The Xi'an City Wall

The Xi'an city wall, chéngqiáng in Chinese, in the capital of central China's Shaanxi province is one of the most popular and conspicuous tourist sites in the ancient Chinese capital. The wall sections off the oldest part of the city, which has obviously expanded beyond this limit since the time when city was known as Chang'an.

Chang'an was the capital of China for 13 dynasties and it was also the cultural, economic and political center of the country. This made it an especially attractive target for coup attempts, which is why walls were built to protect it, as was customary in other important Chinese cities as well.

The wall is one of the best-preserved defensive structures in China, and also one of the largest in the whole world. Its foundations were laid in the era of the Tang dynasty which lasted from 618 to 907.

The first Ming emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, who reigned from 1328 until 1398, expanded the wall after receiving a warning from a hermit named Zhu Sheng, who said the city should be protected against invasion.

The great wall of Xi'an

The Xi'an city wall is about 12 meters high, and 12 to 14 meters wide at the top and 15 to 18 meters wide at the bottom. The individual sections of the wall form a rectangle with a circumference of about 14 km. The moat surrounding it was designed to make the country's political seat even more impenetrable.

The “wong cheng,” where the soldiers were posted. (Image: Radio86)Every 120 meters, a rampart with a sentry building on top extends out from the main wall. The ramparts are designed so that soldiers can safeguard the wall without appearing in front of the enemy. There are watchtowers at each of the four corners. All in all, the structure boasts 98 ramparts located just within the range of an arrow shot from either side. The huge gates were very strong and intricately designed. The wall features a total of four gates: Anyuan, (meaning forever harmony) in the north; Changle (meaning eternal happiness) in the east; Yongning (meaning everlasting peace) in the south; and, Anding, (meaning harmony and peace) in the west.

The south gate, Yongning is the most ornate one. Many official greeting ceremonies take place in the south gate square when dignitaries visit Xi'an. It is located just south of the Bell Tower at the very center of the city.

Dignitaries visiting Xi'an often pass through the south gate. (Image: Radio86)To enter the city, a person had to pass through three gate towers – Zhalou, Jianlou and Zhenglou. Zhalou is the outermost tower, where the suspense bridge could be lifted and lowered. Jianlou, located in the middle with square windows to shoot arrows from, served as a defensive outpost. The innermost gate, Zhenglou, is the main entrance to the city. The area between the two innermost towers called wong cheng is where the soldiers were stationed.

Construction

Most great Chinese cities have had fortifications similar to the wall in Xi'an. The Beijing city wall stood for nearly 530 years, but was removed in 1965 to give way to the 2nd Ring Road and the subway line. The last segments of the wall were removed in the 1990s. Today, only one part of the wall remains in the current capital near the Beijing Railway Station. In addition, three gates of the city wall are also intact (Desheng Gate, the Yongding Gate and Zhengyang Gate).

Originally, the Xi'an city wall was constructed with layers of dirt, lime and sticky rice. Since then, the wall has undergone renovations on three occasions. In the first phase, it was reinforced with bricks. In the second one, gate towers were built and in the third phase, the entire wall was refurbished by the Shaanxi provincial government.

As the sections of the wall have been damaged and rebuilt alternatingly, they do not form an integral structure, whereby it is not possible to walk around the city along the wall.

A canon serves to illustrate the wall's original function. (Image: Radio86)The history of the structure is illustrated, among others, with old canons, bells, and young men dressed up as ancient warriors! In this Olympic year, there are also decorations promoting this grand sporting event found on the wall. At night, dozens of red lanterns and electric lights illuminate the structure, creating a captivating visual experience.

If you really want to explore the wall in detail, you should reserve at least three hours for the visit, but you can also speed up the tour by renting one of the bicycles available there.

Admission costs 40 yuan, about 4 euros. Opening hours are from 8:00 to 21:30 in the spring and summer. Closing time is 19:00 in the autumn and winter.

Renting a bicycle on the wall costs 10 yuan/hour, 20 yuan/hour for a tandem. In addition, a deposit of 200 yuan is required. On some segments there is also the possibility to enjoy the view from a sightseeing cart, which costs 65 yuan per person.