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Ancient City Wall
- Xian Ancient City Wall was used to be an important military defensive system to fortify the city. The Ancient City Wall boasts the gates, tunnels and watch towers. It is one of the most important landmarks of Xian city.
Profile
- ID : 37
- City : Xian
- English name : Xian Ancient City Wall
- Chinese name : 西安古城墙
- Type : Ancient City Wall,
- Level : easy
- Kids : Possible
- Elders: Possible
- Best season : All seasons
- Visiting length : 1-3hours
- Distance to city center : 1 km
Introduction of Ancient City Wall
- With a history of over 600 years, Xian Ancient City Wall is the oldest, largest and best preserved city wall in China. It was used to be an important military defensive system to fortify the city. The Ancient City Wall boasts the gates, tunnels and watch towers. It is one of the most important landmarks of Xian city.
Photo of Xian Ancient City Wall
Highlights of visiting Xian Ancient City Wall
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South Gate(Yongning Gate), North Gate(Anyuan Gate), cycling on the Wall
Helper to visit Xian Ancient City Wall
- Address in English : Downtown of Xian, China
- Address in Chinese : 陕西省西安市城区
- Tel : +86-29-87272792
- Post code : 710001
- Ticket time :
- South Gate: 8:00-23:00(January 1st-December 31th)
- The Wenchang Gate, the Heping Gate, the Shangde Gate, the Hanguang Gate, the East Gate, the West Gate and the North Gate:8:00-
- Open time :
- 8:00-22:00(South Gate).
- 8:00-17:30(Hanguang Gate).
- Ceremony of opening gate: 9:30 (Drawbridge Square)
- Performance of Warrior Parade: 10:30, 16:30 (Wongcheng)
- East/North/West Gate, Wenchang Gate, Heping Gate, Shangde Gate: 8:00-19:00 (May 1st - October 31st ), 8:00-18:00 (November 1st - April 30th).
- Closing time : Null
- Location : Xian Ancient City Wall is around 1 km to downtown Xian
- Subway:
- Take Subway Line 2 and get off at Yongningmen Station to South Gate.
- Take Subway Line 2 and get off at Anyuanmen Station to North Gate.
- Public bus:
- East Gate: Bus No.8, 22, 27, 29, 33, 37, 43, 45, 102, 203, 218, 232, 235, 252, 300, 527, 602, 604, 714.
- South Gate: Bus No.6, 11, 12, 23, 46, 215, 239, 302, 600, 603, 608, 713, 910, K600, K618.
- West Gate: Bus No.4, 10, 15, 23, 31, 201, 205, 206, 215, 221, 222, 223, 300, 302, 407, 504, 611, 701, K630.
- North Gate: Bus No.6, 26, 28, 33, 37, 39, 104, 107, 117, 205, 206, 208, 214, 216, 229, 236, 238, 310, 336, 506, 511.
- Private car is the best method to visit Xian Ancient City Wall with local tour operator.
Transportation
Admission
- high season : 54 RMB/person.
- shoulder season : 54 RMB/person.
- low season : 54 RMB/person.
Xian Ancient City Wall Tour
Please send us an email if you can not find Xian Ancient City Wall tour you need on this page. We can tailor a private trip to Xian Ancient City Wall.
Hotel near Ancient City Wall
- 5 star/duluxe hotel
- Liban Hotel
- Howard Johnson Ginwa Plaza Hotel Xian
- 4 star/superior hotel
- Mehood Lestie Hotel (Xi'an Bell Tower)
- Grand Park Xi'an
- 3 star/comfort hotel
- China Xi'an Yongning Art Hotel (Xi'an Bell Tower South Gate)
- CitiGO Hotel Bell Tower Xi'an
- James Joyce Coffetel (Xi'an Nanmen Ming City Wall Xiaonanmen)
- Xi'an Bell Tower Lijing Hotel
- History of Xian Ancient City Wall
- The Ancient City Wall was constructed in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), based on the foundation of the imperial city walls from the Sui and Tang Dynasties (581-904). When Zhu Yuanzhang , the first Emperor of the Ming dynasty, captured Huizhou, a hermit named Zhu Sheng admonished him that he should "built high walls, store abundant grains and take time to claim the throne". Zhu Yuanzhang took the advice. After the whole country was unified, he sent orders to build city walls on a large scale. From 1374 to 1378, the construction took about 4 years. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties Xian was the important military and political city in the northwest China. In order to strengthen the defense, the city wall had been repaired and reinforced, and the moat had been dredged many times. The city wall was also repaired in the period of the Republic of China. In 1983, the Shaanxi Provincial Government restored the city wall again. A circular park has been built along the high wall and the deep moat. The city wall has taken on a new look. Xi'an City Wall Protection Ordinance was used from November 1, 2009 and ordained this day as hob-and-nob day of Xian City Wall. The marathon was held in November once a year.
