Terracotta Warriors
After the establishment of the Ming dynasty in the 14th century, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang began to enlarge the wall built initially during the Tang dynasty (618 -907), creating the modern Xian City Wall. It is China' best preserved ancient city wall and one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world.
The wall was originally built with layers of dirt, with the base layer consisting of lime and glutinous rice extract. The wall was restored three times, starting from the 16th century until the 20th century. The wall has four gates and stands 12 meters (40 feet) tall, 12-14 meters (40-46 feet) wide at the top and 15-18 meters (50-60 feet) thick at the bottom. It covers 13.7 kilometers (8.5 miles) in length with a deep moat surrounding it. It has a rampart at every 120 metre, a total of 98 ramparts. Each rampart is equipped with a sentry building.
The south gate, named Yongning, is the most beautifully decorated one. It is located next to the Bell Tower, center of the city. Important ceremonies organized by the Provincial Government are usually held in the south gate square.
