jianshuo at the end of Tang Dynasty. It was moved southward and renamed Anding (safe and stable) when the city wall was expanded in Ming Dynasty.

Wenchang (Prosperity of Learning) Gate

The Wenchang Gate in the south of the Forest of Stone Tablets Museum was rebuilt in 1986. On the top of the wall there stands the Pavilion of Kuixin (Star of Chief) which is the only non-military establishment of the ancient city wall. Kuixin, or Star of Chief, is also called Kuisu and among the 24 constellations. In the ancient China, Kuixin was deemed to be in charge of learning and scholarship so people respectfully called him Wenqu Star or Wenchang Star. If somebody was chosen by his red brush, he would be a Zhuangyuan, or a NO. One Scholar. In the past the Pavilion or Shrine of Kuixin were widely built and worshipped in the Temple of Confucius and schools. Inside the pavilion tourists can see the typical image of Kuixin, or the Star of Chief: slovenly, sot-like, staggering, wearing messy hairs and big whiskers, holding a brush and a wine gourd. Therefore the city gate near the Pavilion of Kuixin is named Wenchang, or the prosperity of learning.

The history of Shaanxi is said to be the history of China, and this museum is quite simply one of the nation's best. Four major galleries in large, Tang-style buildings house a vast and impressive collection, beautifully displayed. Most of the item labels are in English, although some other information on the exhibitions is not, but your guide can help here. Wear comfortable walking shoes.

This large, modern State museum is situated at the western side of the "Wild Goose Pagoda" in Xi’an City. The exhibits on the ground and first floors are grouped into the Basic Exhibition Hall, the Theme Exhibition Hall and East Exhibition Hall. As well as the chronological dynastic displays including the Han, Wei, Jin, North and South, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the pre-historical and bronze period exhibits, together with terra cotta figures and murals from tombs of the Tang Dynasty, are highly recommended.-by Angela The large-scale modern State-class museum, is situated at the western side of the "Wild Goose Pagoda" in Xian City. It covers an area of about 70,000 square meters, the architectural area of which is 55,000 odd square meters.

The Shaanxi Historical Museum, a large-scale modern State-class museum, is situated at the western side of the "Wild Goose Pagoda" in Xian City. It covers an area of about 70,000 square meters, the architectural area of which is approximately 55,000 square meters. Opened to the public on June 20, 1991, the museum is divided into three main parts for overall display, for temporary display and for display on special topics.

Xi’an was the imperial capital in ancient time, and more than 13 (the number is the largest in China, even bigger than Beijing) feudal dynasties built their capitals here including Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang etc. Therefore to some extent the history demonstrated in the museum can be viewed a condensed history of the whole Chinese nation. The architecture of the museum is a great integration of traditional Chinese imperial palace and garden featured by imposing mansions, elegant pavilions and snaking corridors. In the meantime local architectural factors and modern design inspiration have also been incorporated into the building of the important museum. The exhibition hall houses more than 113,000 pieces of antiques unearthed in Shaanxi, one of the most important cradles of the 5,000 years old Chinese civilization. The seven categories of collection that include prehistory, Zhou, Qin, Han, the south North Dynasty of Weijing, Shui and Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing systematically demonstrate a panorama of the history of Shaanxi from 1.15 million years ago until the outbreak of the Opium War in 1840 AD.

To enhance international cultural exchange, the museum has already built a multifunctional auditorium that offers simultaneous interpretation in six languages as well as a museum library with a collection of over 300, 000 books. Shaanxi Historical Museum is also the first online museum in China. In other words, visitors now can tour the great museum at any time and anywhere simply by clicking their website at http://www.sxhm.com/e_ysldefault.asp. Pictures and relevant descriptions of all the important exhibits are available online. Visual tours and physical visits are obviously mutually complementary.  

Attractions of the Museum

Welcoming Stone Lions

With a huge color photo of the Yellow River at the back, two huge stone lions, duplicate of the stone lions of the Shun Mausoleum of Tang Dynasty, stand in front of the central hall to receive the tourists from both home and abroad.

Fundamental Exhibition Hall

Taking the historical course as a clue and displaying typical antiques of different ages, the Fundamental Hall strives to illustrate the ancient social and civilization development of Shaanxi in a lively way. The 4, 600 square meters hall is divided into three exhibition rooms and seven categories, namely, prehistory period, Zhou, Qin, Han, the South and North Dynasty of Weijing, Shui and Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing. Among the 2,000 pieces of the exhibits, some especially capture our attention. Good examples are the ancient pained potteries that demonstrate the life scenes and artistic pursuit of our prehistory ancestors; the bronze utensils of Zhou Dynasty that witnessed the rise of the Zhou people in central China more than 4, 000 years ago; the bronze swords, terra cotta warriors of Qin that saw the first unification of China by Emperor Qinshihuang and the Three Colored Glazed Potteries, gold and silver wares of Tang that exhibit the glory and prosperity of the Tang Empire. Many pictures, models of historical relics and diagrams are displayed at the same time to provide the viewers a panorama of the ancient history from the prehistory time period to 1840. Xi’an was the capital city of such dynasties as Zhou, Qin, West Han, Shui and tang, therefore the exhibits associated with these dynasties are the most comprehensive and worthwhile to see. 

