The peak tourist season in August is not over yet. According to Xi'an's tour guide, Xi'an has become an Internet celebrity city in the tourism industry. There are a lot of tourists this summer. Even if they go on a business trip, they have to take time to visit the ancient city, just like me.

The ancient capital of the thirteen dynasties, a profound history

Xi'an is one of the first batch of national historical and cultural cities announced by the State Council. 13 dynasties including Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui and Tang established their capitals here. It is one of the four major ancient capitals in the world. It was once the capital and political, economic and cultural center of China for more than 1100 years. To understand the history of Xi'an, we must first go to the Shaanxi History Museum. From the unearthed historical relics, we can roughly interpret Xi'an's historical changes.

In 1046 BC, the Zhou tribe, a clan tribe that rose in the northwest region, defeated the Shang Dynasty under the leadership of King Wu of Zhou and established the Zhou Dynasty in Haojing (present-day Xi'an). The achievements of bronze art in the late Shang Dynasty were inherited by the Western Zhou Dynasty. Bronze ware was regarded as a symbol of political power and divine power in the Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties.

In ancient times, human martyrdom sprouted with the disintegration of the original public ownership. When slavery was established, a cruel and barbaric funeral system prevailed. After the Qin Dynasty unified China, the Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses were a typical example of using terracotta warriors to replace people and were also the peak of using terracotta warriors to replace people.

Zhang Qian of the Han Dynasty began his mission to the Western Regions from Xi'an. The original mission was to implement the strategic intention of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to unite with the Dayue family to fight against the Xiongnu. However, after the mission to the Western Regions, cultural exchanges between the Han and Yi were frequent, and the civilization of the Central Plains quickly spread to the surrounding areas through the "Silk Road", which is praised by the world. It has special historical significance to this day.

The so-called "Qin Brick and Han Tile" illustrates the glory of architectural decoration during the Qin and Han Dynasties. In the Han Dynasty, the tiles were decorated with the best animals and the four gods of Qinglong, White Tiger, Rosefinch and Xuanwu with perfect shapes, forming a complete architectural structure system with "Qin Brick and Han Tile" and wood structures. This kind of arch not only plays a supporting mechanical role, has decorative artistic effect, but also reflects the strong national style of traditional housing architecture, which lasted for thousands of years.

Low-carbon and environmental protection is one of the most popular concepts nowadays. However, most modern people may not know that as early as the Western Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago, environmental protection concepts have penetrated into people's daily lives. The Western Han Dynasty painted goose fish copper lamp collected in the Shaanxi History Museum is a masterpiece that fully embodies the concept of environmental protection. The swan goose stands, looking back to hold the fish. The goose's neck and the lamp body are connected by a mother-child mouth, and the fish body is connected with the goose's neck and abdominal cavity in a hollow manner. The round light panel is attached to a handle that can rotate freely, and the lower circle of feet fits into the straight mouth of the goose back. Two arc-shaped screens are inserted between the fish belly and the light panel, which are opened and closed alternately, which can not only block the wind, but also adjust the brightness of the light. When the light is lit, smoke is introduced into the goose belly through the fish belly and goose neck, which can prevent oil smoke from polluting the air.

The Tang Dynasty was the heyday of our country's feudal society. The unearthed Tang Sancai also reflected the politics, culture, and life of the Tang Dynasty at that time. Like other cultures such as poetry, painting, and architecture in the Tang Dynasty, it jointly formed the melody of Tang Dynasty culture. From disputes among various countries to the prosperous times of the Tang Dynasty, from plain color to splendid culture, the Tang Sancai is an epoch-making milestone in the history of ceramics and is known as a national treasure.

Renovated through the past dynasties, it is still fresh

Shaanxi History Museum is located in Yanta District, and there is Metro Line 2 that takes you to Yongning Gate in the ancient city. In order to protect the ancient gate and facilitate tourists 'sightseeing, two additional gates have been opened on both sides of the ancient gate. After passing through the underground passage, you can reach the city gate directly. Yongning Gate is the south gate of the ancient city. It was built on the basis of the Tang City Wall in the Ming Dynasty. It is also known as the Xi'an Ming City Wall. It is the largest and most completely preserved ancient city wall in China.

