Xi'an City Wall

Xi'an kept its Ming wall when most Chinese cities lost theirs, and the circuit still defines the centre: about fourteen kilometres of packed earth faced in grey brick, twelve metres high and wide enough on top to drive along. Most people hire a bicycle at the South Gate and ride the full loop in an hour and a half, past corner towers, arrow towers and the ramps that once brought horses up. Below on one side lies the moat and a strip of park, on the other the old grid of lanes and, further out, tower blocks. The Bell and Drum towers and the food lanes of the Muslim Quarter sit inside the walls.

History

The first Ming emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, was advised by the sage Zhu Sheng to build high walls, and in 1370 he began the wall of Xi'an over an earlier Tang palace wall, taking in the old Sui and Tang embankments on the west and south; it took eight years. First of tamped earth, it was faced with blue brick in 1568 under the Longqing Emperor and enlarged with drainage and crenels in 1781 under Qianlong, taking the form seen today; it was named one of China's first major national historic sites in March 1961, renovated in 1983, joined into a single circuit in May 2005, and placed on UNESCO's tentative list in 2008 (Wikipedia, Fortifications of Xi'an).

Highlights

• The South Gate complex - the main gatehouse, arrow tower and barbican, and the busiest access point.
• The bicycle loop - the full circuit on top of the rampart, roughly fourteen kilometres round.
• The corner towers - the squat defensive platforms at each angle of the rectangle.
• The moat park - water and gardens running along the outside of the wall.

When to go

Spring and autumn. The top of the wall is unshaded and Xi'an summers are hot and often hazy. Late afternoon into dusk is the best ride, when the lanterns along the parapet come on and the light softens. Bicycles must be returned to the gate you rented them from, so check the closing time before setting off.

Good to know

The brick surface is uneven and jarring on a hired bike, and the cheap tandems are worse. Rental is timed and going over runs up a charge against your deposit. The view outward is mostly ring road and modern blocks rather than old city, and on holidays the wall fills with slow-moving groups. Rain makes the surface slick.

Nearby

The Bell and Drum towers, the Muslim Quarter food lanes and the Big Wild Goose Pagoda are all inside or near the ring.

Key facts