These thousands of life-size clay soldiers, either on foot or on horseback, their faces imbued with great solemnity, watch over the imperial necropolis of the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huangdi, who ordered their production. The project took 700..

The district occupied by the city’s Chinese Muslims, who converted to Islam in the 7C, comprises a maze of heavily populated narrow streets lined by houses built from unfired bricks, where visitors have to negotiate a path past colourful shops, artis..

The original Great Mosque, erected in 742, was superseded by the current building, which only dates from 1374. At first glance, the Chinese architecture makes the mosque difficult to distinguish from a Buddhist temple, despite the fact that it is one..

A temple dating from the 7C and comprising a series of pavilions and gardens is home to the Museum of the Stele Forest. The influence of Confucius (551-479 BC) is still highly evident in this site which was once devoted to him and which now houses 2 ..

Xi’an is one of the last Chinese cities to have completely preserved its ramparts. 14km in length, they are punctuated by four main gateways recognisable by their monumental towers, and ten secondary gates, five of which are located along the south..

A Taoist place of worship since the 10C, the date of its construction under the Song dynasty, the Temple of the Eight Immortals was extended in the 12C and 13C, and again under the Ming in the 17C. Elegant calligraphies cover the walls of the first p..

This pagoda, built in the 7C, honours the Buddhist monk Xuan Zang, who, at the end of a long journey via the Silk Road brought the first sacred scripts from India to China. The pagoda housed the 1 335 volumes of translated texts that he drafted himse..

This comprehensive and highly informative museum showcases the history of the Shaanxi province from prehistoric times to the 19C, with the visit ending with an insight into the Qing dynasty. The most remarkable exhibits on display come from two sites..

Xi’an is a sufficiently polluted and dusty city that a stroll in a park comes as welcome respite, so if you want to escape the noise and traffic, head for the Xingqing Park. Laid out in 1958 and covering 53ha, it is home to a large lake , an aviary..