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Xi'an (also known as Xi An, and Xian) is the capital of the Shaanxi province in the People's republic of China and a sub-provincial city. As one of the most important cities in Chinese history, Xi'an is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China because it has been the capital (under various names) of 13 dynasties, including the Zhou, Qin, Han, the Sui dynasty, and the Tang. Xi'an is also renowned for being the eastern terminus of the Silk Road and for the location of the Terracotta Army, made during the Qin Dynasty. The city has more than 3,100 years of history.

Since the 1990s, as part of the economic revival of interior China especially for the central and northwest regions, the City of Xi'an has re-emerged as an important cultural, industrial and educational center of the central-northwest region, with facilities for research and development, national security and China's space exploration program.

The taxis are mostly Santana made in Shanghai, BYD auto made in Xi'an and Citroen made in Wuhan. Taxis work 24 hours a day, managed by the Taxi Management Bureau of Xi'an City which records complaints. Customers are charged by meter.

As a famous tourist city, Xi'an has built expressways to Lintong, Tongchuan and Baoji, with high class roads built to famous scenic spots in its suburban counties and on the north slope of the Qin Mountains. Expressways spread in all directions from Xi'an. Since September 2007, the newly completed Xi-Han Expressway connects Han Zhong and Xi'an through the Qinling Mountains. The ZhongNan Shan Tunnel is the longest tunnel in Asia at 15 kilometers long.

Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is the major airport serving the city and is the largest airport in the northwest region of China. The airport is located to the northwest of the city, between Xi'an and Xianyang. Chang'an Airlines and China Eastern Airlines are the main airport tenants.

International Routes: There are direct flights from Xi'an to many major cities in Asia, including Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kyoto, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Pusan.

Germany's Fraport, the operator of Frankfurt Airport, has paid 490 million yuan to obtain a 24.5-percent stake in the Xianyang International Airport, offering opportunities to upgrade and expand the facility.

Cuisine: Because of its long development as a culture, the cuisine of Xi'an is extensive as well. It is the representative of food of Northwestern China. The most well known local food is the Xianese snack, which consists of both traditional food of the Han Chinese and Hui ethnic minority. Hui-style snacks feature beef and mutton because the Hui people, being Muslims, do not eat pork. Baked beef and mutton, buns with beef, and other such regional dishes that are usually spicy in nature and incorporate a lot of beef and mutton ingredients. Han-style snacks are popular across China, consisting of meat with pancakes and noodles. Cool noodles, made of rice or wheat, taste spicy and great. A historical famous Xi'an dish is pancakes and mutton soup, which can be traced back to the Song (?) Dynasty.

Xi'an Dumplings Banquet (???) is renowned throughout the city. It has already served at least one President who came to Xi'an, Bill Clinton. Basically, 32 different types of dumplings for each customer, but if one would like to taste more, there are also a lot options, more than 120 types are waiting for diners.

There is also a famous cultural noodle dance when a chef, instead of rolling out noodles, waves a long strip of dough around in a dance before cooking the noodles.

Tourism:
High season - Long holidays are usual during Spring Festival, Labor Holiday (1st.May-7th.May), and National Holiday (1st. Oct-7th. Oct). Plus, Xi'an is more or less a northern city so the number of travellers is greater during summer (May-August). The pleasant season for visiting Xi'an is Autumn.

Historical Sites:
The city is surrounded by a well-preserved City wall of Xi'an which was re-constructed in the Ming Dynasty and based on the inner imperial palace of Tang Dynasty. The area in which Xi'an sits is a relatively flat place, making travel on the wall relatively easy unlike the steep inclines of the Great Wall. It is also plenty wide enough to rent a bicycle and cruise along the wall without colliding with others.
The Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang (???) and his Terracotta Army are located 40 km to the east, in the city's suburbs.
The city's Muslim quarter, a tourist shopping district next to the Drum Tower, is home to the Great Mosque of Xi'an.
The Big 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).
The Stele Forest is famous for its numerous historic inscriptions and stoneworks.
The Shaanxi History Museum has a large collection of artifacts both modern and ancient.
The Banpo Neolithic village is located outside the city.

Hotels & Lodgings:
Sheraton, No. 262 Feng Hao East Rd,Xian, 710077
ANA HOTEL,12 HUAN CHENG south Road, Xi'an, 710068
Shangri-la, Keji Road, Xi'an
Sofitel, Renmin Square, Xi'an
Grand Mercure, Renmin Square, Xi'an
Mercure, Renmin Square, Xi'an
HYATT, 158, Dongda Jie, Xi'an
Kempinski, River Ba, Xi'an
Howard Johnson, Ginwa Plaza, Xi'an
Days Hotel, Keji Road, Xi'an