Theme Exhibition Hall

In the west wing of the museum, the Exhibition of Shaanxi Rare Bronze Wares and the Exhibition of Shaanxi Elite Pottery Tomb Figures are the first two exhibitions with a particular theme that ever takes place in this museum. More than 600 pieces of valuable antique that are rarely seen elsewhere are on display, among which, 260 are bronze wares. After attending the bronze ware exhibitions, viewers will obtain a general idea regarding the production process of such bronze wares in the ancient time as well as their special classifications, functions and craftsmanship. Besides the inscriptions on the bronze vessels, their impact upon the development of Chinese calligraphy and seal carving are also addressed. The whole exhibition gives us an impression of historical depth and thickness. 341 pieces of pottery tomb figures are displayed in the tomb figure exhibition in the order of five different time period – Qin and Han, the South and North Dynasty of Weijing, Shui and Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming.

Shaanxi Historical Museum houses 115,000 pieces of antiques, among which, 41,000 have been registered and the rest have not been sorted out and filed. A major part of the collections were from the previous Shaanxi Provincial Museum and are typically classified as the eight categories as below:

I Bronze ware

More than 3,900 pieces of bronze wares from the Shang Dynasty to Qin and Han Dynasties have been registered. Among these ancient wares one sees ceremonial utensils, music instruments, weapons, vehicles, harness and other tools and life utensils. The most valuable are the ancient cooking vessels (Duoyou Ding and Shixian Ding for instance) produced in Shang Dynasty. The inscriptions on these vessels are of very high historical value. Some important wares noted for their unique shape are the Phoenix Post Vessel and Bull Vessel of the Zhou Dynasty, the Bird Kettle of the Warring States Period and the Colored Painted Goose and Fish Lantern etc.

II The murals of the tomb of Tang Dynasty

 The 400 murals of a total area of 1,000 square meters were unearthed and obtained from 25 Tang tombs from 1952 to 1989. The owners of these tombs were all the members of the royal families or high ranking officials of the Tang Empire. These tomb murals basically depicted the Gods of the Heaven, imperial guards, various ceremonies, Tang architectures and some life scenes of the emperor such as his meeting with the foreign envoys and hunting, thus providing very vivid materials for studying the social life of Tang Dynasty.

III Ceramic tomb figures of different time period

More than 2, 000 pieces of tomb figures in the collections of the museum have been registered which belong to dynasties including Qin (221-206 B C), Han, Bei, Shui, Tang, Ming and Qing (1644-1912 A D) etc. The ceramic and multiple colored glazed potteries are made in the images of civil and military officials, servants, guards, maids, foreign businessmen from the middle Asia, Gods, horses and camels among others.

IV Porcelain wares

More than 5, 000 pieces have been registered as collections of the museum, some of which date back to the prehistoric civilization, many more are the green porcelain wares of West Zhou Dynasty, glazed ceramics of Han, three colored glazed ceramics of Tang, ancient glass, colored glazed, green ceramics of Rao kiln of Song Dynasty and suchlike. Exhibits here are ordinary family utensils, stationery and tomb utensils.

V Building materials

The 1,000 registered materials that belong to the historical periods from Zhou until Qing, include ceramic tiles, bricks, stones and metal constructions components. 

VI Bronze mirrors of Han and Tang Dynasties

Some of the registered 800 bronze mirrors carry elegant patterns, designs and poetic lines of auspicious implications.

VII Gold, silver and jade wares

Among the 2, 000 registered items most notable and rarest are the jade ceremonial utensils of West Zhou, the gold woodpeckers unearthed from the Qinggong Tomb of Spring and Autumn Period, the jade queen of West Han, the gold and silver bamboo smoke stove, the beast head agate cup unearthed in the He Family Village of Xi’an in 1970, the eight arris gold cup and the gold walking dragon.  

VIII Ancient coins

Over 10, 000 registered valuable ancient coins have been displayed and other 50, 000 pieces of coins that weight 7, 000 kilograms have not been sorted out and exhibited yet. One can easily see rare species that can not seen elsewhere such as the seashell coins of West Zhou, the knife coin of the Warring States Period, Half a Tael of Qin, gold and silver coins of West Han, Tang and some other countries as well as the coins in circulation during the reign of emperor Wang Mang.

Aside from the eight major categories mentioned above, the wide range of Chinese painting and calligraphies, ancient books, Buddhist inscriptions, fabrics, bone wares, wood wares, lacquer work, metal wares, stone wares and seals will also make the museum a worthwhile place to visit.