"Xi'an" is the atonal pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of its name 西安, which means "Western Peace" in Chinese. (The apostrophe – known in Chinese as a 隔音符號, géyīn fúhào – should be included to

Xi'an lies on the Guanzhong Plain in the south-central part of Shaanxi province, on a flood plain created by the eight surrounding rivers and

Xi'an has many areas that are easily accessible on foot. In many commercial, residential, educational zones in the city, especially in the shopping and entertainment districts

As part of the China Western Development policy, Xi’an became a major target for accelerated attention. From 1997 to 2006, the industrial output value of Xi’an's service industry increased at an annual average rate of 13 percent, compared to traditional service

Prehistory
The Lantian Man was discovered in 1963 in Lantian County, 50 km (31 mi) southeast of Xi'an, and dates back to

As of 2010 Xi'an has a population of 5.4 million. Compared to the census data from 2007, the population has increased by 1.4 million persons. The

Resident artists
Xi'an is home to contemporary Chinese stars such as Xu Wei, Zhang Chu and Zheng Jun.