The Xi'an City Wall dated from back to 582 A.D. The existing Xi’an City Wall was built from the 7th year to 11th year of Ming Hongwu (1374~1378). Up till now, it has had a long history of over 600 years. As one of the most famous walls in China in the late Middle Ages, it is also an ancient city wall that has been preserved the most intact in China.
The Xi'an City Wall in the general sense consists of the Xi’an City Wall of the Tang Dynasty and the Xi’an City Wall of the Ming Dynasty, but it usually refers in particular to the Xi’an City Wall of the Ming Dynasty in a narrow sense. Located at the downtown area of the city of Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, the Xi’an City Wall of the Ming Dynasty is the biggest ancient city wall that has been preserved the most intact in China. It is 18 meters in height, 12-14 meters wide at the top, and 15-18 meters wide at the bottom. Its profile takes the shape of a closed rectangle, with a 13.74 km perimeter. Inside the city wall, people are in the habit of calling it the ancient town that has an area of 11.32 sq. km. The famous Xi’an Bell and Drum Towers are located at the center of the ancient town.
The Xi'an City Wall has four main gates: Changle Gate (East Gate), Yongning Gate (South Gate), Anding Gate (West Gate) and Anyuan Gate (North Gate), all four of which are the original city gates of the ancient City Wall. Ever since the Republic of China, to facilitate exit and entry of the ancient town, multiple city gates have been built successively. So far, the Xi’an City Wall has already had 18 gates, but they are not all open for visitors.There are 8 points where tourists can climb up the wall. They are East Gate, South Gate, West Gate, North Gate, Heping Gate, Wenchang Gate, Hanguang Gate and Shangde Gate. Tickets can be purchased at your most convenient point.
TIPS
1. Basic info
Address: Xi'an City Wall is located at the downtown area of the city of Xi’an, Shaanxi Province.
Ticket: CNY 54 for adults.
CNY 27 for children between 3.9 and 4.6 feet (1.2- 1.4 meters); free for children under 3.9 feet.
CNY 100 for a combo ticketof the wall and Forest of Stone Steles Museum.
Time: South Gate (all year, 8：00-22：00)，Hanguang Gate（all year, 8：00-17：30），
the rest（April 1st to April 30th，8：00-18：00；May 1st to October 31th，8：00-19：00；November 1st to next March 31th, 8：00-18：00）
2. Transportation
Getting to four major gates:
To theSouth Gate: Take subway line 2 to Yongningmen Station; bus no.6, 11, 12, 23, 46, 215, 239, 600, 603, 608, 713, 910, K600, K618, or Wulong Special Line and arrive at South Gate Station.
To theEast Gate: Take bus no.8, 22, 27, 29, 33, 37, 43, 45, 102, 203, 218, 235, 252, 300, 527, 602, 604, 714, or 903 and arrive at East Gate Station.
To the North Gate: Take subway line 2 to Anyuanmen Station; bus no.6, 26, 28, 33, 37, 39, 117, 205, 206, 208, 214, 229, 236, 238, 336, 506 or 511 and arrive at North Gate Station.
To the West Gate: Take bus no.4, 10, 15, 23, 31, 201, 205, 206, 215, 221, 222, 223, 300, 407, 504, 611 or 701 and arrive at West Gate Station.