IFEDC 2018---International Field Exploration& Development Conference 2018

Introduction of Xi'an

Xi'an was one of the most important cradles of Chinese civilization. It marked the start of the famous "Silk Road" that linked China with central Asia and the Roman Empire. And it served as the first capital of a unified China and capital of 11 dynasties periodically from the 11th century B.C. to the early 10th century A.D. Xi'an, or Chang'an as it was called in ancient times, is known as the city of "Everlasting Peace." Located between rivers and mountains in the center of the fertile Guanzhong Plain in Shaanxi Province, Xi'an--the provincial capital of shaanxi province，was a natural place to nurture the nation's civilization.

Scenic Spot

Great Wild Goose Pagoda	Small Wild Goose Pagoda	Museum of Emperor Qinshihuang’s Tomb Figures of Soldiers and Horses
The Tomb of Emperor Qinshihuang	The Drum Tower	The Bell Tower
The Xi’an Circumvallation	The Huaqing Pond	The Famen Temple
The Huanghe Hukou Waterfall	Lotus palace of Tang Dynasty	Shaanxi History Museum

Big Wild Goose Pagoda (Dayanta)

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda (Dayan Ta), is a Buddhistpagoda built in 652 AD during the Tang Dynasty and originally had five stories. The original construction of rammed earth with a stone exterior facade eventually collapsed five decades later but was rebuilt by Empress Wu Zetian in 704AD who added five more stories. A massive earthquake in 1556 heavily damaged the pagoda and reduced it by three stories to its current height of seven stories One of the pagoda's many functions was to hold sutras and figurines of the Buddha that were brought to China from Indiaby Xuanzang, a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator.Xuanzang is a prominent Buddhist figure mostly known for his seventeen year overland trip to India and back, which is recorded in detail in his autobiography and a biography, and which provided the inspiration for the epic novel “Journey to the West”. The pagoda is built on the premises of the Temple of Great Maternal Grace (Da Ci'en), originally built in 589 AD and then rebuilt 647 AD by the Tang Emperor Gaozong in memory of his mother EmpressWende. Before the gates of the temple stands a statue of Xuanzang.

North Square of Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Surrounding Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the scenery is also quite charming, especially the square north of the Da Ci'en Temple. Covering about 110,000 square meters (131563 square yards) plus 20,000 square meters (23920.6 square yards) of water area, it holds many records: in Asia, it is the biggest Tang-culture square, the biggest fountain and waterscape square, and the largest-scale sculptures area. In the world, it has the most benches, the longest light-belt, and the largest-scale acoustic complex. The entire square is composed of waterscape fountains, a cultural square, gardens and tourist paths. There you can taste real Chinese culture and traditions and fully enjoy the truly attractive views. With reliefs on the theme of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, 200-meter-long (656-foot-long) sculpture groups, 8 groups of sculpted figures, 40 relievos on the land, and 22 styles of musical fountains, it has become a must-see when you visit Big Wild Goose.

The Museum of Qin Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses

One of the most significant archaeological finds in the world, this 16,300-square-meter excavation reveals more than 7,000 life-size terracotta figures of warriors and horses arranged in battle formations. (3 pits) The terracotta warriors and horses, created about 2,200 years ago, were found in 1974 on the east side of the tomb of the First Emperor Qin Shihuang (259 BC - 210 BC) near Xi'an. Emperor Qin Shihuang had Ying as his surname and Zheng as his given name. In 221 B.C., when he unified the whole country, named himself Shihuang Di and carried on the hereditary system. To protect against harassment by the Hun aristocrats. Emperor Qin Shihuang ordered the Great Wall be built.

The Bell Tower (Zhonglou)

Centrally located on the "Four Main Roads" junction is the Bell Tower, of Xi'an. The original City Bell Tower was constructed in 1582 and situated in the west, but on its reconstruction in 1739, the tower was relocated to its present site. A Ming dynasty bell weighing approximately 14.76 tons hangs in the tower, but no longer chimes to inform residents of the time of day. Visitors have the chance to inspect up-close a number of smaller bells. Although the site itself is more of a landmark than an attraction, it is frequently enlivened with local performances. Visitors interested in local music should visit the site in the morning and early afternoon. Originally, the tower had a number of entrances, but today, it only has one accessible entrance located on Bei Dajie close to the Admission Ticket Office.

Drum Tower (Gulou)

The Drum Tower was built in 1380 during the early Ming Dynasty, and got its name from the huge drum located within the building. In contrast to the Bell Tower, where bell was stricken at dawn, drum was beat at sunset to indicate the end of the day. There are twenty-four drums in the northand south sides of the Drum Tower. These drums stand for the Twenty-four Solar Terms, a form of weather calendar created by the Chinese in order to guide the agricultural production.

The Xi’an Circumvallation

The Xi’an Circumvallation site is located at the center of Xi’an city with the form of a rectangular. The circumvallation, with its wall height of 12 meters, bottom width of 18 meters and top width of 15 meters, consists of 4 city gates: change gate to the east, ending gate to the west, yongning gate to the south and anyuan gate to the north. Its east wall has the length of 2590 meters, west wall of 2631.2 meters, south wall of 3441.6 meters and north wall of 3241 meters. It was constructed on the basis of the tang imperial city and under the strategic consideration of defense. The thickness of the wall is larger than its height and is very solid that cars can run on it. The existing circumvallation was built during 1373-1378 with the history of more than 600 years. It is one of the most famous wall constructions in China’s history after the middle ages as well as the most preserved ancient one in China.

