Editing Xi'an (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Xi'an|Chang'an}}

===Prehistory===
The [[Lantian Man]] was discovered in 1963 in [[Lantian County]], {{convert|50|km|abbr=on}} southeast of Xi'an, and dates back to at least 500,000 years before the present time. A 6,500-year-old [[Neolithic]] village, [[Banpo]], was discovered in 1953 on the eastern outskirts of the city proper, which contains the remains of several well organized [[Neolithic]] settlements [[radiocarbon dating|carbon dated]] to 5,600–6,700 [[Before Present|years ago]].<ref>{{Cite book |doi=10.1007/978-90-481-8716-4_8 |chapter=Climate Change and Desertification with Special Reference to the Cases in China |title=Changing Climates, Earth Systems and Society |year=2010 |last1=Yang |first1=Xiaoping |isbn=978-90-481-8715-7 |pages=177–187}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z4_bT2SJ-HUC |chapter=East Asian plant domestication |pages=77–95 |title=Archaeology of Asia |isbn=9781405153034 |last1=Stark |first1=Miriam T |date=2008-04-15 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |access-date=November 15, 2015 |archive-date=August 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813013959/https://books.google.com/books?id=z4_bT2SJ-HUC |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.homepages.ucl.ac.uk/~tcrndfu/articles/china%20overview%20pre.pdf |title=A Critical Assessment of Early Agriculture in East Asia, with emphasis on Lower Yangzte Rice Domestication |last1=Fuller |first1=Dorian Q |last2=Qin |first2=Ling |last3=Harvey |first3=Emma |journal=Pragdhara |year=2008 |pages=17–52 |access-date=May 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924031215/http://www.homepages.ucl.ac.uk/~tcrndfu/articles/china%20overview%20pre.pdf |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |pmid=21592462 |year=2011 |last1=Meng |first1=Y |last2=Zhang |first2=HQ |last3=Pan |first3=F |last4=He |first4=ZD |last5=Shao |first5=JL |last6=Ding |first6=Y |title=Prevalence of dental caries and tooth wear in a Neolithic population (6700-5600 years BP) from northern China |volume=56 |issue=11 |pages=1424–35 |doi=10.1016/j.archoralbio.2011.04.003 |journal=Archives of Oral Biology}}</ref> The site is now home to the [[Xi'an Banpo Museum]], built in 1957 to preserve the archaeological collection.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chinamuseums.com/ban_po.htm |title=Banpo Museum in Xi'an |publisher=chinamuseums.com |access-date=2013-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131145303/http://www.chinamuseums.com/ban_po.htm |archive-date=January 31, 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Ancient era===
[[File:Western Zhou dynasty Carriages pit2 Xi'an.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Remains of carriages and horses in [[Fenghao]] during the [[Western Zhou]] (11th–8th cent.{{nbsp}}BC)]]

Xi'an became a cultural and political center of China in the 11th century BC with the founding of the [[Zhou dynasty]]. The capital of Zhou was established in the twin settlements of Fengjing ({{lang|zh-hant|灃京}}) and [[Haojing]] ({{lang|zh-hant|鎬京}}), together known as [[Fenghao]], located southwest of contemporary Xi'an. The settlement was also known as Zōngzhōu (宗周) to indicate its role as the capital of the [[Ancient Chinese states|vassal states]].<ref>Third scroll of the ''Chang'an Annals'' (长安志) interpreted by [[Huangfu Mi]] in his ''Age of the Kings (book)'' (帝王世紀)</ref> In 738 BC, [[King Ping of Zhou]] moved the capital to [[Luoyang]] due to [[King Xie of Zhou|political unrest]].<ref>2011年上海中西书局出版《[[Tsinghua Bamboo Slips|清华大学藏战国竹简]]》（贰）：周幽王取妻于西申，生平王，王或（又）取褒人之女，是褒姒，生伯盘。褒姒嬖于王，王与伯盘逐平王，平王走西申。幽王起师，回（围）平王于西申，申人弗畀，曾人乃降西戎，以攻幽王，幽王及伯盘乃灭，周乃亡。邦君、诸正乃立幽王之弟余臣于虢，是携惠王。立廿又一年，晋文侯仇乃杀惠王于虢。周亡王九年，邦君诸侯焉始不朝于周，晋文侯乃逆平王于少鄂，立之于京师。三年，乃东徙，止于成周，晋人焉始启于京师，郑武公亦正东方之诸侯。</ref><ref>《[[Zuo Zhuan|左传]]·僖公二十二年》:初，平王之东迁也，辛有适伊川，见被发而祭于野者，曰:"不及百年，此其戎乎！其礼先亡矣。"秋，秦、晋迁陆浑之戎于伊川。</ref>

