Once known as Chang'an, Xi'an is the political, economic, cultural and transportation center of Shaanxi Province. Located in the middle of the central plains of the Yellow River Basin, Xi'an stands between Qin Mountain and the Wei River. As a world-famous ancient capital, Xi'an has been designated as the capital of 13 ancient Chinese dynasties including the Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Xinmang, Eastern Han, Western Jin, Pre-Zhao, Pre-Qin, Post-Qin, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui and Tang dynasties. As the starting point of the Silk Road, it is an important birthplace of the Chinese nationality as well as one of the places of human origin and prehistoric cultural centers in Asia. Its long history and rich cultural heritage has covered the old city with a mysterious veil.
In Xi'an, there are altogether 314 key cultural relics sites under protection, of which 84 belong to the national or provincial level. Unearthed cultural relics reach 120,000, many of which are inscribed on the World Heritage List, including the Stele Forest, the two Wild Goose Pagodas, the remains of Daming Palace and Weiyang Palace, and Xingjiao Temple. Located in Xi'an are also a number of universities and research institutions, including Xi'an Jiaotong University, Northwest University and Northwest Polytechnical University.