Zhou dynasty established its capital in Feng (灃/沣) and Hao (鎬/镐) between the late 11th century BC and 770 BC, both located west of contemporary Xi'an. In 770 BC, the capital was moved to Luoyang due to political unrest.[1]
The state Qin moved its capital to Xianyang 350 BC just north of today's Xi'an on the north shore of Wei River.[2]
Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) constructed its capital in Xianyang. It was burned by Xiang Yu at the end of the dynasty.
202 BC: Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty, established Chang'an province as his capital; his first palace Changle Palace (長樂宮/长乐宫) was built across the river from the ruin of the Qin capital. This is traditionally regarded as the founding date of Chang'an and Xi'an.
194 BC: Construction of the first city wall of Chang'an began, which was not finished until 190. The wall measured 25.7 km in length, 12–16 m in thickness at the base. The area within the wall was ca. 36 km2.
AD 190: The most powerful tyrant of the time, Dong Zhuo, moved his court from Luoyang to Chang'an in a bid to avoid a coalition of powerful warlords going against him.
582: Emperor of Sui dynasty ordered a new capital to be built southeast of the Han capital, called Daxing (大興, great excitement). It consisted of three sections: the palace, the imperial city, and the civilian section. The total area within the wall was 84 km2, The main street Zhuque Avenue measured 155 m in width. It was at the time the largest city in the world. The city was renamed Chang'an (長安, Perpetual PeaceorEternal Peace) by the Tang dynasty.[3]
7th century: Buddhist monk Xuanzang established a sizeable translation centre after returning from India with Sanskrit scriptures.
652: Construction of Great Wild Goose Pagoda began. It measured 64 m in height. This pagoda was constructed for the storage of the translations of Buddhist sutras obtained from India by the monk Xuanzang.
707: Construction of Small Wild Goose Pagoda began. It measured 45 m in height. After the earthquake of 1556, its height was reduced to 43.4 m.
904: The end of the Tang dynasty brought destruction to Chang'an. Residents were forced to move to Luoyang, the new capital. Only a small area continued to be occupied after the destruction.
13th century: Marco Polo said that the people of Xi'an were all idolaters.[4]
1370: The Ming dynasty built a new wall to protect a much smaller city of 12 km2. The wall measured 11.9 km in circumference, 12 m in height, and 15–18 m in thickness at the base.
Schellinger and Salkin, ed. (1996). "Xian". International Dictionary of Historic Places: Asia and Oceania. UK: Routledge. pp. 870–873. ISBN9781884964046.
Tingwei Zhang (2004). "Industrial restructuring and urban spatial transformation in Xi'an". In Laurence J.C. Ma and Fulong Wu (ed.). Restructuring the Chinese City: Changing Society, Economy and Space. Routledge. p. 140+. ISBN978-1-134-31609-0.
