Xian
The Banpo Museum is an historic site of a primitive
tribal village dating back more than 6,000 years. This site,
under state protection, is a representative of the Neolithic
villages. A primitive village, remains of a house, nearly
10,000 production tools and daily-use articles are on
exhibit. Representative cultural relics include a painted
pottery pot with double-fish and human face designs,
small-mouthed, big bellied, point-bottomed water bottles,
bone fish hooks and the children's jar coffins.
Bell Tower
The Zhong Lou (Bell Tower) is a huge building in the centre
of Xian. The original tower was built in the 14th century
but it was rebuilt in 1739 during the Qing Dynasty. A large
iron bell used to mark the time each day, thus the name.
There are musical performances inside the tower each
afternoon. Entry costs around Y17.
Drum Tower is a small building that marks the Muslim
quarter of Xian. Opening times are from 8 a.m.to 6 p.m.
The Greater Wild Goose Pagoda
Built in 648, it was once used by the Tang monk Xuan Zang to
translate Buddhist scriptures. Located on Yanta Road 73
meters high, 25 meters wide in each bottom line, the pagoda
is very imposing in appearance. The structure, properly
proportioned, assumes the shape of a square pyramid. It is
open from 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
Little Goose Pagoda is located in the grounds of the
Jianfu Si. The site was originally used to hold prayers and
bless the afterlife of the late emperor Gao Zong. Built
around 707 AD it housed Buddhist scriptures brought back
from India. It is open from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Shaanxi Provincial Museum Opened to the public in 1992, this modern museum at state level has a collection of 110,000 pieces of historic relics and is rated as one of the best museums in China. The museum is open daily from 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
Steele Forest Once the temple of Confucius the museum houses a fine collection mainly devoted to the Silk Road. Located on Sanxue Road in Xian, the Steele Forest is a collection of more than 2,300 artifacts handed down from the Han, Wei, Tang, Song, Ming and Qing dynasties. Providing valuable material for the study of the Chinese calligraphic art, and Chinese history.
Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Emperor Qin Shi Huang Widely acclaimed as the eighth wonder of the world, here the underground battle formation comprising 6,000 life-size pottery warriors and horses as the dead emperor's guards can be viewed by the public. The pottery soldiers each weight over 300 kg, about 1.86 meters tall, stand row after row in battle formation.
Xian City Wall Built more than 600 years ago in 1374 and 1378, it is among China's best preserved ancient city walls. This city wall, built for the purpose of defense serves as the material object for the study on the city construction techniques in ancient China.
