Located in the fertile Wei River valley, Xian was once the largest city in the world during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), the capital of eleven dynasties, a major trading hub along the Silk Route, and a center of Chinese Civilization. Though its glory days are long over, it is still a cultural and intellectual capital, boasting some eleven universities, a thriving artist’s community, and a burgeoning film industry. The city is noted for its symmetrical grid design, considered by scholars as a model of ancient city planning.

Now the capital of Shaanxi Province, Xi’an can look back almost with detachment on its regal past. During the first Zhou Dynasty (which ended in 770 B.C.) several places in the Xi’an district served as capitals. In the 3rd Century B.C., the Qin settled just NW of Xi’an, in Xianyang. When the Han took over in 206 B.C., a grandiose new capital called Chang’an (everlasting Peace) rose just north of Xi’an. Imperial splendor returned under the Sui (A.D. 381-618) when a capital called Daxing (Great Prosperity) was established on the site of Xi’an. The Tang emperors who followed greatly enlarged and beautified the city, again named Chang’an. The golden age of Chang’an/Xi’an ended more than a thousand years ago when the Tangs succumbed to rebellion and anarchy.

After disembarking from the train from Beijing in the early morning of September 23, we drove to our hotel, Xi’an Garden Hotel (another 5 star beauty) where we registered and had breakfast.

Our first venture was to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which was located only several blocks from our hotel. It was built in the seventh century to house precious Buddhist scriptures brought back from India by Xi’an’s most celebrated pilgrim, an intrepid scholar named Xuanzang. Having survived years of sandstorms and blizzards, demons and dragons, Xuanzang was feted on his return to the capital in A.D. 645. He spent the next 20 years or so translating his stack of holy scriptures from Sanskrit to Chinese. The towering Wild Goose Pagoda contains statues of Buddhist figures in Chinese history and notable Tang Dynasty artworks. One can climb to the top for panoramic views of the bustling city and verdant countryside. Incidentally, no one knows how it got its name.