Xi'an, the capital city of Shanxi Province, is located in the central area of northwest China. It sits on an ancient site and there are layers of cities of different names beneath and around the city. The land is fertile, renewed yearly by the silt from the Yellow River. Since the age of the nomads, people have settled in this rich land to take advantage of the relatively flat landscape, plentiful water, and ease of travel.

As one of the ancient capitals of China, it served 12 imperial dynasties for over a thousand years.

Today, the rich historical and cultural heritage of Xi'an is visible through a wealth of cultural relics, museums, and historical sites including the world-famous terracotta warriors of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. The flat plane on the city's outskirts is strewn with the tomb mounds of emperors, empresses, aristocrats, ranking officials and scholars from ancient times. The remains of past civilizations are evidence of every major epoch in China's half a million year history. The history apparent in Xi'an is so ancient and continuous that the city has no parallel anywhere as a cultural site.