Great Mosque
The Great Mosque of Xi'an is the largest and best-preserved early mosques of China . It is thought to have existed for nearly fourteen centuries. Harmoniously combining Chinese architectural elements with that of mosque, the mosque resembles a fifteenth century Buddhist temple with courtyards and pavilions. It was presumably founded by naval admiral and Hajji Cheng Ho, the son of a prestigious Muslim family who was famous for clearing the China Sea of pirates. There are four successive courtyards, each with a signature pavilion, screen, or freestanding gateway, lead to the prayer hall located at the western end of the axis.
Islam was introduced into Northwest China by Arab merchants and travelers from Persia and Afghanistan in mid-7th century. Some of them settled down in China and married women of Han Nationality. Their descendants became Muslim of today.
The mosque that stands today was primarily built in Ming Dynasty (1392). It was constructed on Hua Jue Lane just outside the city walls built at Ming Dynasty, in the Jiao-fang neighborhood once for foreigners northwest of the city, with Drum Tower a block away.
Shaanxi Provincial History Museum
Shaanxi Provincial History Museum is a Tang-Dynasty style pavilion which houses a large collection of 113,000 historic and cultural artifacts unearthed in Shaanxi. It is situated one kilometer northwest of Big Goose Pagoda in Xi'an's southern suburb.
The main complex consists of ancient palaces and courtyard buildings in harmoniously simple and elegant style. The exhibits on the ground and first floors are divided into three parts: Basic Exhibition Hall, Theme Exhibition Hall and East Exhibition Hall.
Basic Exhibition Hall exhibits the cultural relics of prehistoric times in Shaanxi and remains from the dynasties of Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang. Theme Exhibition Hall mainly houses various types of theme exhibitions of Shaanxi local cultural characteristics, including Shaanxi Fine Bronze Objects and Fine Terra-cotta Figures. East Exhibition Hall mainly holds temporary exhibitions from home and abroad, such as Exhibition of Costumes of Women in Tang Dynasty and Tang Dynasty's Tomb Real Murals Exhibition.
Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Big Wild Goose Pagoda is located a couple of miles south of Xi'an . It was first built in 653 A.D. Xuan Zang was a renowned Buddhist monk. He proposed that the pagoda be built to keep away the Buddhist scriptures he had secured during pilgrimage to India . Xuan Zang was made abbot of the temple where he translated the scriptures into Chinese. From 701 to 704, the five-story pagoda was rebuilt into a seven-story, 331 feet high structure with stairs winding to the top floor. Built with gray bricks, this pavilion-like pagoda with arched portals on each floor is a masterpiece of Buddhist architecture with a distinct Chinese Style.
Bell Tower and Drum Tower
Bell Tower was built in 1384 by Emperor of Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang as a way to dominate the surrounding countryside and announce rival's attack. Originally, the northwest corner of the tower housed the famous Jingyun Bell from the Tang Dynasty. The carvings on the doors of the Tower reflect the decorative fashion of Ming and Qing Dynasties. When it was built in 1384, it stood near the Drum Tower on the central axis of the city. As the geographical center changed, the tower was moved 1,000 meters east of the original site in 1582.
The Drum Tower was built in 1380, four years older than Bell Tower . The Drum Tower appears rectangular. It is 52.6 meters long, 38 meters wide and 7.7 meters high. Like the Bell Tower , it's also a triple-eave, two-storey structure.
Forest of Stone Steles Museum
Forest of Stone Steles Museum preserves some precious stone steles moved here in 1087 AD when it was initially established. The museum, with 3,000 steles, is divided into seven exhibitions halls. They mainly exhibit the works of calligraphy, painting and historical records on achievements in the development of Chinese culture and cultural exchanges between China and other countries. It includes the "Classic on Filial Piety" written by Emperor Xuanzong in 745 AD and "the Kaicheng Stone Steles" carved in 837 AD.
The museum is situated on Sanxue Street, near the south gate of Xi'an City Wall, once the site of the Temple of Confucius during Northern Song dynasty (960--1127). It covers an area of 31,000 square meters. It has been the principal museum of Shaanxi Province since 1944 and officially named as the Forest of Stone Steles Museum in 1992 with the large number of steles.
"Han Yang Ling" Mausoleum
"Han Yang Ling" is the joint mausoleum of Emperor Jingdi and Empress Wang, his consort. It is situated to the north of the Thangjiawan Villige, Thengyang County, Weicheng Area, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province. The mausoleum covers an area of more than 10 square kilometers - nearly six kilometers east to west, and up to three kilometers north to south. The tomb complex is symmetrically constructed with the sacred road from east to west.
Around the mausoleum in all directions are 81 satellite tombs of different sizes, from which we have discovered the largest human sacrifice graveyard ever found in China, with approximately 60,000 burial objects, including painted nude pottery figurines, utensils, chariots, weapons, and a large number of pottery animals, precisely shaped, vividly mouthed and realistically colored, all of which are of high artistic value.
Han figurines were first modeled as nude bodies, then painted with hair and skin, fitted with movable wooded arms and hands, and finally covered with beautiful clothes before being buried. Over the centuries, the clothing was damaged and the wooden arms rotted. But the colors remain as bright as when they were first painted. So you can see their (male or female) sex organs, navels and all the functional bodily orifices.
The figurines, including cavalrymen, infantrymen, court maids, and servants, are 62 centimeters tall, nearly one third of the height of terracotta warriors. With different facial expressions, these pottery figures look relaxed but dignified.
The animal figurines include strong and tough cattle, shrewd dogs, glazed cocks and hens, pigs, and sheep all made in a vivid and lively style
The world's first entirely underground ancient ruins
The world's first museum perfectly combining modern science technology and ancient culture
China's first museum authentically displaying excavation and archaic relics
China's first museum enabling visitors to have close and multi-perspective appreciation
The life size terracotta warriors and horses were arranged in battle formations, symbolically guarding the Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang . Maybe the first emperor of Qin Dynasty was eager to achieve his ambition after death. Between 1974 and 1976, three massive vaults were discovered. The three vaults were determined by archaeologists to be pits for burial objects accompanying the tomb of Qin Shi Huang. Vault number one, the largest, contains 6,000 life-size terra-cotta figures of armed warriors and horses. It is 351 yards long from east to west, 68 yards wide from north to south, and 5.47 yards deep, covering an area of 15,601 square yards. In October 1979, an on-site museum was built above it. Since then, two additional structures have been built to cover vaults two and three ranging from 5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet in height, the vivid life-size warrior figures are clad in armor or short gowns belted at the waist, with leggings and tightly-lashed boots. Their weapons consist of bows and arrows, swords and spears. 
The City Wall was built first in the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and renovated in recent years. When Zhu Yuanzhang, the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, captured Huizhou, a hermit named Zhu Sheng advised him that he should built high walls to store abundant food supplies and postpone time to be an emperor, so that he could fortify the city and unify the other states. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang followed his advice and began to enlarge the wall built initially during the old Tang Dynasty (618 -907A.D), creating the modern Xian City Wall. The wall now stands 12 meters tall, 12-14 meters wide at the top and 15-18 meters thick at the bottom. It covers 13.7 kilometers in length. Every 120 meters, there is a rampart which stretches out from the main wall. All together, there are 98 ramparts on the wall, which were built to defend against the enemy climbing up the wall. 
