the Ancient City Wall
The Ancient City Wall, located in the centre of Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, China, is one of the largest and best-preserved ancient city walls in China and one of the largest ancient city walls in the world. Built in the 17th year of Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty (1374), the wall is about 13.7 kilometres long, about 12 metres high, 12-14 metres wide at the top and 15-18 metres wide at the base, and consists of city gates, corner towers, enemy towers, and horse-retaining walls, which make up a complete military defence system.
It adopts rammed earth masonry structure, its exterior is built with masonry and the interior is filled with earth and rammed, which makes the structure sturdy and durable. The wall is surrounded by a moat, forming an important part of the ancient city's defence system. The architectural style of the wall is simple and generous, with city towers and corner towers at certain intervals for observing the enemy and stationing soldiers, reflecting the typical features of Ming Dynasty city defence architecture.
In modern times, the Wall has become a landmark and an important tourist attraction in the city. Visitors can stroll along the wall walkway and enjoy the magnificent view of the ancient city defences, especially at dusk when the night view of downtown Xi'an from the wall is particularly fascinating. A number of viewing platforms and visitor service facilities have been set up on the wall to facilitate tourists' sightseeing and understanding of the history and cultural value of the wall.
In addition, it has unique cultural and historical significance. As one of the ancient capitals with a long history in China, Xi'an has been the capital of 13 dynasties, and the city wall has witnessed the prosperity and changes in ancient Chinese history. On the city wall, you can see historical buildings such as the spiral fire stairs from the Renaissance period and the Ming Dynasty's gun towers, which are precious records of the military technology and ideas of city defence at that time.
