Xi'an (西安) Shaanxi Province: Ancient meets Modern

Andrew · April 2nd, 2007, 02:17 AM

I spent about a week in Xi'an when I travelled around China for two months in the summer of 2006. It's a really interesting city where the ancient and the modern sit together side by side; a city where you get a real sense of not only of the power and riches that made China great hundreds of years ago, but also the economic development that is transforming China so rapidly today. They've struck a good balance between new development on one hand and preservation of the historic environment on the other.

The first set of pics are meant to provide a bit of an overview, to give the general feel of Xi'an.

The Grandeur of Imperial China ...
image hosted on flickr

... and the skyline of a modern metropolis.
image hosted on flickr

Old and new side by side
image hosted on flickr

Wide, modern, busy avenues ...
image hosted on flickr

... and small traditional streets.
image hosted on flickr

One of the most important cities of the ancient world, Xi'an has 3,100 years of history and was the seat of power for thirteen Chinese dynasties ...
image hosted on flickr

Welcome to the ancient capital of China!

Skybean · April 2nd, 2007, 04:14 AM

Great start. I visited Xian last year (hmmm... seems like I went a bit later than you

). I was quite surprised. The city seems to be very clean and people seem to be at ease. This city is totally overlooked on this forum. The historic importance of Xian is right up there with the most important in the world.

I look forward to your set so I can see which parts of the city I missed out on.

Andrew · April 2nd, 2007, 03:44 PM

I agree, it is a bit of an overlooked city on these forums. I enjoyed my trip there. The city itself is very nice, it's an incredibly ordered city (the result of Tang Dynasty town planning no doubt). The grid pattern of streets eminating out from the walled city centre really gives the place a sense of grandeur. A similar feel to Beijing (but on a much smaller scale). I think they've been more successful getting a balance between preservation of historic architecture and new development than a lot of other Chinese cities. I felt that some of the other cities I went to didn't preserve enough of their historic buildings, especially the 'normal' buildings - old houses, shops etc. rather than the grand pagodas, palaces and temples. Xi'an on the other hand has some very nice old areas, especially in the old city within the city walls.

Andrew · April 3rd, 2007, 12:28 AM

Ok, here's the next set of pics.
The heart of the city around the Bell and Drum towers:

Drum tower:
image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

View from the Drum Tower over the historic Muslim area:
image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

More views from the Drum Tower:
image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

Drum Tower to the Bell Tower (I know you've already seen this pic but I'm posting it again!):
image hosted on flickr

Bell Tower:
image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

The ancient framing the modern:
image hosted on flickr

A modern bustling city stretches out in all directions from from the Bell Tower:
image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

oliver999 · April 3rd, 2007, 02:23 AM

fantanstic pics of xian city, must see it myself .

Andrew · April 13th, 2007, 03:51 AM

OK I think it's about time for more pics...
For this set, lets leave the histoic walled city and go in search of geese!

There's one... right in front of you!
image hosted on flickr

What do you mean you can't see it?!?

...

OK, OK, OK! When I said geese, I actually meant goose... and when I say goose, I don't mean a bird... I mean the Big Goose Pagoda!

Sorry... really rubbish joke.

Anyway ... erm ... I'll just shut up now and post the pics! The following are taken from the top of the Big Goose Pagoda. I'll post more ground level ones later.

The street in the pic above
image hosted on flickr

Xi'an actually has quite an impressive, and very dense skyline. What you see here is all the 'new' city, outside the historic walled city. Within the city walls, new developments are srictly medium or low rise only, so this is the area where all the skyscrapers get built.

image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

As you can see, the air was quite smoggy when I was there. Makes for some atmospheric pics though!

image hosted on flickr

TV tower
image hosted on flickr

Massive construction work about to start here
image hosted on flickr

Around the lake, the 'Tang Dynasty' theme park
image hosted on flickr

Old rooftops...
image hosted on flickr

New rooftops...
image hosted on flickr

Even newer rooftops!

image hosted on flickr

The pagoda itself forms the centrepiece of a larger temple complex, here are some pics of it from the pagoda
image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

More rooftops! (sorry if you don't have the same fascination with Chinese rooves as I do)

image hosted on flickr

One last one before I call it quits
image hosted on flickr

Pics of this area at ground level will come soon!

Skybean · April 13th, 2007, 05:50 AM

Wow. I didn't make it to the top of the pagoda. Very interesting view up there. The theme park is really quite nice too. Not sure if you had a look around there.

