The Ming-era city wall is one of the landmarks of Xi'an. It is from here, from the city wall, you can get an extraordinary view of the city, you can see the Drum Tower and the Bell Tower. The spirit is taken away by the impressive panorama.
A similar wall existed in Beijing, but it was destroyed during the construction of the underground. Therefore, the city wall in Xi'an is the only one of all Chinese city walls that has survived to this day.
The wall was originally built, like all city walls, to protect the city from attacks. The wall is 12 metres high, about 15 metres wide at the base, and almost 12 kilometres long. The wall was originally built using earth, which was tamped down tightly as it was laid. The structure was then encased in brick.
On each side of the wall, gates were created to enter the city: Anyuan on the north side, Yongni on the south side, Anding on the west side, and Changle on the east side of the city. All the gates were equipped with a lift bridge, a deep moat and a stone sack. Watchtowers were made at the corners of the wall, each containing a small garrison of military men. The towers served as observation posts.
Special passages for horses were also created in the wall. The steps in them were made in such a way that a horse could walk safely on them. There were 11 such passages in total.
Today, the wall remains in existence simply as a local landmark. During the restoration in 1983, a park was created here for pleasant walks and the towers on the gates were restored. In addition, a Marathon is held within the city wall, where participants must complete three full laps along the wall.
At night, Xi'an's City Wall looks even more beautiful and mysterious due to coloured lights.