===Imperial era===
{{Multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| width             = 200
| image1            = History of Xi'an.jpg
| caption1          = A map of the [[Chinese city walls|city walls]] of settlements in Xi'an from the [[Zhou dynasty|Zhou]] to [[Qing dynasty|Qing]] [[list of Chinese dynasties|dynasties]]
| image2            = Xian guerreros terracota general.JPG
| caption2          = [[Terracotta Army]] inside the [[Qin Shi Huang]] Mausoleum, third century BC
| image3            = Map of Chang'an in Tang Dynasty.svg
| caption3          = Map of [[Chang'an]] under the [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] (7th–10th{{nbsp}}cent.)
}}

Following the [[Warring States period]], China was unified under the [[Qin dynasty]] (221–206 BC) for the first time, with the capital located at [[Xianyang]], just northwest of modern Xi'an.<ref name="diming">{{cite book |script-title=zh:中国古今地名大词典 |year=2005 |location=Shanghai |publisher=[[Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House]] |page=2134 |language=zh-hans}}</ref> The first emperor of China, [[Qin Shi Huang]] ordered the construction of the [[Terracotta Army]] and [[Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor|his mausoleum]] just to the east of Xi'an almost immediately after his ascension to the throne.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/emperor-qin/ |title=Emperor Qin's Terracotta Army |author=O. Louis Mazzatenta |magazine=National Geographic |date=2009-10-09|access-date=May 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140528231305/http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/emperor-qin/|archive-date=May 28, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 202 BC, the founding emperor [[Emperor Gaozu of Han|Liu Bang]] of the [[Han dynasty]] established his capital in Chang'an County; his first palace, Changle Palace ({{lang|zh-hant|長樂宮}}, "Perpetual Happiness") was built across the river from the ruin of the Qin capital. This is traditionally regarded as the founding date of Chang'an. Two years later, Liu Bang built [[Weiyang Palace]] ({{lang|zh-hant|未央宮}}, "Never Ending Palace") north of modern Xi'an. Weiyang Palace was the largest palace ever built on Earth, covering {{convert|4.8|km2|acres|abbr=off|sp=us}}, which is 6.7 times the size of the current [[Forbidden City]] and 11 times the size of the Vatican City.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://history.cultural-china.com/en/52History6236.html |title=Weiyang Palace: the Largest Palace Ever Built on Earth|access-date=November 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303213031/http://history.cultural-china.com/en/52History6236.html|archive-date=March 3, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The original Xi'an city wall was started in 194 BC and took 4 years to finish. Upon completion, the wall measured {{convert|25.7|km|2|abbr=on}} in length and {{convert|12|to(-)|16|m|2|abbr=on}} in thickness at the base, enclosing an area of {{convert|36|km²|2|abbr=on}}. In the year 190, amidst uprisings and rebellions just prior to the [[Three Kingdoms]] period, [[Dong Zhuo]], a powerful warlord from nearby Xiliang, moved the court from [[Luoyang]] to Chang'an in a bid to avoid a coalition of other powerful warlords against him.

In 582, shortly after the [[Sui dynasty]] was founded, the emperor of Sui ordered a new capital to be built southeast of the Han capital, called Daxing (大興, "Great prosperity"). It consisted of three sections: the Imperial City, the palace section, and the civilian section, with a total area of {{convert|84|km2|abbr=on}} within the city walls. At the time, it was the largest city in the world. The city was renamed Chang'an by the [[Tang dynasty]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.huaxia.com/gd/csdh/xa/2006/00459499.html |script-title=zh:西安历史 |language=zh-cn |access-date=2011-02-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110211123827/http://www.huaxia.com/gd/csdh/xa/2006/00459499.html|url-status=live|archive-date=2011-02-11}}</ref> In the mid-7th century, after returning from his pilgrimage to India, the [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] monk [[Xuanzang]] established a translation school for [[Sanskrit]] scriptures.

