City Wall, Xi'an

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The steep climb up the wall was justified by the view from the top. In less polluted weather it would make a good walk to explore the city from this vantage point, though as they extend some 14km, you would need to be fit to go right around.
I was surprised at how wide they were at the top, but apparently horses and carriages used to do the circuit. I'm not sure how they got up, but there were possibly ramps in another part.
Near the South Gate, there was a large bell which was used to warn citizens of a threat to the city, including air raids during the Second World War.

Xi'an is one of few ancient cities which still have an intact city wall....or at least one of the few that Western tourists are shown. Kevin points out an impressive building on the way and asks us to guess its age -- turns out it is only 2 years old. Xi'an is trying to keep the ancient flavor in their central city and encouraging architects to design new buildings to fit in to the ancient settings. The wall is aproximatelly 8 1/2 miles all the way around, and you could rent bikes or run if you wished (two of our group were athletic -- he a Danish triathlete, his wife was also a runner, and the next morning they ran the wall for exercise!) Kevin provides an excellent lecture explaining the defense of the city, from the moat to the archers’ towers to the command posts. The distance between the guard towers were precisely 120 meters -- which was so that archers could cover the territory effectively without shooting each other (an arrow’s range was 60 meters).

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Xi-an is one of the few Chinese cities were ancient city walls are still visible. The original Tang dynasty walls are long gone, however a rectangular circumference of 14kms of Ming walls surround the city.

Bikes can be hired at the South Gate and you can access the wall from the South Gate (Nanmen) for around Y30.

Walking the entire city wall takes around 2 hours but you get to see a side of Xi'an that's not visable from the ground so give it a go!!

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Xi’an is one of the few Chinese cities whose ancient wall is still intact. The wall was originally constructed during the Tang Dynasty. That wall is long gone, but that of the Ming Dynasty still stands. Just short of 14-kilometers long, it takes a good three hours to properly walk the wall. Alternatively, you can explore the wall on bicycle, via tricycle tour, or via motorized cart. Entry alone costs Y40 and is permitted only at the South and East Gates.

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Thoroughly recommend that you walk along this wall and enjoy the ambience and views.

The present wall was built over remains of earlier walls built from 582AD and added to through time. It was fully rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty. It is regarded as one of the most complete ancient fortifications in China today at almost 14 km in length 15 metres wide at the top. Its fortifications include a moat, hanging bridge, gate towers and turrets.

We walked along lots of walls during our stay in China -Xi'an's was by far the largest and most impressive in terms of its colour (red lanterns), atmosphere and size!!

To get the Southern Gate we simply walked down South Street (Nanda Jie).The entry fee is 40 Yuan and for 60 Yuan you can hire a rickshaw for a very bumpy thirty minute ride along part of the wall.

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This is a really nice stroll in winter. We started the walk from the southern entrance. It's quiet and peaceful up there, and you can look at the daily activities of the people from up there. You can also compare the architecture of the buildings within the city walls and those outside the walls. We really like the stroll up there, and you can even rent a bike and cycle on the cobblestone path.

U see it when u enter, you see again when u leave the city. This long, long wall that encloses the city instantly gives the city a very ancient feel. We read from somewhere that the nightview is magnificent, and boy, that person should be shot! We went for a stroll after dinner (South Gate, 15-20minutes walk south from Bell Tower), and after paying for the ticket (40yuan full/20yuan with student ID), we climbed up the stairs to find that there isn't anyone up there except for the large red lanterns lighting up the walls. *What a bummer*

We gather it would be a fantastic during daytime, as there are bicycles for rent up there. It's certainly too far to walk from one gate to another.

South Gate closes at 10pm, whereas other gates close at 8.30pm.

You may think this is an assembly area. The answer is definitely not right. This is supposed to be trap for any attackers, once the main gate is seal.

The archers will be shooting the arrows from the castle, and whosoever trap within will be eventually killed by archers.


Other City Wall Architectural Details (found in the web)
The wall was built of earth, rammed layer upon layer during the early time. The base layer was made of earth, quick lime, and glutinous rice extract, tempered together. This made the wall extremely strong and firm. Later, the wall was totally enclosed with bricks.

The Ming City wall encircles the city in a rectangle with one gate on each side. On the wall, fortifications such as watch towers, ramparts, (duo-kou) were built into a complex and well-organized system of defense.

There are total 98 ramparts on the wall and there are 120 meters distance from each other- towers that extruding out from the main wall. On the top of the rampart were 5984 2-metre- (7-foot-) high crenels called duo-kou. On the upper part of the duo-kou were large openings used to watch and shoot at attackers, and on the lower part were small openings, or loopholes, through which defenders could also shoot. The distance between ramparts is just within the range of arrow shot from either side, which allowed soldiers to protect the entire wall without exposing themselves to the enemy. Every several rampart on the wall has a sentry building of two or three stories where soldiers were stationed.

On the four corners of the wall were watchtowers. The one at the southwestern corner is round, probably after the imperial city wall of the Tang Dynasty, but the other three are square-shaped. On top of the watchtowers, the corner rampart, higher and larger than the ordinary ramparts, shows the strategic importance of corners of the city wall.