It's well lit up at night.

Andrew · April 13th, 2007, 02:26 PM

I did, and the pics of that will come soon.

The Cebuano Exultor · April 13th, 2007, 06:33 PM

Wow! Xi'an's is such a surprisingly facinating place.

Btw, how far is Xi'an from Zhengzhou and Beijing?

Andrew · April 13th, 2007, 07:19 PM

Not sure about Zhengzhou but it's only about a one and a half hour flight from Beijing, or an overnight train journey (I flew).

vipermkk · April 13th, 2007, 09:04 PM

in the heart of China

Jiangwho · April 14th, 2007, 02:29 AM

very detailed photos. especially the pics of roof. thanks.

Andrew · May 10th, 2007, 06:23 PM

Here are some more shots from in and around the Big Goose Pagoda (Xi'an's oldest skyscraper maybe?):
image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

Basketball in an ancient Buddhist temple?!?

image hosted on flickr

OK, that's all from inside the temple complex. Here are some from the surrounding area:
image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

At night, the centrepiece public square certainly comes alive!
image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

Hope you enjoyed, still loads more to come!

Andrew · May 29th, 2007, 10:13 PM

I think we'll leave the area by the pagoda for now (don't worry, I'll do the Tang Dynasty theme park later), lets go back into the old city centre within the walls. I've forgotten the name of this area of town but it's a wonderful old part of the city where you can buy all sorts of arts and crafts items. Certainly one of my favourite parts of the city:

image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

GIANT calligraphy brushes!
image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

Restoration...
image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

Still a lot more to come from this part of town (I took loads of photos here).

duskdawn · May 29th, 2007, 10:33 PM

That's real China.

hzkiller · May 30th, 2007, 01:21 AM

i lived in xi'an for 3 years~~~haha

Johnor · March 19th, 2008, 12:06 AM

I am wating for more photographs from Old Xian...

***Taller, Better*** · March 19th, 2008, 07:21 AM

These appear to be all your pictures so I will move this thread to the Urban Showcase section for original photography.

April 2nd, 2007, 02:17 AM	#1
Andrew Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Cardiff/Newcastle Posts: 3,487 Likes (Received): 7	Xi'an (西安) Shaanxi Province: Ancient meets Modern I spent about a week in Xi'an when I travelled around China for two months in the summer of 2006. It's a really interesting city where the ancient and the modern sit together side by side; a city where you get a real sense of not only of the power and riches that made China great hundreds of years ago, but also the economic development that is transforming China so rapidly today. They've struck a good balance between new development on one hand and preservation of the historic environment on the other. The first set of pics are meant to provide a bit of an overview, to give the general feel of Xi'an. The Grandeur of Imperial China ... image hosted on flickr ... and the skyline of a modern metropolis. image hosted on flickr Old and new side by side image hosted on flickr Wide, modern, busy avenues ... image hosted on flickr ... and small traditional streets. image hosted on flickr One of the most important cities of the ancient world, Xi'an has 3,100 years of history and was the seat of power for thirteen Chinese dynasties ... image hosted on flickr Welcome to the ancient capital of China! __________________ My Photo Threads: Newport ~ 'Downtown' Cardiff ~ Cardiff Queen Street ~ Cardiff Demolition ~ Cardiff Waterfronts <> Dali (大理) China ~ Fenghuang (凤凰) China ~ Xi'an (西安) China

April 2nd, 2007, 04:14 AM	#2
Skybean 天豆 Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Toronto Posts: 9,946 Likes (Received): 5	Great start. I visited Xian last year (hmmm... seems like I went a bit later than you ). I was quite surprised. The city seems to be very clean and people seem to be at ease. This city is totally overlooked on this forum. The historic importance of Xian is right up there with the most important in the world. I look forward to your set so I can see which parts of the city I missed out on. __________________ 「My Photos」 ● Hong Kong 1\|2\|3 ● Macau 1 ● London 1 ● New York City 1 「Photo Threads」 ● Flying Over Hong Kong 「City Life Series」 ● Hong Kong ● Shanghai ● Seoul ● Tokyo

