Xi'an Overview

Overview

Xi'an, a major historical city, was called Chang'an in ancient times, and is now the capital of Shaanxi province. Today, Xian is the political, economic and cultural center of Northwest China. Following the development of the travel industry and the implementation of the opening up policy, it has become one of the nation's most important tourist cities with tourism becoming the mainstay of Shaanxi's economy.

Xi'an is located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River with the eight small rivers as the tributaries. It holds a key position in the fertile plain between the high loess plateau to the north and the Qinling Mountains to the south. The Qinling Mountain Range is an important geographical divide between northern and southern China is a major watershed for the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers. Xi'an covers an area of 16,808 sq km with a temperate continental climate -- cold and dry in winter and hot in the summer with a rainy season in July, August and September. It lies at 107oeast longitude and 33onorth latitude at an altitude of 412 meters. The annual mean temperature is 13Co with an annual precipitation of 604 mm.

Xi'an has a population of six million with 3.5 million in the urban center. The ethnicities who inhabit the city are mainly Han, Hun, Manchu and Mongols. There are more than 700,000 Hun inhabitants in Xi'an. Most of the natives speak lCoal dialect which sounds similar to mandarin. The official government language in Xi'an is mandarin and the main religion is Buddhism.