Xian is located in Shaanxi province, it is the provincial capital and it is the chief base of industry. It has a rich history of cultural significance, both natural and man-made. The Lantian Man was discovered in 1963 at Lantian County, just 50 km southeast of Xian. This finding dates back at least 500,000 years ago, and was followed by the discovery of a 5,000 year old Neolithic village at Banpo in 1954, just outside the current city limits to the east.
In late Qing Dynasty, foreign troops attacked Beijing. The empress dowager Cixi escaped from Beijing to Xi'an, living in Huaqing Palace at Lishan. In 1936, just before the final outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, but during a period when Japan occupied much of Northeastern China, the famous "Xian Incident" took place inside the city walls. General Yang Hucheng and General Zhang Xueliang arrested Chiang Kai-shek in order to force him to cooperate with the forces led by his enemy Mao Zedong in fighting the Japanese. The result was a temporary truce between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China and a shaky coordination in the fighting against the Japanese.
From the 11th century BC onwards, Xian or its vicinity was established as the capital city by 11 feudal dynasties successively, including the Western Zhou, the Qin, the Han, the Sui and the Tang. It served as an ancient capital beyond compare with regard to the number of dynasties and span of time. The well-known places of interest are Banpo Museum , The Big Wild Goose Pagoda, The City Wall and so on. Li Mountain scenic spot is the most famous one. The Museum of the first Qin emperor and his terra-cotta warriors and horses are called the 8th marvelous spectacle in the world.