Construction of the [[Giant Wild Goose Pagoda]] began in 652. This [[pagoda]] was {{convert|64|m|2|abbr=on}} in height, and was built to store the translations of Buddhist sutras obtained from India by [[Xuanzang]]. In 707, construction of the [[Small Wild Goose Pagoda]] began. This pagoda measured {{convert|45|m|2|abbr=on}} tall at the time of completion, and was built to store the translations of Buddhist sutras by [[Yijing (monk)|Yijing]]. The massive [[1556 Shaanxi earthquake]] eventually damaged the tower and reduced its height to {{convert|43.4|m|2|abbr=on}}.<ref name="kiang 12">Kiang, 12.</ref>

The [[Nestorian Stele]] is a [[Tang dynasty|Tang Chinese]] [[stele]] erected in 781 that documents 150 years of early [[Christianity in China]].<ref name=hill-108>Hill, Henry, ed (1988). Light from the East: A Symposium on the Oriental Orthodox and Assyrian Churches. Toronto, Canada. pp. 108–109</ref> It is a 279&nbsp;cm tall [[limestone]] block with text in both [[Chinese language|Chinese]] and [[Syriac language|Syriac]] describing the existence of Christian communities in several cities in northern China. It reveals that the initial [[Nestorianism|Nestorian Christian]] church had met recognition by the Tang [[Emperor Taizong of Tang|Emperor Taizong]], due to efforts of the Christian missionary [[Alopen]] in 635.<ref name="lhc">{{cite book |first=Peter |last=Jenkins |year=2008 |title=The Lost History of Christianity: the Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia – and How It Died |location=New York |publisher=Harper Collins |isbn=978-0-06-147280-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/losthistoryofchr00jenk/page/65 65] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/losthistoryofchr00jenk/page/65}}
</ref>

Chang'an was devastated at the end of the Tang dynasty in 904. Residents were forced to move to the new capital city in [[Luoyang]], and a small area in the city continued to be occupied thereafter.

In the era of the [[Song dynasty]], Xi'an was an important [[cultural center]] of scholarship and innovation on matters such as [[science]],<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |year=2002 |title=Xi'an: Geography & History |url=https://festival.si.edu/2002/the-silk-road/xian-geography-and-history/smithsonian |access-date=2024-02-04 |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |language=en-US}}</ref> as well as [[historiography]], religion,<ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Jing |first1=Feng |last2=Denyer |first2=Susan |date=October 2019 |title=Safeguarding cultural heritage along the Silk Roads |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000372195 |magazine=World Heritage: The Silk Roads |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |page=10 |issn=1020-4202}}</ref> and [[philosophy]] in China. The [[Song dynasty#Northern Song, 960–1127|Northern Song]] era saw its people, [[political culture]], and strategic location be directly utilized by the Song dynasty proper<ref name=":4" /> and its continued relevance to [[Muslims|Muslim]] travelers into China and [[Chinese Muslim]] residents.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Wood |first=Michael |title=The Story of China: The Epic History of a World Power from the Middle Kingdom to Mao and the China Dream |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-250-20257-4 |edition=First U.S. |location=New York |page=190 |author-link=Michael Wood (historian)}}</ref>

During the [[Ming dynasty]], a new wall was constructed in 1370 which remains intact to this day. The wall measures {{convert|11.9|km|abbr=on}} in [[circumference]], {{convert|12|m|2|abbr=on}} in height, and {{convert|15|to(-)|18|m|2|abbr=on}} in thickness at the base; a moat was also built outside the walls. The new wall and moat would protect a much smaller city of {{convert|12|km2|abbr=on}}.

===Modern era===
[[File:西安 古城东门 - panoramio.jpg|thumb|East Gate of Xi'an]]
[[File:51514-Xian-Pano (27759087230).jpg|thumb|A panorama of modern Xi'an.]]
The Qing dynasty established a walled off Manchu banner quarter in northeast Xi'an, on the site of the former palace of the Ming Prince of Qin. A Han banner quarter was established in the southeast of the city.

