China's other great wall is impressive, too—and steeped in history

National Geographic

06-03-2025

It's the weekend of the mid-autumn festival in Xi'an, and all roads seem to lead to the south gate of the city's wall. In China's central province of Shaanxi, Xi'an is primarily known for the museum that houses the army of terra-cotta warriors commissioned by China's first ruler to protect him in his afterlife. But the wall, on this Saturday evening, is where all the action on this Saturday evening, the wall is where all the action is.
Families are taking an evening stroll, complete with laughing, screaming children. There are vendors and buskers, tourists on bicycles, food stalls, and souvenir shops. Couples wearing regal red robes are wilting under the strobe lights for bridal photoshoots. Meanwhile, other photographers are capturing dozens of young women dressed up in flowy hanfu – traditional costumes from the Tang era that are suddenly in vogue among China's youth.
Dozens of ornate watchtowers, turrets, parapets, and pavilions are scattered along the length of the wall. As dusk falls and the red lanterns and lights come on, the whole scene assumes a fairytale vibe.
China's city walls
When people mention 'wall' in the context of China, it is generally assumed to refer to the mammoth structure known as the Great Wall of China. But there are dozens, if not hundreds, of city walls throughout the country, in Beijing, Nanjing, Fenghuang, Pingyao, and Xi'an, among others. 'The word for city in China, cheng / 城 means walled city,' says Kenneth Swope, professor of history at the University of Southern Mississippi and expert on imperial Chinese military history.
Yinong Cheng, professor at the School of History and Archival Studies at Yunnan University, adds that city walls tended to perform three main functions: defense, flood protection, and show of imperial might.
Several of these city walls, dating back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, are now on UNESCO's tentative list of heritage sites. The Xi'an wall—originally built during the Tang era (618 – 907 C.E.) and later expanded by the Ming dynasty from 1370 onwards—is considered the most complete and well-preserved. The wall runs for 8.5 miles (13.7 km) and measures 40 feet (12 meters) in height and 49 feet (15 meters) in width. Four main gates face each cardinal direction, and there are 14 minor gates in between, and a moat surrounds it.
Swope also says that the more powerful the rulers, the higher and more impressive the walls. This certainly makes sense for Xi'an (formerly Chang'an), an important city through early imperial times, serving as capital for the Han, Sui, and Tang dynasties. Xi'an is also the starting point of the network of trading routes known as the Silk Road. It was a planned city, built as a perfect grid with the wall enclosing it in a complete, rectangular loop. Even today, for some, it is possible to walk the entire length of the wall without a break.
History of the Xi'an wall
'It was always a significant post not only for commercial transactions but also diplomatic transactions. There is no doubt that Chang'an was already walled in early imperial times, say, by the third-second century B.C.E.,' says Hilde De Weerdt, a professor of Chinese and Modern Global History at KU Leuven in Belgium. 'So, when we say this is a 14th century wall, it is the earliest moment that we know of any (significant) renovation.'
The reason for the wall's grandeur stems from Chang'an's strategic importance combined with the Ming dynasty's need to project their stately authority through such structures. 'I can't actually think of a foreign invasion that would have warranted this (wall), because it's not even near any major border,' says Dr Lars Laamann, Assistant Professor of History at SOAS University of London. According to Swope, the Ming era was the pinnacle of 'imperial architecture,' which gave us landmarks like the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. Coming right after the nomadic Mongols, the Ming rulers saw these walls as a way to rebuild Chinese pride.
The wall at present
The original purpose of these walls may have been to contain the cities or the populace within the perimeter. But over time, the towns grew beyond these boundaries, turning these walls into midtown anachronisms. From the top of the Xi'an wall, the sights and sounds of modern life are inescapable—skyscrapers and neon lights, honking cars and scurrying pedestrians. After the terra-cotta army, the wall is now one of Xi'an's most popular tourist attractions. It has welcomed hundreds of famous visitors, including Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, and Mark Zuckerberg, who went for a rain-soaked run on the wall's walkway.
The Xi'an wall faced the threat of demolition during the 1950s as part of the country's Great Leap Forward narrative. Cheng says that even though widespread demolition started even earlier, towards the end of the Qing era (circa 1912), the wall stayed mostly intact, thanks to Xi'an's status as an ancient historic capital. The real challenge came later.
'The story of conservation takes us from the Ming era to Mao Zedong,' says Dr Laamann, referring to the renowned architectural historian couple Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng. 'It was a power struggle within the Communist Party, when one faction wanted to get rid of old medieval structures in the country, because they thought in the modern world, there was no place for such remnants of the past.' Lin and Liang fought to preserve the city walls everywhere—they lost in Beijing but won in Xi'an.
De Weerdt points out that the struggle between conservation and modernization is universal, citing the example of medieval walls in France and Italy torn down in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 'A lot of what we see in the Xi'an wall today is rebuilt with modern materials and modern ways of thinking,' she explains. However, this version of the wall integrates the cultural angle with the social: locals and tourists alike get to appreciate the city's heritage while also using it as an urban public space.
Getting around
Xi'an is connected to all major cities in China, so travelers can get there by plane and high-speed train. You can also fly directly into Xi'an's Xianyang International Airport from a few cities in Asia, such as Hong Kong, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, and Beijing. When you arrive in Xi'an, you can navigate the city easily on foot or by metro.
Charukesi Ramadurai writes on travel, culture, environment, and sustainability for various publications around the world. Follow her travels on Instagram
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