西安 Xi'an

古名长安，是陕西省政治、经济、文化和交通中心，辖长安等5县。位于黄河流域的关中平原的中部，南依秦岭，北临渭河，是中华民族的重要发祥地，也是整个亚洲最重要的人类起源地和史前文化中心之一。悠久的历史和深厚的文化底蕴给这个古老的城市蒙上了一层神秘的面纱。

西安是世界著名古都，历史上先后有西周、秦、西汉、新莽、东汉、西晋、前赵、前秦、后秦、西魏、北周、隋、唐等13个王朝在西安建都。许多重要历史事件都发生在这里。汉末赤眉、唐末黄巢和明末李自成农民起义军，曾在西安建立过短暂政权；近代史中发生过著名的“西安事变”。这给古城西安留下了大量文化遗产。西安境内共有重点文物保护单位314处，其中属国家级和省级的有84处；出土文物12万余件，其中不少是稀世国宝。其中，有碑林，大、小雁塔，钟楼，半坡遗址，明城墙等。还有汉城、唐城、阿房宫、未央宫、长乐宫、大明宫等古遗址及华清池、秦始皇兵马俑坑等。革命纪念地有八路军驻西安办事处旧址。市内有西安交通大学、西北大学、西北工业大学等高等学校和科研机构多所。

西安是中国北方中西部最大的加工工业基地，最大的商贸中心，又是丝绸之路的起点。丝绸之路如今已成为沟通中外交往的交通大道，是一条文明之路，友谊之路，商贸之路和文化旅游之路。

Once known as Chang'an, Xi'an is the political, economic, cultural and transportation center of Shaanxi Province, with its jurisdiction over five counties including Chang'an County. Located in the middle of the Central Plains of the Yellow River Basin, Xi'an stands between Qinling Mountain to the north and the Weihe River to the south. It is an important birthplace of the Chinese nationality as well as one of the places of human origin and prehistoric cultural centers in Asia. Its long history and rich cultural heritage has covered the old city with a mysterious veil.

As a world-famous ancient capital, Xi'an has been designated as the capital of 13 ancient Chinese dynasties such as the Western Zhou, Qin, Xihan, Xinmang, Eastern Han, Western Jin, Former Zhao, pre-Qin, post-Qin, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui and Tang dynasties. Many important historical events took place here, such as the Red Eyebrow Peasant Rebellion at the end of the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-8AD), the Huangchao Peasant Rebellion at the end of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and Li Zicheng Peasant Rebellion at the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) all once established temporary political powers in Xi'an. it also witnessed the famous Xi'an Incident in modern history. All these have left with Xi'an a lot of cultural relics. In Xi'an there are altogether 314 key cultural relics sites under protection, of which 84 belong to state or provincial level. Unearthed cultural relics reach 120,000, many of which are rare treasures in the world, including the Stele Forest, the two Wild Goose Pagodas, the Clock Tower, the remains of Banpo Village and the city wall of the Ming Dynasty. In addition, there are ancient sites such as Han City, Tang City, Efang Palace, Weiyang Palace and Daming Palace, as well as the Huaqing Pond and pits of Qin Emperor Shihuang's Terra-Cotta Soldiers and Horses. Xi'an is a great place of revolution, and the Site of the Office of the Eighth Route Army can clearly demonstrate this. Located in Xi'an are also a number of universities and research institutions, including Xi'an Jiaotong University, Northwest University and Northwest Polytechnical University.

Xi'an is the biggest processing industrial base and the largest trade center in the central and western part of North China, as well as the starting point of the Silk Road. The Silk Road has become a wide road connecting China and other countries. It is a road to civilization, friendship, trade and cultural tourism.