Xianyang

Not to be confused with Xiangyang, Xingyang, or Xinyang.

Xianyang 咸阳市 Prefecture-level city Location of Xianyang Prefecture within Shaanxi Country People's Republic of China Province Shaanxi Area  • Prefecture-level city 10,213 km2 (3,943 sq mi)  • Urban 523 km2 (202 sq mi) Population (2010)  • Prefecture-level city 5,096,001  • Density 500/km2 (1,300/sq mi)  • Urban 945,420  • Urban density 1,800/km2 (4,700/sq mi)  • Metro Xian Time zone China Standard (UTC+8) Website xianyang.gov.cn Xianyang "Xianyang", as written in Chinese calligraphy Simplified Chinese 咸阳 Traditional Chinese 咸陽 Postal Sienyang Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xiányáng Wade–Giles Hsien2-yang2 IPA [ɕjɛ̌n.jɑ̌ŋ]

Xianyang (simplified Chinese: 咸阳; traditional Chinese: 咸陽; pinyin: Xiányáng; IPA: [ɕjɛ̌n.jɑ̌ŋ]) was the capital of China in the Qin dynasty. It is a prefecture in modern-day Shaanxi province, on the Wei River, and is located a few kilometers upstream (west) from Xi'an. Integrated into the Xi'an metropolitan area, one of the main urban agglomerations in inland China, with more than 7.17 million inhabitants, its built-up area made of 2 urban districts (Qindu and Weicheng) was 945,420 inhabitants at the 2010 census. It has a total area of 10,213 square kilometres (3,943 sq mi).

History

Xianyang was among the capital city's environs during the Western Zhou dynasty, and was made the capital of the state of Qin in 350 BC during the Warring States period before becoming the capital of China during the short-lived Qin dynasty. Because the city lay south of the Jiuzong Mountains and north of the Wei River - both sunlight-rich (yang) orientations - it was named "Xianyang", meaning "fully yang". Under Duke Xiao of Qin, minister Shang Yang designed Xianyang in 350 BC, which was then the capital for over 140 years. It was located in the modern day Shaanxi province on the northern bank of the Wei River, on the opposite side of which Liu Bang would later build the Han dynasty capital of Chang'an once he became emperor.

In 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang eliminated all six other vassal states to establish the first centralized empire in Chinese history. Xianyang became the centre of politics, economy and culture of the Qin empire. The Emperor had a lavish mausoleum built near the capital, complete with his Terracotta Army. This and other large undertakings required enormous levies of manpower and resources, not to mention repressive measures, which eventually led to the fall of the Qin dynasty and with it the original city of Xianyang.

Qin Shi Huang expanded Xianyang beyond the walls. Then he built replicas of the palaces of all the conquered states along the Wei River. In 220 BC, he built Xin Palace (新城, Xīnchéng) and later renamed it Apex temple (渭城) to be the earthly equivalent of the apex star (Polaris). He continued with the theme of earth as the mirror of heaven building a network of 300 palaces in the Wei valley connected by elevated roads. In 212, he built the Hilltop Palace (阿房宮, Ēfánggōng).

Shortly after the First Emperor's death in 210 BC revolts erupted. At the beginning of December 207 BC, then King of Qin Ziying surrendered to rebel leader Liu Bang. Liu Bang went on to capture Xianyang, but was forced to hand it over to another rebel leader, Xiang Yu, whose army greatly outnumbered Liu Bang's. Xiang Yu then killed Ziying and burned Xianyang in 206 BC, thereby forever robbing humanity of some unique copies of the many "forbidden books" kept in the royal library.

In 202 BC, after defeating Xiang Yu, Liu Bang built a new city near the old Xianyang and named this new capital Chang'an. The Han-era town of Anling (安陵) was located nearby and houses some of the Han dynasty's mausoleums.

From the end of the 1950s until the middle of the 1990s, archaeologists discovered and excavated a large numbers of Qin era sites in Xianyang, including palaces, workshops and tombs.

Administrative divisions

Map
#	Name	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2004 est.)	Area (km²)	Density (/km²)
1	Weicheng District	渭城区	Wèichéng Qū	400,000	272	1,471
2	Yangling District	杨陵区	Yánglíng Qū	140,000	94	1,489
3	Qindu District	秦都区	Qíndū Qū	450,000	251	1,793
4	Xingping City	兴平市	Xīngpíng Shì	560,000	496	1,129
5	Sanyuan County	三原县	Sānyuán Xiàn	400,000	569	703
6	Jingyang County	泾阳县	Jīngyáng Xiàn	500,000	792	631
7	Qian County	乾县	Qián Xiàn	560,000	994	563
8	Liquan County	礼泉县	Lǐquán Xiàn	460,000	1,017	452
9	Yongshou County	永寿县	Yǒngshòu Xiàn	190,000	869	219
10	Bin County	彬县	Bīn Xiàn	330,000	1,202	275
11	Changwu County	长武县	Chángwǔ Xiàn	170,000	583	292
12	Xunyi County	旬邑县	Xúnyì Xiàn	270,000	1,697	159
13	Chunhua County	淳化县	Chúnhuà Xiàn	200,000	965	207
14	Wugong County	武功县	Wǔgōng Xiàn	410,000	392	1,046

Chinese Bureau of Statistics lists the urban population of the city at 316,641 (1990 Census), rising to 814,625 (2000 Census), and 835,648 in 2010 Census. Despite being a former national capital, the city suffers from extreme air pollution.

Transport

• China National Highway 312
• Xi'an Xianyang International Airport
• Xi'an Metro Line 1

External links

• Xianyang Network
• Xianyang Forum
• Official website of Xianyang Government

Preceded by Luoyang

Capital of China 221 BC-206 BC

Succeeded by Chang'an