History of Xian

The city of Xian bears a rich heritage and culture. History of Xian provides some interesting facts and information about the glorious past of this splendid city.

Xian was the capital city of Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang. The magnificent history of this city dates back to the 11th century BC when the Zhou dynasty ruled northern China from their palace located at Hao. At present Hao is known as Xianyang. It became the capital of Qin in the 4th century BC. But in 207 BC, the rebels brought down this dynasty. Later the Hans succeeded the Qins and raised their own capital named Chang'an. By the 1st century BC, this city flourished to a great height.

The History of Xian states that in 25 AD the government was moved to Luoyang leading to the fall of Chang'an's significance. However, later on the Tang rulers moved back to Chang'an and completed the plan as was ordered by the Sui ruler Wen-ti. It was considered as the golden period of the Tang Dynasty. It was then that Chang'an turned out to be the main center of attention for innovative ideas. Culture and technology flourished in a very high rate and China became a wealthy nation. Later on, Indian, Persian and Central Asian cultures were imbued into Chang'an or the present day Xian. Apart from the dominant Buddhist community, the presence of other communities like Muslim, Manichaean, Zoroastrian and Nestorian also came into existence. This gave this capital city a cosmopolitan look.

History of Xian gives you another important information. After the fall of the Tang Dynasty in the 10th century, Chang'an once again started losing its importance and was moved to Kaifeng. The Ming Dynasty came into power and raised a new city which witnessed the Xian Incident in 1936. The city of Chang'an started progressing from the year 1949 onwards. In the year 1974, some farmers discovered the amazing Terra Cotta Soldiers which was built by the Emperor Qin Shihuang.