Small Wild Goose Pagoda

The Small Wild Goose Pagoda, sometimes Little Wild Goose Pagoda, is one of two significant pagodas in the city of Xi'an, China, the site of the old Han and Tang capital Chang'an. The other notable pagoda is the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, originally built in 652 and restored in 704. The Small Wild Goose Pagoda was built between 707–709, during the Tang Dynasty under Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (r705–710). The pagoda stood 45 m (147 ft) until the 1556 Shaanxi earthquake. The earthquake shook the pagoda and damaged it so that it now stands at a height of 43 m (141 ft) with fifteen levels of tiers.[1] The pagoda has a brick frame built around a hollow interior, and its square base and shape reflect the building style of other pagodas from the era.[1] During the Tang Dynasty, the Small Wild Goose Pagoda stood across a street from its mother temple, the Dajianfu Temple. Pilgrims brought sacred Buddhist writings to the temple and pagoda from India, as the temple was one of the main centers in Chang'an for translating Buddhist texts.[1] The temple was older than the pagoda, since it was founded in 684, exactly 100 days after the death of Emperor Gaozong of Tang (r. 649–683).[1] Emperor Zhongzong had donated his residence to the building of a new temple here, maintaining the temple for 200 monks in honor of his deceased father Gaozong.[1] The temple was originally called the Daxianfusi or Great Monastery of Offered Blessings by Zhongzong, until it was renamed Dajianfusi by Empress Wu Zetian in 690.

Huaqing Hot Springs

Huaqing Hot Springs, also known as Huaqing Palace, is a well-known historic site and an AAAAA tourist attraction of China. It gets its fame for being the place where the romantic story of Emperor Tangxuanzong of Tang Dynasty (618-907) and his beloved Yang Guifei (or Concubine Yang) took place. As a matter of fact, the site had been as an imperial palace for emperors' short stays away from the capital for more than 3000 years. Emperors of Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui and Tang dynasties spent the winter at this place every year. Emperor Zhouyouwang of Western Zhou Dynasty (1046BC-771BC) is said to be the first emperor who ordered to build a palace at the site. In the following dynasties, the palace was repaired and expanded for several times, given the name of "Hot Spring Palace" and finally denominated "Huaqqing Palace" by Emperor Tangxuanzong. The palace was constructed above hot springs, hence the site is also called "Huaqing Hot Springs".

The Famen Temple

Famen Temple, renowned for storing the veritable Finger Bone of the Sakyamuni Buddha, is located in Fufeng County of Shaanxi Province. Famen Temple was established in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25--220) for spreading Buddhism. The most representative structures in the temple are the Famen Temple Pagoda and Famen Temple Museum. Many royal treasures and jewelry were found here. But why? Famen Temple was the royal temple during the Sui Dynasty (581-618) and Tang Dynasty. Emperors in Sui and Tang believed that enshrining and worshiping the bone of Sakyamuni would bring richness and peace to the land and its people. So an offering of treasure to the finger bone was made, which was housed in the Underground Palace.

Hukou Waterfall

The Hukou waterfall on the Huanghe River west of Jixian County, Shanxi, is formed when the river flows to the Hukou Mountains on the Shanxi-Shaanxi border and its 250-meter-wide bed, sandwiched between the canyons on its banks, abruptly narrows into a trough 50 meters wide and 30 meters deep and falls down into a big stone-strewn pool. The section of the river here is like the mouth of a water-flash. Hence the name of the waterfall, which means “ Flask Mouth waterfall”. The waterfall has a descent of 15-20 meters in the low-water season, but it is scarcely noticeable as a waterfall in the high –water season when the waters burst into rapid torrents. The section is rich in hydroelectric power potential

Shanxi History Museum

One thing surprising at the Shaanxi Provincial History Museum was the fact that it is possible, even expected, to bargain for the items sold at the gift shops. One would assume that a museum would have fixed prices. It turns out that ithe prices provide are only the starting price. You should bargain for everything you buy at the gift shop. You can expect to save at least 50%, possibly more.

Lotus palace of Tang Dynasty (Tang Paradise)

Tang Paradise lies in the Qujiang New District, Xi’An City, Shannxi Province, with 66.7 hectares building areas and 20 hectares of lake areas inside. The garden is the biggest culture theme part in Northwest China, with 1.3 billion RMB investments. The Tang Paradise, which was rebuilt at the north of archaeological site of Lotus Palace of Tang Dynasty, is the first large scale royal garden culture theme garden which fully exhibits the living styles and features of Glorious age of Tang Dynasty. In this project, we created a unique night view of “Splendid and magnificent, Glorious age of Tang Dynasty”, by fully controlling the combination of “Lighting” and “Shadow”

Climate

The climate in Xi'an September is pleasant, less precipitation, moderate temperature. The average temperature is 19 ℃(66.2℉)- 25 ℃(77℉)

Average daytime temperature is 25 ℃(77℉), it is recommended to wear linen fabric shirts, thin dress, thin T-shirt and other cool breathable clothes.

Average temperature at night is 19 ℃(66.2℉), it is recommended to wear short-sleeved cotton and linen fabric suits, T-shirts, thin denim shirt pants, casual clothes, professional suits and other comfortable clothes.

About Xi'an

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