It is said that Chang 'an in the Sui and Tang Dynasties was the only international metropolis in the world with a population of more than one million at that time. The capital city delineated by the city walls was seven times larger than Rome at that time. There is a barbaric city outside the city gate, which is obviously more obvious for its military use.

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the existing cross-section of the city wall was close to a triangular shape; during the late Tang and Five Dynasties, the old city wall was thickened by 1.5 meters to more than 2.5 meters, and the top was also raised by nearly one meter; during the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the supplementary layer was located in the center of the section of the Ming city wall. The soil color was dark brown, the texture was dense, and a small number of bricks and tiles were sandwiched; during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, all the walls of the previously built city wall were built inside; in the early 1980s, reinforcement was carried out.

Nowadays, when you reach the top of the city wall, you can see a flat and open area, with an arrow tower at a certain distance apart. Data show that the current wall is 12 meters high, 12-14 meters wide at the top, and 15-18 meters wide at the bottom. The outline is a closed rectangle. There are bicycles for rent on the city wall, so you can ride your bike around the city wall, passing Changle Gate (East Gate), Anding Gate (West Gate), and Anyuan Gate (North Gate).

The north gate can be clearly seen on the city wall of the south gate of the ancient city. The streets in the city are busy with traffic and there are many high-rise buildings on both sides. It is now the main commercial district of Xi'an.

From the south gate, you can see Xi'an's landmark Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda was built by Xuanzang of the Tang Dynasty to preserve the Buddhist scroll Buddha statues brought back to Chang 'an from Tianzhu via the Silk Road. It is located in the Dacien Temple in Jinchangfang, Chang' an City, Tang Dynasty. As the earliest and largest existing brick pagoda in the Tang Dynasty, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a typical physical evidence of the Buddhist pagoda, an architectural form of ancient Indian Buddhist temples, which was introduced into the Central Plains with Buddhism and integrated into Chinese culture.

There are also many ancient buildings in the ancient city that are well preserved. Some are used as restaurants and some are converted into inns. Cities, like people, must have their own distinctive personalities, which are largely reflected through urban buildings. Xi'an's complete preservation of the Ming City Wall is the personality symbol of this city.

The landmark in the center of the ancient city is the Bell Tower, which was built in the 17th year of Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty. Now it serves as a large roundabout building at the intersection. Visitors can enter the Bell Tower from the tunnel entrances in four directions. The Bell Tower is a loft-style building with double eaves, three drops of water, and four corners and spires. It echoes the axis of east, west, north, south and north. In the past, a large clock was hung upstairs to warn the police and tell the time.

The building is divided into two floors. Each floor has bright columns and corridors, colorful beams and carved door leaves at the four corners. In particular, each floor is decorated with classical and beautiful patterns such as arch arches, caisson wells, woodcuts, and painted paintings. It is a magnificent building with strong Chinese national characteristics. It is also the largest and most completely preserved bell tower that can be seen in my country. The four corners of the eaves fly up like birds spreading their wings. The animal kisses composed of various classical Chinese animal and animal patterns are set off against the glazed tile roof, giving people a simple form, elegant art, gorgeous colors, and well-organized beauty. At the beginning of the lanterns, the treasure roof above shines brightly, exuding its unique charm of brilliance.

The Drum Tower, located at the north gate of West Street in the city, and only 500 meters away from the Bell Tower, is like a pair of twin brothers. It is said to be the largest Drum Tower in China. There is a giant drum upstairs, and drums are beat at night to tell the time."Three drums" are the "third watch", and the "five drums" are the "fifth watch". They are reported five times a night. In ancient times, the bell was struck to announce morning and the drum was struck to announce evening, so it was called the "morning bell and evening drum".

Behind the Drum Tower is the Hui Street, which tourists like to join in the fun. During the Qing Dynasty, this was a government office area. In the late 1990s, some Hui people rented houses and operated restaurants on this street, gradually forming Hui Street. The most lively thing is at night, when the whole street is shrouded in a strong atmosphere of the market. On both sides of the road, there are various pavements with gas lights and signs. Pastries, dried fruits, candied fruits, and snacks. When there are many people, even the entrance of the store will be filled with tables and chairs. Fireworks such as kebabs and beef tripe filled the entire street under the not-very-bright lights. The bustling crowd was shopping and eating while eating, continuing the infinite vitality of the ancient city in the long river of time.