Xian was called Changan in ancient times.  As one of Chinas seven ancient national capitals, it served as the capital for 12 dynasties spanning more than 1,000 years. Xian therefore, has a great number of precious relics and historical sites. More than 4,000 historical sites and tombs have been excavated and over 120,000 historical relics remain unearthed. The main tourist attractions include The Terra cotta Warriors and Horses, Great Wild Goose Pagoda, Small Wild Goose Pagoda, Huaqing Pool, BanPo Site, Stele Forest, Mosque, QianLing Mausoleum, Famen Temple and Maoling Mausoleum. Xian was the starting point of the Old Silk Road that extended from Asia to Europe and played an important role in cultural inter flow between the East and West in ancient times.
Today Xian is one of Chinas major tourist attractons. The big drawcard is the Army of Terracotta Warriors,but there are countless other sights scattered in and around the city.There is also an Islamic element to Xian,found in tucked-away mosques  and busy marketplaces,that lends the city a touch of the exotic rarely found in Chinese cities farther east.