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Xi'an was once called “Chang'an”. The connotation of this name is “ permanent peace”. Xi'an marked the starting point of the world famous“Silk Road”. It obtained its present name in the year 1369. Xi'an ranks first on the list of China's eight largest ancient capitals. From 11th century BC， onwards， Xi'an has been established as the capital city by 13 kingdoms or feudal dynasties successively， including the Western Zhou， the Qin， the Han， the Sui and the Tang. It serves as an ancient capital city of the most dynasties and the longest span of time in China. And it was regarded as one of the “Four Great Ancient Capitals of the World”， together with Rome， Athens， and Istanbul.
Xi'an is situated in the middle of the Yellow River valley and at the center of the Central Shaanxi Plain. 412 meters above sea level， Xi'an has a average temperature of 13℃， and an average precipitation of 604mm annually. The rain season always falls on July， August and September.Xi'an City has jurisdiction over eight districts（Xincheng， Beilin， Lianhu， Baqiao， Weiyang， Yanta， Yanliang， Lintong， Chang'an，Gaoling and Huyi）， and two counties （Lantian and Zhouzhi）， and it occupies an area of 10，752 square kilometers. By the end of 2018， Xi'an had a population of 10，003，700.
Within Xi'an one can find a large number of historic attractions， 56 of which have been listed among the national monuments， such as the remains of Banpo Village， a Neolithic matriarchal clan community， the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor， which has been enlisted as one of “The World Cultural Heritages”， Dayan Pagoda and Xiaoyan Pagoda built in the Tang Dynasty， the Bell Tower， Drum Tower and City Wall built in the Ming Dynasty， and the time-honored Forest of Stone Tablets. Walking around this old city is like going through thousands of years back in history. So there is no wonder why people always say“He who has not visited Xi'an can not be said to have visited China”.
As the capital of Shaanxi Province， Xi'an is the political， economic and cultural center in the northwestern region of China. It provides a link of communication between the Southwest， the Middle and East China. It counts as the biggest central city along the Eurasia Continental Bridge， which runs parallel with the artery railway line from Lianyungang to Urumqi. Up to now， a vast industrial system has been established， so Xi'an has been changed into the largest modern industrial city in the northwest of China. With its geographical advantages， Xi'an has become the biggest commercial center in the Midwest of China.
With regard to higher education， Xi'an ranks fourth in the country next to Beijing，Shanghai and Wuhan. It is also an important base of scientific research center in China. The Chang'an College Town， which is now under construction， will be a great appeal to hundreds of thousands of students from around the country. The development of private education in Xi'an is also ahead of the other regions of the country. After the implementation of the opening-up and reform policy， the first private institute of higher education was founded in Xi'an. Till today there have been 5 institutes each of which keeps an enrollment of over 10，000 students. The proportion of people who receive continuation education and vocational schooling and plus ranks No.1 compared with other cities in China.
Xi'an is a city of science and technology with 3，000 research institutions of various kinds. It is the third on the standing list in terms of colligated scientific strength， including many first-class scientists renowned both overseas and at home. Nearly 3，000 scientific innovations and patents come out every year in Xi'an， such as the first personal computer， the first civil aero-plane， the first integrated circuit， the first high-speed video recorder， the first high-resolution digital color TV set and so on in China. One third of China's spaceflight potency is congregated here in Xi'an. The air base of Yan liang district， Xi'an City located in Yanliang， the largest aero-plane city in Asia， is often termed as“China's Seattle”， where aero-plane designs， manufactures and flighttests are carried out.
Now“five zones， one port and two bases” are established in Xi'an， namely the Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone， the Economic Development Zone， the Newly-developed Qujiang Zone， the Chanba Ecosystem Zone， Newly-developed Fengwei Zone，Xi'an Internaitonal Logistics Park and two Bases of National and Civil Hi-tech Aerospace Industry. Xi'an is a place full of information， state-of-the-art technology and gifted people.
Up to the year 2005， Xi'an has established direct trade relations with nearly 150 countries and areas throughout the world. As many as 57 countries and areas have been investing in Xi'an； 83 out of 500 best enterprises in the world have their investments in Xi'an， including Hitachi， Fujitsu， Toshiba from Japan， Metro， Henkel from Germany， IBM， Software， HP， Coca-cola， Pepsi-cola from America and so on.
Xi'an has emerged as one of the most popular tourist cities in the country. With a rapid development of tourist industry and gradual improvement of the tourist environment， Xi'an now has a total number of over 100 ranking hotels， several dozes of international tourist agencies and many more domestic tourist services. In fact， tourist industry has become the mainstay in Xi'an's economy， and the city is honored as one of the “Popular Tourist Cities in China”.
Xi'an possesses a convenient transportation with a completed network of airlines，railways and highways. Xi'an-Xianyang International Airport has established more than 300 domestic and international airlines， and opened up airlines directly bound for Tokyo， Osaka， Fukuoka， Nagoya， Hiroshima and Niynaya in Japan， and Soul in Korea.Xi'an Railway Station is not only a passenger transportation station of top class， but also an important spot of the Eurasia Continental Bridge in China. As for high way service，there are more than forty roads connecting the center of Xi'an City and various tourist attractions， nine of which are specialized tourist routes.
In recent years， the urban construction has been accelerating and residential environment has been greatly improved with surface water coverage of nearly 10，000 acres，greenbelt coverage of 180，000 square meters and forest coverage of 48％ in the city at large. The table-water has been up to par 100％. Now we see much more of the blue sky and the Qinling Mountains afar， and inhale more fresh air than ever before.
Xi'an is a city of design and fashion， a capital of sights and sounds， a place full of life and drive. Just as the metaphor goes， China is like a sheltering tree， you see its crown in Beijing， but you witness its root in Xi'an. Today with the opening-up policy，Xi'an， an ancient city， is gradually taking on a new look. With its unique charm， the city poses a great appeal to tourists both from home and abroad.
Xi'an is forever your second homestead.