The Ancient City Wall is located in the downtown area of Xi'an City. The Ancient City Wall, built in the 14th century Ming Dynasty, under the regime of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, is the landmark of Xi'an. It stretches around the old city and divides the city into the inner part and the outer part. The city wall is massive that it stands 12 meters high,15-18 meters thick at the bottom, and 13.7 kilometers in length.
The Ancient City Wall of Xi'an is a firm and integrated military defense system that was composed of a city moat, various observation towers, a drawbridge, turrets, battlements, parapets, and crenels. As the only way to the town, the gates of the city wall were important strategic points. After a series of alterations and finalization, the current layout of the gates mainly involves the Changle Gate (East Gate), the Yongning Gate (South Gate), the Anding Gate (West Gate), and the Anyuan Gate (North Gate), being the four main city gates.
North Gate
The North Gate, also known as Anyuan Gate, was completed in the Ming Dynasty. Unfortunately, the gate tower of this gate was burnt down in the Revolution of 1911. The Gate we see presently was constructed in 1983.
South Gate
Built on 582 AD in Shui Dynasty, the South Gate is the most ancient gate, the South Gate. Its name changed as the regime changed. South Gate is one of the three southern gates, which is closed to the east. It was originally named after Anshang Gate and designated to be the main south gate at the end of the Tang Dynasty, and finally got its current name, "Yongning Gate," in the Ming Dynasty. Its original condition is well preserved compared to any other old city gate.
West Gate
The West Gate, also called Anding Gate, was once the central gate on the west side of the City wall in the Tang Dynasty. Later, it was moved southward when the city wall was expanded in the Ming Dynasty and was renamed Anding Gate.
East Gate
The East Gate refers to the Changle Gate, which was built at the same age and encountered the same adversity as the North Gate in the middle of the 17th century. Afterwards, it was rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The East Gate was once used to organize the training units and corps by General Zhang Xueliang before the occurrence of the Xi'an Incident in 1936. Today, it was repaired to be a memorial site of the Xi'an Incident.
Except for the four gates, there are also some well-known gates, including the Zhuque Gate and Zhongshan Gate. The Zhuque Gate is located at the foot of the most prosperous Zhuque Street, where emperors of the Sui and Tang used to hold important national ceremonies. Its site had disappeared for a long time until the repair work of the Xi'an Ancient City Wall was undertaken in 1985. This royal gate can remind you of the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. The Zhongshan Gate was opened up at the beginning of 1927 to commemorate the founder of China, Sun Yat-sen.
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