Xian, the eternal city, records the great changes of the Chinese nation just like a living history book. Xian, located in central-northwest China is the provincial capital of Shanxi Province, which is the world famous historical and cultural city, and the base of important scientific research, higher education, defense-related science and technology industry and advanced technology industry. Known as "Chang'an" in ancient times, here is one of the birthplaces of the ancient civilization in the Yellow River Basin area of the country. During Xian's 3,100 year development, 13 dynasties such as Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang placed their capitals here. In 1981, it was listed into World Historical Famous City by the UNESCO. So far, Xian enjoys equal fame with Athens, Cairo, and Rome as one of the four major ancient civilization capitals.
With very rich cultural heritages, Xian has 282 Key cultural relics protection units including 34 national key cultural relics protection units, 72 provincial key cultural relics protection units and 120,000 collections. The famous Silk Road regard Xian as the starting point. The world famous Eighth Wonder in the World - Terracotta Warriors, the existing of best preserved and largest old city wall - Xian Ming City Wall and the four sites are all the valuable historical and cultural heritages of human. Rich historical and cultural sites and unique natural features make Xian to be one of the tourist first stops in China for travelers from home and abroad.
Xian was China's political, economic and cultural center during ancient times. With long history and rich cultural heritages, Xian enjoys the good reputation of "natural history museum". Many types of cultural relics with large amounts and the high value is the most famous in China.
Besides, Xian has a lot of delicious and unique snacks. Representatives are: Xian features pasta, Xian Dumpling Banquet, Qinzhen Liangpi, steamed mutton, meatballs soup and so on. When having a tour to Xian, travelers should not miss the chances to have a taste of the these delicious local snacks.
In order to facilitate the international visitors' short stay in Xian, 72 Hours Visa Free Transit policy is carried out From Jan. 1st 2014. Passport holders of 51 countries and regions are granted a visa-free stay of up to 72 hours with a third country flight ticket.