- Structure of Ancient City Wall
- The Ancient City Wall was constructed for military defense. It is 12 meters tall, 12-14 meters wide at the top and 15-18 meters wide at the bottom. The perimeter is 13.74 kilometers. The thickness of the city wall is greater than the height, so it is very stable. The city wall originally was made of earth, and enclosed with bricks later.
There are four gates at that time: Changle Gate in the east, Anding Gate in the west, Yongning Gate in the south and Anyuan Gate in the north. Three towers stand on the top of each gate: Gate Tower, Narrow Tower and Main Tower. The Gate Tower is at the outermost, and used to lift and lower the drawbridge. The Narrow Tower is in the middle. There are square windows used to shoot arrows in the front and both sides. The Main Tower is at the innermost; at the bottom is the city gate. The main tower is 32 meters tall and more than 40 meters long. With gable and hip roof, it is very magnificent. The Narrow Tower and Main Tower are connected by enclosing wall and the enclosure between them is called "Wongcheng", where the troops stationed. There is horse passage leading to the top of the city wall. With gentle slope, the passage has no stairs. This made easy for horses to ascend the wall.
Xian Ancient City Wall is surrounded by the wide and deep moat. There is a watch Tower on each of the four corners. The soldiers could watch and defend against enemies from the tower. Every 120 meters, there is a rampart which extends out from the city wall. The ramparts were built to allow soldiers to see those enemies who would try to climb the wall. There are altogether 98 ramparts on the wall. Every rampart has a sentry tower, in which the soldiers could protect the entire wall without exposing themselves. Half of the distance between every two ramparts is within the range of arrow shot, which makes it easy to shoot the enemies who attacked the city wall from the side. The outer wall is called battlement, and there are 5984 crenels on the wall served as outlooking and shooting at the enemy. The inner wall, called parapet, is lower. It was used to prevent soldiers from falling off. - Five Defensive Lines of Ancient City Wall
- Xi'an City Wall was the solid defensive system of Xian at the ancient time. The wide and deep moat surrounded the wall was the first defensive line. The drawbridge over the moat was the only way to get in and out the city. The drawbridge would be lowered in the night to prevent people from getting in. The Gate Tower was the second defensive line. It was used to control the drawbridge, announce the time in the night and give alarms. The Narrow Tower was the third defensive line. It is 30 meters high, with straight outer walls and square windows used to watch and shoot arrows in the front and both sides. The "Wongcheng" between the Narrow Tower and Main Tower was the fourth defensive line. Covering an area of 9348 square meters, it would form a trap when the enemies entered this place. The city gate was the last defensive line. It was very solid.
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Link to Page of Ancient City Wall
Beijingservice team provides deep information related with Xian Ancient City Wall. Please link to this pae if you like the information.- Ancient City Wall
- Xian Ancient City Wall was used to be an important military defensive system to fortify the city. The Ancient City Wall boasts the gates, tunnels and watch towers. It is one of the most important landmarks of Xian city.
- https://www.beijingservice.com/xian/xian-attractions/xian-ancient-city-wall.htm
- Travel tips
- 1. The city wall has totally 18 gates now, and the travelers can ascend the Wall from 8 of them: The East Gate(Changle Gate), South Gate(Yongning Gate), West Gate(Anding Gate), North Gate(Anyuan Gate), Heping Gate, Wengchang Gate, Hanguang Gate and Shangde Gate. The South Gate is the popular for travelers. 2. The travelers can visit the city wall by bike or battery car. You can rent the bike from East Gate, South Gate, West Gate and North Gate. It will take about 2 hours to ride around the wall.