Xian travel information guide

As one of the six ancient capitals in China, Xian served as the seat of 12 imperial capitals for 1,120 years and also a world-famous tourist city, a treasure house of cultural relics

Location: located at 33 north and 107 east, in the southern part of GuanZhong Plain in Shaanxi province with Qinling Mountains to the north and the Weihe River to the south

Neighboring Areas: Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Gansu Provinces; Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regions

Physical Features: with an elevation of 500 metres, the Weihe Plain extends between Baoji in the west and Tongguan in the east and borders the Qinling Mountains in the south and the Huangtu Plateau in the north. Lying in the warm zone, the plain has a temperate climate with four distinct seasons. Chequered with the Weihe, Jinghe, Luohe, and Bahe rivers as well as the Jinghui, Weihui and Luohui canals, the fertile land on the plain has easy access to irrigation facilities and an abundant yield of farm produce. Xian lies in the centre to the south of this plain, a favourable geographical location surrounded by water and hills

Nationalities: Han, Hui

Population: 6.62 million
Urban Population: 3.73 million
Area: 16,808 sq km

History: called Chang'an in ancient times, more than 1 million years of condensation of history. During Xi'an's 3,100 years of development, 12 dynasties such as Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang, held it as their capitals

Climatic Features: temperate and continental climate; cold and dry in winter and hot in summer and rainy season comes in July, August and September

Average Temperature: 13.3C annually
Rainfall: 604.2mm annually

Mountains: Mt. Huashan, Mt. Taibaishan, Mt. Lishan

Rivers: Hui River, Wei River, Feng River, Jing River