Tourism

The number of travelers is often greater during Summer (May–August), although the most pleasant season for visiting Xi'an is Autumn.

Sites City wall of Xi'an The Great Mosque of Xi'an The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda The Famen Pagoda View of the city from the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda

Because of the city's many historical monuments and a plethora of ancient ruins and tombs in the vicinity, tourism has been an important component of the local economy, and the Xi'an region is one of the most popular tourist destinations in China.

The city has many important historical sites, and some are ongoing archaeological projects, such as the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and his Terracotta Army. There are several burial mounds, tombs of the Zhou Dynasty kings located in the city. Xi'an also contains some 800 royal mausoleums and tombs from the Han Dynasty, with some of them yielding hundreds of sculpted clay soldiers, and remains of sacrificial temples from the Han era. The city has numerous Tang Dynasty pagodas and is noted for its history museum and its stele forest, which is housed in an 11th-century Confucian temple containing large stone tablets from various dynasties.

Some of the most well-known sites in Xi'an are:

The city is surrounded by a well-preserved city wall which was re-constructed in the 14th century during the early Ming Dynasty and was based on the inner imperial palace of Tang Dynasty. The Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and his Terracotta Army are located 40 km (25 mi) to the east of the city centre, in the city's suburbs. The Bell Tower and Drum Tower, both are located at the city's central axis. The city's Muslim quarter, which is home to the Great Mosque of Xi'an. The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda and Small Wild Goose Pagoda are both spectacular towers and both are well over 1,000 years old and have survived great earthquakes. The former is next to a large square with the largest fountain in Asia which projects water high into the air, rising and falling in time to music during one of the daily performances (usually at noon and soon after sunset). They protected Buddhist writings in the past. The Stele Forest is famous for its numerous historic inscriptions and stoneworks The Famen Temple and its towering pagoda located on the city's outskirt Xi Ming Temple Wolong Temple at Kaitong lane Xingjiao Temple at Shaolin Yuan (where Xuanzang's Tomb lies) Jianfu Temple Blue Dragon Temple Wangji Temple The Banpo Neolithic village is located on the outskirt of the city proper The Qianling Mausoleum, one of the many Tang Dynasty era tombs located in Xi'an The Shaanxi History Museum has a large collection of artifacts both modern and ancient. Mount Zhongnan (终南山) Mount Taibai Mount Li Huaqing Hot Springs (華清池), at the foot of Mt. Li, have a history of 6,000 years, the adjacent Huaqing Palace has a history of 3,000 years. Ranked among the Hundred Famous Gardens in China, it also has the status as a National Cultural Relic Protection Unit and a National Key Scenic Area. Daming Palace National Heritage Park, site of the former royal residence of the Tang Dynasty emperors Museums Terracotta Army Museum Shaanxi History Museum Hanyang Tomb Museum, the 1st modern underground museum in China, opened in 2006 Stele Forest Xi'an Museum: October 20, 2006, international council of monuments sites (ICOMOS) international protection centre (IICC) was formally established here National parks Mount Cuihua National Geological Park, Xi'an (翠华山国家地质公园) Chanba National Wetland Park, Xi'an (浐灞国家湿地公园) Daming Palace National Heritage Park, Xi'an (大明宫国家遗址公园) Mount Li National Forest Park, Xi'an (骊山国家森林公园) Mount Taibai National Forest Park (太白山国家森林公园) Mount Wangshun National Forest Park, Xi'an (王顺山国家森林公园) Mount Zhongnan National Forest Park, Xi'an (终南山国家森林公园) Hei He National Forest Park, Xi'an (黑河国家森林公园) Louguantai National Forest Park, Xi'an (楼观台国家森林公园) Taiping National Forest Park, Xi'an (太平国家森林公园) Zhuque National Forest Park, Xi'an (朱雀国家森林公园)