Xi'an is the capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the most populous in the province and third-most populous in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populous in Northwestern China. Based on the city's 2025 1% population sample survey, its estimated year-end resident population was 13.24 million, of whom 10.72 million were urban residents.
Xi'an is one of the oldest cities in China. Known as Chang'an throughout much of its history, Xi'an is one of China's Five Great Ancient Capitals, having held the position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including the Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Sui, Northern Zhou and Tang. Xi'an is now the second-most popular tourist destination in China. Xi'an contains the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, including the Terracotta Army, and five component sites of the UNESCO-listed Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor.
Since the 1980s, as part of the economic growth of inland China especially for the central and northwest regions, Xi'an has developed into a cultural, industrial, political and educational, and research and development hub. Xi'an currently holds sub-provincial status, administering 11 districts and 2 counties. In 2020, Xi'an was ranked as a Beta- (global second tier) city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and, according to the country's own ranking, ranked 17th; it is also one of the world's top 100 financial centers according to the Global Financial Centres Index. Xi'an is ranked as the 16th city globally by scientific output and first in Western China, and it is home to multiple prestigious educational institutions, such as Xi'an Jiaotong University, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xidian University and Northwest University.
Name Xi'an is the atonal pinyin romanization of its Chinese name , Western Peace. (The apostrophe – known in Chinese as a , géyīn fúhào – should be included to distinguish its pronunciation from the single syllable xian.) The name was adopted in 1369 under the early Ming dynasty. Jesuit missionaries recorded its name as or Si-ngan-fou; from its status as the seat of a prefecture (,fǔ). This form still appears in the Latin name of the Catholic diocese of Xi'an, . The name was later romanized as by Wade & Giles and as Sianfu or Sian by the imperial post office, both of which were common until the promulgation of pinyin.
The area of present-day Xi'an has been the site of several important former Chinese cities. The capital of the Western Zhou were the twin cities of Feng and Hao, known collectively as Fenghao, located on opposite banks of the Feng River at its confluence with the southern bank of the Wei in the western suburbs of present-day Xi'an. The Qin capital Xianyang was erected north of the Wei during the Warring States period and was succeeded by the Western Han capital of Chang'an (), meaning "Perpetual Peace", which was located south of the Wei and covered the central area of present-day Xi'an. During the Eastern Han, Chang'an was also known as the "Western Capital" (), named for its namesake position relative to the main capital at Luoyang. Under the Sui, its name became Daxing (, "Greatly Prosperous") in AD 581. Under the Tang, the name reverted to Chang'an in 618. Under the Mongolian Yuan dynasty (13th & 14th centuries), it held a succession of names: Fengyuan Anxi "Peaceful West") and Jingzhao The Ming name "Xi'an" was changed back to Xijing ("Western Capital", as above) between 1930 and 1943.
History
Prehistory The Lantian Man was discovered in 1963 in Lantian County, southeast of Xi'an, and dates back to at least 500,000 years before the present time. A 6,500-year-old Neolithic village, Banpo, was discovered in 1953 on the eastern outskirts of the city proper, which contains the remains of several well organized Neolithic settlements carbon dated to 5,600–6,700 years ago. The site is now home to the Xi'an Banpo Museum, built in 1957 to preserve the archaeological collection.
Ancient era Xi'an became a cultural and political center of China in the 11th century BC with the founding of the Zhou dynasty. The capital of Zhou was established in the twin settlements of Fengjing () and Haojing (), together known as Fenghao, located southwest of contemporary Xi'an. The settlement was also known as Zōngzhōu (宗周) to indicate its role as the capital of the vassal states.Third scroll of the Chang'an Annals (长安志) interpreted by Huangfu Mi in his Age of the Kings (book) (帝王世紀) In 738 BC, King Ping of Zhou moved the capital to Luoyang due to political unrest.2011年上海中西书局出版《清华大学藏战国竹简》（贰）：周幽王取妻于西申，生平王，王或（又）取褒人之女，是褒姒，生伯盘。褒姒嬖于王，王与伯盘逐平王，平王走西申。幽王起师，回（围）平王于西申，申人弗畀，曾人乃降西戎，以攻幽王，幽王及伯盘乃灭，周乃亡。邦君、诸正乃立幽王之弟余臣于虢，是携惠王。立廿又一年，晋文侯仇乃杀惠王于虢。周亡王九年，邦君诸侯焉始不朝于周，晋文侯乃逆平王于少鄂，立之于京师。三年，乃东徙，止于成周，晋人焉始启于京师，郑武公亦正东方之诸侯。《左传·僖公二十二年》:初，平王之东迁也，辛有适伊川，见被发而祭于野者，曰:"不及百年，此其戎乎！其礼先亡矣。"秋，秦、晋迁陆浑之戎于伊川。
Imperial era
Following the Warring States period, China was unified under the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) for the first time, with the capital located at Xianyang, just northwest of modern Xi'an. The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of the Terracotta Army and his mausoleum just to the east of Xi'an almost immediately after his ascension to the throne.
