City Wall, Xi'an

This is one of the few city walls still standing in China, and was built between 1347 and 1378. It is a most impressive sight, and its full extent can be seen from the air before landing at Xian. From the battlements you get an excellent view of the city, and the moat surrounding the wall.

Many Chinese cities have city walls. While they may have had them hundred or a thousand years ago, what you see was built in the last twenty years for tourists. And they look obviously new. It's crappy.

But, Xi'an's walls are mostly really old (although a few parts are being rebuilt). The walls have moss, scratches, weathering, and broken parts. It is much more photogenic and interesting.

Of course you can just look at the walls for free if you like. You can also go on them (one of the cheaper sites in town at 10 RMB). From here you can get a view, sometimes of great historic sites, sometimes of construction and traffic. There are kiosks selling items on the wall. You rent a bike on the wall or take electric cart around. There are a few small museum / tourist shops sites as well. A good value as you could spend a day walking around a good portion of the city if you like or just a few minutes to see the view.

The city walls are impressive... huge structures built on the 14th century just call you to visit them.

Take the opportunity to climb it up and simply walk, having an overview of the city. You can take a beautiful picture of the Bell Tower there...

Depending on the amount of chinese tourists, you may be requested to take some pictures with them... (hehehe)...

Xi'an is a big, busy polluted city. Although there are lots of things to visit, there will be times when you just feel that you need toget away from it all.

In order to do this I reccommend a walk on the wall. OK, it's still polluted, but you're away from the traffic and at least some of the noise.

The guides in Xi'an vary in opinion about the walls - soime say that you can walk all the way round, others deny this (you can't). Some will tell you that they walls have not been renoated (they have - several times).

Regardless of this, its a great walk. If you were there during the sprin festival as I was you would have seen an exhibition of paper statures along the wall (see my travelogue for photos)

When you go to see the terracotta army, make time to visit the old city wall of Xi`an.
You can walk along the top and get great views of the city, and its the only complete city wall still standing in China. It was built during the Tang Dynasty

Largely intact and imposing enough to act as a physical barrier between the city center and the surburbs, the City Walls are the most distinctive feature of the modern city. It was built in 1370 and recently restored. Forming a rectangle whose sides total 12 km lengh, they were originally built of rammed earth on the foundation of the walls of the Tang Dynasty imperial city.The walls which took their modern form in 1568 when they were faced with brick are 12 m high with a width of 18 m at the base

Locals sometimes use the wall as a nifty shortcut

The city wall is over 13.7km in perimeter and dates from the early Ming period, but was restored in the 1980's. The wall is 12 meters (40 feet) high, 12-14 meters (40-46 feet) across the top, 15-18 meters (50-60 feet) thick at bottom.

You will see the walls when you enter the city.
During the Ming dynasty (1368 A.D.-1644 A.D.), Xi'an was refurbished and returned to prominence as a center of politics and trade. The Ming emperors rebuilt the walls, incorporating one corner left over from the Yuan dynasty in their design.
In each brick is carved the brickmaker's name, most worn very faint, but still visible. They were required because the walls builders needed specified precisely what size and weight of brick they needed, and if your product failed inspection once, you made it again; if it failed twice, you were penalized; if you failed three times, you were killed.