China Guide
The Yellow River
The city walls
Opening time: Daily: summer 7am–9.30pm; rest of year 8am–6pm
Address: Access via any of the four main gates
Price: Walls ¥40; electric shuttle ¥5-50; bike rental ¥20
Imposing enough to act as a physical barrier between the city centre and the suburbs, Xi'an's city walls were originally built of rammed earth in 1370 on the foundation of the walls of the Tang-dynasty imperial city, though they took their modern form in 1568, when they were faced with brick. Now restored, the walls are the most distinctive feature of the modern city, forming a twelve-metre-high rectangle whose perimeter is nearly 14km in length. Some 18m wide at the base, they're capped with crenellations, a watchtower at each corner and a fortress-like gate in the centre of each side. Originally, the city would have been further defended with a moat and drawbridges, but today the area around the walls is a thin strip of parkland, created after a major restoration in 1983.
You can ascend the wall from the four main gates: Yongning to the south, Anyuan to the north, Changlemen to the east and western Andingmen. An electric shuttle runs around, with stops at fifteen stations, but more fun are the rentable bikes – if prepared with food and drinks, you can spend the better part of a day exploring Xi'an from the wall.