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Xi'an (西安; Hanyu Pinyin: Xi'ān, Wade-Giles: Hsi-An, literal meaning: "Western Peace") is the capital of Shaanxi province, in China and a sub-provincial city. It was one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China because it has been the capital of 12 dynasties such as Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang. Xi'an is the eastern end of the Silk Road. The city has more than 3,100 years of history. It was called Chang'an (长安, 長安 pinyinPinyin (, pinyin) literally means "join together sounds" (a less literal translation being "phoneticize", "spell" or "transcription") in Chinese and usually refers to Hany pinyin (, literal meaning: " Han language pinyin"), which is a system of romanizati: Cháng'ān), meaning "Perpetual Peace", in ancient times.

1 History

• Zhou DynastyAlternative meaning: Zhou Dynasty (690 CE 705 CE The Zhou Dynasty (; Wade-Giles: Chou Dynasty (late 10th century BC to late 9th century BC 256 BC) followed the Shang (Yin) Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty in China. In the Chinese historical tradition, established its capital in Feng (沣) and Hao (镐) between the late 11th century BC and 770 BC, both located west of contemporary Xi'an.

• Qin DynastyThe Qin Dynasty or Ch'in Dynasty ( Wade-Giles) ( 221 BC 207/ 206 BC) preceded by the Zhou Dynasty and followed by the Han Dynasty in China. Qin is sometimes spelt as Chin and is a possible origin of the word "China". See also: China in world languages). ( 221 BCCenturies: 4th century BC 3rd century BC 2nd century BC Decades: 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC Years: 226 BC 225 BC 224 BC 223 BC 222 BC 221 BC 220 BC 219 BC 218 BC 217 BC Events State of Qin conqu- 206 BCCenturies: 4th century BC 3rd century BC 2nd century BC Decades: 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC Years: 211 BC 210 BC 209 BC 208 BC 207 BC 206 BC 205 BC 204 BC 203 BC 202 BC 201 BC Events Second Puni) constructed its capital in the north shore of Wei River, which was burned by Xiang Yu at the end of the dynasty.

• 202 BCCenturies: 2nd century BC 3rd century BC 4th century BC Decades: 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC Years: 207 BC 206 BC 205 BC 204 BC 203 BC 202 BC 201 BC 200 BC 199 BC 198 BC 197 BC Events October 19 Scipio Africanus Major defeats H: Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, established Chang'an County as his capital; his first palace Changle Palace (长乐宫) was built across the river from the ruin of the Qin capital. This is traditionally regarded as the founding date of Chang'an and Xi'an.

• 200 BC: Emperor Liu Bang built Weiyang Palace (未央宫) in Chang'an.

• 194 BC: Construction of the first city wall of Chang'an began, which did not finished until 190 BC. The wall measured 25.7 km in length, 12-16 m in thickness at the base. The area within the wall was ca. 36 square km.

• AD 582: Emperor of Sui Dynasty ordered a new capital to be built southeast of the Han capital, called Daxing (大興). It consisted of three sections: the Palace, the Imperial City, and the civilian section. The total area within the wall was 84 square km, The main street Zhuque Avenue measured 155 m in width. It was the largest city in the world. The city was renamed Chang'an (長安) in Tang Dynasty.

• 7th century: Buddhist monk Xuan Zang established a sizeable translation centre after returning from India with Sanskrit scriptures.

• AD 701: Construction of Da Yan Pagoda (大雁塔) began. It measured 64 m in height. This pagoda was constructed for the storage of the translation of Master Xuan Zang.

• AD 707: Construction of Xiao Yan Pagoda (小雁塔) began. It measured 45 m in height. After the earthquake of 1556 AD, only 43.4 m remains.

• AD 904: The end of Tang Dynasty brought destruction to Chang'an. Residences were forced to move to Luoyang, the new capital. Only a small area continued to be occupied after the destruction.

• AD 1370: Ming Dynasty built a new wall to protect a much smaller city of 12 square km. The wall measures 11.9 km in length, 12 m in height, and 15-18 m in thickness at the base.

• This city was the site of the Xian Incident in 1936 during World War II. The Xi'an Incident brought the Communist Party of China and Kuomintang to a truce so the two forces could concentrate on fighting against Japan.