The City Wall— It’s just a 10-minute drive away

During the Ming Dynasty, after unifying the country, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang ordered city walls to be built on a grand scale to strengthen defense. He believed that “out of all the mountains and rivers in the world, the central Qin region is the most strongly fortified and strategically impregnable.”

Xi’an’s city wall, an extension of the original Tang Dynasty structure, was rebuilt and expanded during this campaign. The Ming Dynasty city wall stands 12 meters high, with a width of 12–14 meters at the top and 15–18 meters at the base, stretching 13.7 kilometers in length. This formidable structure formed a complex and well-organized defense system, making it the most well-preserved ancient city wall in China today.