In 202 BC, the founding emperor Liu Bang of the Han dynasty established his capital in Chang'an County; his first palace, Changle Palace (, "Perpetual Happiness") was built across the river from the ruin of the Qin capital. This is traditionally regarded as the founding date of Chang'an. Two years later, Liu Bang built Weiyang Palace (, "Never Ending Palace") north of modern Xi'an. Weiyang Palace was the largest palace ever built on Earth, covering , which is 6.7 times the size of the current Forbidden City and 11 times the size of the Vatican City. The original Xi'an city wall was started in 194 BC and took 4 years to finish. Upon completion, the wall measured in length and in thickness at the base, enclosing an area of . In AD 190, amidst uprisings and rebellions prior to the Three Kingdoms period, Dong Zhuo, a powerful warlord from nearby Xiliang, moved the court from Luoyang to Chang'an in a bid to avoid a coalition of other powerful warlords against him.
In 582, shortly after the Sui dynasty was founded, the emperor of Sui ordered a new capital to be built southeast of the Han capital, called Daxing (大興, "Great prosperity"). It consisted of three sections: the Imperial City, the palace section, and the civilian section, with a total area of within the city walls. At the time, it was the largest city in the world. The city was renamed Chang'an by the Tang dynasty. In the mid-7th century, after returning from his pilgrimage to India, the Buddhist monk Xuanzang established a translation school for Sanskrit scriptures.
Construction of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda began in 652. This pagoda was in height, and was built to store the translations of Buddhist sutras obtained from India by Xuanzang. In 707, construction of the Small Wild Goose Pagoda began. This pagoda measured tall at the time of completion, and was built to store the translations of Buddhist sutras by Yijing. The massive 1556 Shaanxi earthquake eventually damaged the tower and reduced its height to .Kiang, 12.
The Nestorian Stele is a Tang Chinese stele erected in 781 that documents 150 years of early Christianity in China.Hill, Henry, ed (1988). Light from the East: A Symposium on the Oriental Orthodox and Assyrian Churches. Toronto, Canada. pp. 108–109 It is a 279 cm tall limestone block with text in both Chinese and Syriac describing the existence of Christian communities in several cities in northern China. It reveals that the initial Nestorian Christian church had met recognition by the Tang Emperor Taizong, due to efforts of the Christian missionary Alopen in 635.
Chang'an was devastated at the end of the Tang dynasty. In the first years of the 10th century, residents were forced to move to the new capital city in Luoyang. Only a small area of the former city continued to be occupied thereafter.
Under the Song dynasty, Xi'an was an important cultural center of scholarship and innovation on matters such as science, as well as historiography, religion, and philosophy in China. The Northern Song era saw its people, political culture, and strategic location be directly utilized by the Song dynasty proper and its continued relevance to Muslim travelers into China and Chinese Muslim residents.
During the Ming dynasty, a new wall was constructed in 1370 which remains intact to this day. The wall measures in circumference, in height, and in thickness at the base; a moat was also built outside the walls. The new wall and moat would protect a much smaller city of .
Modern era The Qing dynasty established a walled off Manchu banner quarter in northeast Xi'an, on the site of the former palace of the Ming Prince of Qin. A Han banner quarter was established in the southeast of the city.
Manchu bannermen from the Xi'an banner garrison were praised for maintaining Manchu culture by Kangxi in 1703. Xi'an garrison Manchus were said to retain Manchu culture far better than all other Manchus at martial skills in the provincial garrisons and they were able to draw their bows properly and perform cavalry archery, unlike Beijing Manchus. The Qianlong emperor received a memorial staying Xi'an Manchu bannermen still had martial skills, although not up to those in the past, in a 1737 memorial from Cimbu. By the 1780s, the military skills of Xi'an Manchu bannermen dropped enormously, and they had been regarded as the most militarily skilled provincial Manchu banner garrison. Manchu women from the Xi'an garrison often left the walled Manchu garrison and went to hot springs outside the city, and gained bad reputations for their sexual lives. A Manchu from Beijing, Sumurji, was shocked and disgusted by this after being appointed Lieutenant general of the Manchu garrison of Xi'an and informed the Yongzheng emperor what they were doing.YZMaZPZZ (Yongzheng chao Manwen zhupi zouzhe) 1 22 1, Sumurji, YZ7.R7.24. Han civilians and Manchu bannermen in Xi'an had bad relations, with the bannermen trying to steal at the markets. Manchu Lieutenant general Cimbru reported this to Yongzheng emperor in 1729, after he was assigned there. Governor Yue Rui of Shandong was then ordered by the Yongzheng to report any bannerman misbehaving and warned him not to cover it up in 1730, after Manchu bannermen were put in a quarter in Qingzhou. Manchu bannermen from the garrisons in Xi'an and Jingzhou fought in Xinjiang in the 1770s and Manchus from Xi'an garrison fought in other campaigns against the Dzungars and Uyghurs throughout the 1690s and 18th century. In the 1720s Jingzhou, Hangzhou, and Nanjing Manchu banner garrisons fought in Tibet.