April 2nd, 2007, 03:44 PM	#3
Andrew Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Cardiff/Newcastle Posts: 3,487 Likes (Received): 7	I agree, it is a bit of an overlooked city on these forums. I enjoyed my trip there. The city itself is very nice, it's an incredibly ordered city (the result of Tang Dynasty town planning no doubt). The grid pattern of streets eminating out from the walled city centre really gives the place a sense of grandeur. A similar feel to Beijing (but on a much smaller scale). I think they've been more successful getting a balance between preservation of historic architecture and new development than a lot of other Chinese cities. I felt that some of the other cities I went to didn't preserve enough of their historic buildings, especially the 'normal' buildings - old houses, shops etc. rather than the grand pagodas, palaces and temples. Xi'an on the other hand has some very nice old areas, especially in the old city within the city walls. __________________ My Photo Threads: Newport ~ 'Downtown' Cardiff ~ Cardiff Queen Street ~ Cardiff Demolition ~ Cardiff Waterfronts <> Dali (大理) China ~ Fenghuang (凤凰) China ~ Xi'an (西安) China

April 3rd, 2007, 12:28 AM	#4
Andrew Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Cardiff/Newcastle Posts: 3,487 Likes (Received): 7	Ok, here's the next set of pics. The heart of the city around the Bell and Drum towers: Drum tower: image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr View from the Drum Tower over the historic Muslim area: image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr More views from the Drum Tower: image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr Drum Tower to the Bell Tower (I know you've already seen this pic but I'm posting it again!): image hosted on flickr Bell Tower: image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr The ancient framing the modern: image hosted on flickr A modern bustling city stretches out in all directions from from the Bell Tower: image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr __________________ My Photo Threads: Newport ~ 'Downtown' Cardiff ~ Cardiff Queen Street ~ Cardiff Demolition ~ Cardiff Waterfronts <> Dali (大理) China ~ Fenghuang (凤凰) China ~ Xi'an (西安) China

April 3rd, 2007, 02:23 AM	#5
oliver999 starwar Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 5,869 Likes (Received): 26	fantanstic pics of xian city, must see it myself . __________________ 乏味人生

April 13th, 2007, 03:51 AM	#6
Andrew Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Cardiff/Newcastle Posts: 3,487 Likes (Received): 7	OK I think it's about time for more pics... For this set, lets leave the histoic walled city and go in search of geese! There's one... right in front of you! image hosted on flickr What do you mean you can't see it?!? ... OK, OK, OK! When I said geese, I actually meant goose... and when I say goose, I don't mean a bird... I mean the Big Goose Pagoda! Sorry... really rubbish joke. Anyway ... erm ... I'll just shut up now and post the pics! The following are taken from the top of the Big Goose Pagoda. I'll post more ground level ones later. The street in the pic above image hosted on flickr Xi'an actually has quite an impressive, and very dense skyline. What you see here is all the 'new' city, outside the historic walled city. Within the city walls, new developments are srictly medium or low rise only, so this is the area where all the skyscrapers get built. image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr As you can see, the air was quite smoggy when I was there. Makes for some atmospheric pics though! image hosted on flickr TV tower image hosted on flickr Massive construction work about to start here image hosted on flickr Around the lake, the 'Tang Dynasty' theme park image hosted on flickr Old rooftops... image hosted on flickr New rooftops... image hosted on flickr Even newer rooftops! image hosted on flickr The pagoda itself forms the centrepiece of a larger temple complex, here are some pics of it from the pagoda image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr More rooftops! (sorry if you don't have the same fascination with Chinese rooves as I do) image hosted on flickr One last one before I call it quits image hosted on flickr Pics of this area at ground level will come soon! __________________ My Photo Threads: Newport ~ 'Downtown' Cardiff ~ Cardiff Queen Street ~ Cardiff Demolition ~ Cardiff Waterfronts <> Dali (大理) China ~ Fenghuang (凤凰) China ~ Xi'an (西安) China

April 13th, 2007, 05:50 AM	#7
Skybean 天豆 Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Toronto Posts: 9,946 Likes (Received): 5	Wow. I didn't make it to the top of the pagoda. Very interesting view up there. The theme park is really quite nice too. Not sure if you had a look around there. It's well lit up at night. __________________ 「My Photos」 ● Hong Kong 1\|2\|3 ● Macau 1 ● London 1 ● New York City 1 「Photo Threads」 ● Flying Over Hong Kong 「City Life Series」 ● Hong Kong ● Shanghai ● Seoul ● Tokyo

