INNER CITY

Xian’ s gray city walls(cheng qiang) are imposing and built to keep out bandits and barbarians. The massive walls measure 39 feet (12 m) high and 52.5 feet (16 m) wide at the base, tapering to between 39 feet and 46 feet (12 to 14 m); they are 8.5 miles (13.74km) in circumference. Towers at each corner of the walls have defensive towers jutting out along the length of the walls. The surviving walls, built on Tang dynasty foundations, date to the Ming dynasty and were built during the 14th century. Parts of the wall have been destroyed and the wall is incomplete but many sections remain or have been rebuilt. You can get up on the walls at any gate at the compass points. The scenery at the south gate is the best.

South of the city walls is the brick Big Wild Goose Pagoda(dayan ta) in the Temple of Great Maternal Grace (ci’en si complex. The temple was built in AD 648 by Tang emperor Gaozong as an act of filial piety to honor his mother. The temple was destroyed after the fall of the Tang dynasty and the present buildings, mainly from the Qing dynasty, have been recently renovated.

qingquang

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