As a thousand-year-old city, Xi'an is a thousand-year-old city, and the first landmark building that everyone who comes to Xi'an sees is the city wall. From the beginning of the Sui Dynasty to the end of the Ming Dynasty, the construction of the city wall spanned nearly a thousand years. For thousands of years, the city wall has undergone various changes, and today, the Ming City Wall of Xi'an still stands here, guarding the ancient city day and night.

Most of the existing ancient city walls in Xi'an were built in the Ming Dynasty and have a history of more than 600 years. The ancient city wall of Xi'an is in the downtown area, in the form of a closed rectangle, with a total circumference of 11.9 kilometers, a wall height of 12 meters, a base width of 18 meters, and a top width of 15 meters. There are four main city gates in the east, west, north and south, which are named East Changle Gate, Xi'an Dingmen, South Yongning Gate and North Anyuan Gate. Yongning Gate is south, and there are north and south streets leading directly to the city center in the gate; The "Anyuan" of Anyuan Gate in the North Gate was originally one of the Huairou pacification policies adopted by the Han court in the Central Plains to the remote ethnic minorities, hoping that the marginal ethnic minorities would be grateful and obedient to the imperial court; Andingmen is the west, and the word "Anding" implies that the western frontier is Antai Kangding; Changle Gate is located in the east, because Nanjing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty, is located in the east of Xi'an, and the word "Changle" carries the meaning of praying for the long-term joy of the Ming Dynasty and the immortality of ten thousand years.

The best way to get to the Xi'an Ming City Wall is to cycle around the city wall. The distance between the gates is long, the time and physical strength required for walking tours is large, and there are few shops on the city wall, only a few souvenir shops and bubble tea shops, and no other entertainment activities, making the walking tour a little monotonous. There is a bicycle rental point on the city walls, and visitors to the city gates during the day can choose to ride bicycles. Although cycling is more time-consuming than sightseeing cars, you can stop anytime and anywhere, and you won't miss the scenery along the way; It is more convenient than walking, saving time and increasing the fun of the tour. There are multiple rental points on the city walls, and you can choose to return and leave at different rental points, so you can choose to be more flexible.

In addition to cycling around the city walls, taking a sightseeing bus is also a good option. The four city gates all provide sightseeing car surround service, and take a sightseeing electric car around the city, the whole journey only takes 50 minutes, shortening the viewing time. The sightseeing bus runs at a constant speed and slowly to ensure that visitors do not miss too much of the scenery. The fly in the ointment is that the sightseeing bus tour can not get off the bus at any time to watch, and it is not as convenient as bicycle travel.

At night, the Ming city wall has a unique charm, the visibility of the horizontal wall on the city wall is reduced, and the scenery outside the wall becomes the protagonist. The streets are lit up with neon lights and the whole city is shrouded in orange lights. At night, there are not many tourists, and there are few pedestrians on the city wall, which is very quiet, suitable for walking and chatting. The city wall at night is not suitable for viewing in circles, the lights on the city wall are dim, part of the ground is low-lying, and it is more dangerous to ride in the dark, so it is not suitable for cycling. It is recommended that tourists who come at night choose a main city wall tour in advance, and at the same time stroll leisurely, they can also enjoy the night view of Xi'an, which is a romantic way to visit the city wall.

The same is the Ming city wall, and the ancient city wall of Xi'an is often compared with the ancient city wall of Nanjing. Xi'an is inferior to the ancient city wall of Nanjing in terms of height and length, construction scale and regulatory level. Despite this, the ancient city wall is still one of the iconic ancient buildings in Xi'an, and it has a high status in the hearts of Xi'an citizens.

Duration: 1 hour ~ 4 hours

Indicative fare:

City wall ticket: 54 yuan/person

Bicycle rental: 45 yuan/person

Opening Hours:

Yongning Gate (South Gate) 8:00~22:00 (April to October), 8:00~19:00 (November to March);

Hanguang Gate: 8:00~18:00 (all year round)

Other gates: 8:00~19:00 (May to October), 8:00~18:00 (November to April)

Tips: 1. Rent a bicycle for sightseeing, 2. Carry a power bank, 3. Wear flat shoes to walk better