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Province of Xi-An or Xi'an

Modern XI'AN is a manufacturing town of five million inhabitants and the capital of Shaanxi Province, holding a key position in the fertile plain between the high loess plateau of the north and the Qingling Mountains to the south. It's one of the more pleasant of Chinese cities, more prosperous than any other city in inland China except Chengdu, with streets full of Japanese cars, stores flooded with consumables, and stylish locals in the new discos. It's certainly far richer than the surrounding area, a fact suggested by the large numbers of rural migrants who hang around at informal labour markets near the city gates, and which becomes starkly obvious if you take a bus ride into the plains outside the city. The city is also a primer in Chinese history, as between 1000 BC and 1000 AD it served as the imperial capital for eleven dynasties. You'll find a wealth of important sites and relics hereabouts: Neolithic Banpo, the Terracotta Army of the Qin emperor, the Han and Tang imperial tombs, and in the city itself, the Goose Pagodas of the Tang, the Bell and Drum towers and Ming city walls , as well as two excellent museums holding a treasury of relics from the most glamorous parts of Chinese history. Despite the drawbacks of pollution (many of the locals walk around with white face masks on) and congestion, common to all rapidly industrializing Chinese cities, Xi'an is very popular with foreign residents , and many come here to study, as the colleges are regarded as some of the best places to learn Chinese.
The City
Xi'an successfully integrates its architectural heritage with the modern city, its imposing walls and ancient geometric street plan, centring on the Bell Tower, giving it a distinct identity missing in the sprawl of most Chinese cities. Downtown Xi'an, inside the walls, is just about compact enough to get around on foot, with enough sights to fill a busy day. And it is here that the city's new prosperity is most in evidence, in the variety and prices of goods in the shops on Dong Dajie , the main shopping street, where you'll also find the best hotels and restaurants, and in the number of cars that choke it during rush hours. Nan Dajie , to the south, is another shopping district at the end of which you will find the Provincial Museum , which holds a massive collection of steles, next to the city walls , more imposing remnants of imperial China. Contrast is provided by the Muslim quarter off Xi Dajie, which preserves a different side of old China in its labyrinth of alleys centring on the Great Mosque .

The suburban area south of town holds more ancient buildings than the centre, as the city in Han and Tang times was considerably more extensive than in the Ming dynasty, when the walls were built. The excellent Shaanxi History Museum and the small Daxingshan Si sit between the two Goose pagodas and their temples, which are some of the oldest and certainly the most distinctive buildings in the city.