April 13th, 2007, 02:26 PM	#8
Andrew Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Cardiff/Newcastle Posts: 3,487 Likes (Received): 7	I did, and the pics of that will come soon. __________________ My Photo Threads: Newport ~ 'Downtown' Cardiff ~ Cardiff Queen Street ~ Cardiff Demolition ~ Cardiff Waterfronts <> Dali (大理) China ~ Fenghuang (凤凰) China ~ Xi'an (西安) China

April 13th, 2007, 06:33 PM	#9
The Cebuano Exultor Urban Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Metro Cebu and Dumaguete Posts: 1,221 Likes (Received): 4	Wow! Wow! Xi'an's is such a surprisingly facinating place. Btw, how far is Xi'an from Zhengzhou and Beijing? __________________ Jejemons Suck

April 13th, 2007, 07:19 PM	#10
Andrew Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Cardiff/Newcastle Posts: 3,487 Likes (Received): 7	Not sure about Zhengzhou but it's only about a one and a half hour flight from Beijing, or an overnight train journey (I flew). __________________ My Photo Threads: Newport ~ 'Downtown' Cardiff ~ Cardiff Queen Street ~ Cardiff Demolition ~ Cardiff Waterfronts <> Dali (大理) China ~ Fenghuang (凤凰) China ~ Xi'an (西安) China

April 13th, 2007, 09:04 PM	#11
vipermkk Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 399 Likes (Received): 0	in the heart of China

April 14th, 2007, 02:29 AM	#12
Jiangwho Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 802 Likes (Received): 3	very detailed photos. especially the pics of roof. thanks. __________________ XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Last edited by Jiangwho; April 14th, 2007 at 02:37 AM.

May 10th, 2007, 06:23 PM	#13
Andrew Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Cardiff/Newcastle Posts: 3,487 Likes (Received): 7	Here are some more shots from in and around the Big Goose Pagoda (Xi'an's oldest skyscraper maybe?): image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr Basketball in an ancient Buddhist temple?!? image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr OK, that's all from inside the temple complex. Here are some from the surrounding area: image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr At night, the centrepiece public square certainly comes alive! image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr Hope you enjoyed, still loads more to come! __________________ My Photo Threads: Newport ~ 'Downtown' Cardiff ~ Cardiff Queen Street ~ Cardiff Demolition ~ Cardiff Waterfronts <> Dali (大理) China ~ Fenghuang (凤凰) China ~ Xi'an (西安) China

May 29th, 2007, 10:13 PM	#14
Andrew Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Cardiff/Newcastle Posts: 3,487 Likes (Received): 7	I think we'll leave the area by the pagoda for now (don't worry, I'll do the Tang Dynasty theme park later), lets go back into the old city centre within the walls. I've forgotten the name of this area of town but it's a wonderful old part of the city where you can buy all sorts of arts and crafts items. Certainly one of my favourite parts of the city: image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr GIANT calligraphy brushes! image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr Restoration... image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr image hosted on flickr Still a lot more to come from this part of town (I took loads of photos here). __________________ My Photo Threads: Newport ~ 'Downtown' Cardiff ~ Cardiff Queen Street ~ Cardiff Demolition ~ Cardiff Waterfronts <> Dali (大理) China ~ Fenghuang (凤凰) China ~ Xi'an (西安) China

May 29th, 2007, 10:33 PM	#15
duskdawn My Heart is with Beijing. Join Date: May 2006 Location: Beijing - Cleveland Posts: 1,824 Likes (Received): 1	That's real China. __________________ 孟子有曰，故天將降大任于是人也，必先苦其心志，勞其筋骨，餓其體膚，空乏其身，行拂亂其所為，所以動心忍性，曾益其所不能。 -♡=Chinese Modernity=-♡-=Chinese Girls II=-♡-=Chinese Gilrs I Archive=♡- I'm Back in China.

May 30th, 2007, 01:21 AM	#16
hzkiller Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 3,432 Likes (Received): 0	i lived in xi'an for 3 years~~~haha __________________ http://www.skyscrapercity.com/announ...hp?f=729&a=307

March 19th, 2008, 12:06 AM	#17
Johnor Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 312 Likes (Received): 0	I am wating for more photographs from Old Xian...

March 19th, 2008, 07:21 AM	#18
*Taller, Better* Administrator Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Toronto Posts: 52,813 Likes (Received): 302	These appear to be all your pictures so I will move this thread to the Urban Showcase section for original photography. __________________ Please visit my photoblog! Montréal \| Mexico \| Niagara-on-the-Lake \| Brazil \| Hamilton aka "The Hammer"! "Fine words butter no parsnips"-17th Century proverb.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode