Xianyang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. The old Xianyang city was once the capital of the Qin dynasty and thus the first imperial capital of China. It is now integrated into the Greater Xi'an Metropolitan Area, one of the main megalopolises in northwestern China, with more than 7.17 million inhabitants. Its built-up area, consisting of 2 urban districts (Qindu and Weicheng), had 945,420 inhabitants at the 2010 census. It has a total area of .
Xianyang is the seat of the Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, the main airport serving Xi'an and the largest airport in Northwest China, and one of the 40 busiest airports in the world.
Xianyang is one of the top 200 cities in the world by scientific research outputs, as tracked by the Nature Index. It is home to the main campus of Northwest A&F University (NWAFU), one of the world's top universities in agriculture science related fields, and a member of "Project 985" club which is an organization of 39 reputable universities in China.
History
Qin dynasty
Xianyang was among the capital city's environs during the Western Zhou dynasty, and was made the capital of the state of Qin in 350 BC during the Warring States period before becoming the capital of China during the short-lived Qin dynasty. Because the city lay south of the Jiuzong Mountains and north of the Wei River – both sunlight-rich (yang) orientations – it was named "Xianyang", meaning "fully yang".
Under Duke Xiao of Qin's reign, minister Shang Yang designed Xianyang and in 350 BC organized the relocation of Qin's administration from the old capital Yueyang to the new city, which was then the capital for over 140 years. It was located in the modern day Shaanxi province on the northern bank of the Wei River, on the opposite side of which Liu Bang would later build the Han dynasty capital of Chang'an once he became emperor.
In 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang eliminated all six other warring states to establish the first centralized empire in Chinese history. Xianyang became the center of politics, economy and culture of the Qin empire. Noble families were compelled to move into Xianyang, and the realm's weapons were gathered in the city to be melted and cast into twelve towering statues. The Emperor had a lavish mausoleum built near the capital, complete with his Terracotta Army. This and other large undertakings diverted enormous levels of manpower and resources away from agriculture. Coupled with the state's repressive measures on the population, these factors eventually led to the fall of the Qin dynasty and with it the original city of Xianyang.
Qin Shi Huang expanded Xianyang beyond the walls. Then he built replicas of the palaces of all the conquered states along the Wei River. In 220 BC, he built Xin Palace () and later renamed it Wei Palace (), named after the Wei River. He continued with the theme of earth as the mirror of heaven building a network of 300 palaces in the Wei valley connected by elevated roads. In 212 BC, he built the Epang Palace ().
Shortly after the First Emperor's death in 210 BC revolts erupted. At the beginning of December 207 BC, the last Qin emperor Ziying surrendered to rebel leader Liu Bang, who entered Xianyang peacefully without harming the locals. However, Liu Bang was forced to hand the city over to another more ruthless rebel leader, Xiang Yu, whose army greatly outnumbered Liu Bang's. Xiang Yu then killed Ziying and burned Xianyang in 206 BC,Cotterell, page 29. destroying the sole surviving copies of several banned books that were kept in the royal library.
In 202 BC, after defeating Xiang Yu in Battle of Gaixia and ending the Chu-Han contention, Liu Bang was crowned the emperor of the newly established Han dynasty, and he built a new capital across the Wei River merely miles from the ruins of old Xianyang and named this new city Chang'an.
Later History During the Han dynasty, parts of Xianyang south of the Wei River were incorporated into the new imperial capital Chang'an, while the area north of the river became the Weicheng (渭城) County. Liu Bang, the Emperor Gaozu of Han, chose the high plain in Xianyang to be the site of his own mausoleum, and many of his successors followed suit. In order to secure the imperial mausoleums, the Han dynasty established five "mausoleum towns" (陵邑) and resettled many rich and prominent families of the empire there. Over time, Wuling (五陵, "Five Mausoleums") became a name that was associated with the empire's elite for many centuries.
Weicheng was home to the first relay station out of the capital Chang'an on the road to the western frontiers during the Tang era. In Tang literature, Weicheng was associated with parting. It was the setting of many poems, most notably Wang Wei's "A Song at Weicheng", a classic of farewell poetry.
Present-day Xianyang was established in 1371, during the early Ming dynasty.
Modern History
After the founding of the People's Republic, Xianyang Subregion was established, administering six counties: Xianyang, Xingping, Wugong, Chang’an, Huxian, and Zhouzhi. In August 1950, after the establishment of Shaanxi Provincial Government, Xianyang Subregion governed 13 counties: Xianyang, Sanyuan, Jingyang, Chunhua, Xunyi, Liquan, Xingping, Zhouzhi, Huxian, Yaoxian, Tongchuan, Fuping, and Gaoling. In August 1952, Xianyang was granted county-level city status. On 8 January 1953, the Subregion was abolished; Xianyang City, Xianyang County, Huxian, and Tongchuan came under provincial direct control, while suburban counties were reassigned to Weinan and Baoji administrative regions. In August 1958, Xianyang city and county merged into a new county-level city. On 8 October 1961, the Subregion was re-established, administering the county-level Xianyang City plus 13 counties. On 8 June 1966, Xianyang city was placed under Xi’an's jurisdiction until August 1971, when it returned to Xianyang Subregion.
On 5 October 1983, the State Council approved the transformation of Xianyang Subregion into a prefecture-level Xianyang City, converting the former county-level Xianyang City into Qindu District. Zhouzhi, Huxian, and Gaoling were transferred to Xi’an, while Wugong County and Yangling District (formerly part of Baoji) were placed under the new prefecture-level Xianyang City. In May 1984, county-level cities under Xianyang Subregion were renamed as administrative districts.
On 16 September 2006, following the merger of Xi’an and Xianyang local telephone networks, Xianyang's area code 0910 was changed to 029. On 8 July 2007, Yangling District was brought under the jurisdiction of the national Yangling Agricultural High‑Tech Demonstration Zone, although it remained de facto part of Xianyang. On 8 January 2017, fifteen townships (pop. ~605,000) from the four districts of Qindu, Weicheng, Jingyang, and Xingping were administratively reassigned to Xi’an. On 8 May 2018, with State Council approval, Bin County was dissolved and reconstituted as the county-level Binzhou City, directly administered by Shaanxi Province and managed by Xianyang.
Archeology From the end of the 1950s until the middle of the 1990s, archeologists discovered and excavated numerous Qin era sites in Xianyang, including palaces, workshops and tombs.
Administrative divisions Map Name Hanzi Hanyu Pinyin Population (2004 est.) Area (km2) Density (/km2)Weicheng DistrictWèichéng Qū400,0002721,471Yangling DistrictYánglíng Qū140,000941,489Qindu DistrictQíndū Qū450,0002511,793Xingping cityXīngpíng Shì560,0004961,129Binzhou cityBīnzhōu Shì330,0001,202275Sanyuan CountySānyuán Xiàn400,000569703Jingyang CountyJīngyáng Xiàn500,000792631Qian CountyQián Xiàn560,000994563Liquan CountyLǐquán Xiàn460,0001,017452Yongshou CountyYǒngshòu Xiàn190,000869219Changwu CountyChángwǔ Xiàn170,000583292Xunyi CountyXúnyì Xiàn270,0001,697159Chunhua CountyChúnhuà Xiàn200,000965207Wugong CountyWǔgōng Xiàn410,0003921,046 The Chinese Bureau of Statistics lists the urban population of the city at 316,641 in the 1990 Census, rising to 814,625 on the 2000 Census, and to 835,648 in the 2010 Census.
Climate
Xianyang sits in the central part of the Guanzhong Basin in Shaanxi Province. The terrain steps down from north to south, with distinct elevation gradients and clear topographic boundaries. The Loess Plateau and adjacent plains dominate the landscape. The highest point within the city is Shimen Mountain in the northeast, reaching 1,826 m, while the lowest point lies at the Qīnghé exit in Dacheng Town, Sanyuan County, at 366 m.
The northern part is part of the southern edge of the Loess Plateau, generally delineated by the Jing River. The southwest features loess hills and ravines, while the northeast consists of eroded loess gullies and low-to-mid hills. The central and southern parts form the Wei River Plain, a flat and largely erosion-free segment of the Guanzhong Plain. This basin is further divided into the Jing–Wei alluvial plain and the loess plateau, arranged in descending terraces from north to south.
Surface water is primarily composed of river runoff and groundwater. All rivers belong to the Wei River tributary of the Yellow River. The main tributaries within Xianyang are the Qishui, Xinhe, Fenghe, Jinghe, and Shichuan rivers, with the Jinghe being the most significant, forming two major drainage systems: Jinghe and Wei River. Groundwater is richer in the south and poorer in the north. Prolonged drought and over-extraction of groundwater have led to the drying of some rivers and ponds, and a continuous decline in groundwater levels. Although there is substantial transit water, its utilization remains challenging due to uneven distribution of surface and groundwater.
Education Xianyang is one of the top 200 cities in the world by scientific research outputs, as tracked by the Nature Index. Xianyang is home to the main campus of Northwest A&F University (NWAFU), one of the world's top universities in agriculture science related-fields, and a member of "Project 985" club which is an organization of 39 reputable universities in China.
National
Northwest A&F University (NWAFU) Shaanxi University of Science & Technology
Public
Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine Xianyang Normal University
Transport China National Highway 312 Xi'an Xianyang International Airport Xianyang West railway station Xi'an Metro Line 1
Culture and tourism
Xianyang was the capital of the Qin dynasty, the first unified feudal empire in Chinese history, and it also served as a key imperial region for over ten other dynasties including the Han and Tang. It was the first stop on the world-renowned ancient Silk Road. This long history has left the city with an abundance of cultural relics and historic sites. Numerous ancient ruins and tombs are widely distributed across the city, with a particularly high concentration. Representative ancient buildings include the Tai Pagoda in Xunyi, the Kaiyuan Pagoda in Binzhou, the Chongwen Pagoda in Jingyang, and the Chenghuang Temple in Sanyuan. The city's significant stone carvings include the grottoes of Binzhou's Giant Buddha Temple.
According to official statistics, Xianyang has 5,313 registered cultural heritage sites, including 1,037 ancient ruins, 1,135 ancient tombs, and 247 ancient architectural structures.