Manchu bannermen from the Xi'an banner garrison were praised for maintaining Manchu culture by Kangxi in 1703.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_qtgoTIAiKUC&dq=The+customs+at+Xi%27an+are+very+good%2C&pg=PA280 |page=280 |title=The Manchu Way: The Eight Banners and Ethnic Identity in Late Imperial China |isbn=9780804746847 |last1=Elliott |first1=Mark C. |year=2001 |publisher=Stanford University Press |access-date=April 11, 2023 |archive-date=April 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412041500/https://books.google.com/books?id=_qtgoTIAiKUC&dq=The+customs+at+Xi%27an+are+very+good%2C&pg=PA280 |url-status=live }}</ref> Xi'an garrison Manchus were said to retain Manchu culture far better than all other Manchus at martial skills in the provincial garrisons and they were able to draw their bows properly and perform cavalry archery, unlike Beijing Manchus. The Qianlong emperor received a memorial staying Xi'an Manchu bannermen still had martial skills, although not up to those, in the past in a 1737 memorial from Cimbu.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_qtgoTIAiKUC&dq=Although+the+customs+are+not+the+same+as+in+bygone+days%2C+there+is+still+attention+to+skill+and+diligence&pg=PA281 |page=281 |title=The Manchu Way: The Eight Banners and Ethnic Identity in Late Imperial China |isbn=9780804746847 |last1=Elliott |first1=Mark C. |year=2001 |publisher=Stanford University Press |access-date=April 11, 2023 |archive-date=April 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412041501/https://books.google.com/books?id=_qtgoTIAiKUC&dq=Although+the+customs+are+not+the+same+as+in+bygone+days,+there+is+still+attention+to+skill+and+diligence&pg=PA281 |url-status=live }}</ref> By the 1780s, the military skills of Xi'an Manchu bannermen dropped enormously, and they had been regarded as the most militarily skilled provincial Manchu banner garrison.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_qtgoTIAiKUC&dq=the+last+bastion+of+Manchu+military+virtue&pg=PA282 |title=The Manchu Way: The Eight Banners and Ethnic Identity in Late Imperial China |isbn=9780804746847 |last1=Elliott |first1=Mark C. |year=2001 |publisher=Stanford University Press |access-date=April 11, 2023 |archive-date=April 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429161556/https://books.google.com/books?id=_qtgoTIAiKUC&dq=the+last+bastion+of+Manchu+military+virtue&pg=PA282 |url-status=live }}</ref> Manchu women from the Xi'an garrison often left the walled Manchu garrison and went to [[Huaqing Pool|hot springs]] outside the city, and gained bad reputations for their sexual lives. A Manchu from Beijing, Sumurji, was shocked and disgusted by this after being appointed Lieutenant general of the Manchu garrison of Xi'an and informed the Yongzheng emperor what they were doing.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_qtgoTIAiKUC&dq=Xi%27an%27s+%5B+banner%5D+women+who+go+to+the+hot+springs+are+very+numerous%2C+which+greatly+concerns+their+lives%2C+since+many+of+them+now+have+bad+reputations.+It+would+be+best+to+outlaw+this%2C+too.&pg=PA289 |page=289 |title=The Manchu Way: The Eight Banners and Ethnic Identity in Late Imperial China |isbn=9780804746847 |last1=Elliott |first1=Mark C. |year=2001 |publisher=Stanford University Press |access-date=April 11, 2023 |archive-date=April 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412041505/https://books.google.com/books?id=_qtgoTIAiKUC&dq=Xi%27an%27s+%5B+banner%5D+women+who+go+to+the+hot+springs+are+very+numerous%2C+which+greatly+concerns+their+lives%2C+since+many+of+them+now+have+bad+reputations.+It+would+be+best+to+outlaw+this%2C+too.&pg=PA289 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>YZMaZPZZ (Yongzheng chao Manwen zhupi zouzhe) 1 22 1, Sumurji, YZ7.R7.24.</ref> Han civilians and Manchu bannermen in Xi'an had bad relations, with the bannermen trying to steal at the markets. Manchu Lieutenant general Cimbru reported this to Yongzheng emperor in 1729, after he was assigned there. Governor Yue Rui of Shandong was then ordered by the Yongzheng to report any bannerman misbehaving and warned him not to cover it up in 1730, after Manchu bannermen were put in a quarter in Qingzhou.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_qtgoTIAiKUC&dq=Lieutenant+General+Cimbu+found+that+relations+between+bannermen+and+civilians+were+not+at+all+good.&pg=PA224 |page=224 |title=The Manchu Way: The Eight Banners and Ethnic Identity in Late Imperial China |isbn=9780804746847 |last1=Elliott |first1=Mark C. |year=2001 |publisher=Stanford University Press |access-date=April 11, 2023 |archive-date=April 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412041506/https://books.google.com/books?id=_qtgoTIAiKUC&dq=Lieutenant+General+Cimbu+found+that+relations+between+bannermen+and+civilians+were+not+at+all+good.&pg=PA224 |url-status=live }}</ref> Manchu bannermen from the garrisons in Xi'an and Jingzhou fought in Xinjiang in the 1770s and Manchus from Xi'an garrison fought in other campaigns against the Dzungars and Uyghurs throughout the 1690s and 18th century. In the 1720s Jingzhou, Hangzhou, and Nanjing Manchu banner garrisons fought in Tibet.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_qtgoTIAiKUC&dq=hundred+of+the+seven+thousand+mounted+banner+corps+under+his+com%C2%AD+mand+were+away+on&pg=PA177 |page=177 |title=The Manchu Way: The Eight Banners and Ethnic Identity in Late Imperial China |isbn=9780804746847 |last1=Elliott |first1=Mark C. |year=2001 |publisher=Stanford University Press |access-date=April 11, 2023 |archive-date=April 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429161625/https://books.google.com/books?id=_qtgoTIAiKUC&dq=hundred+of+the+seven+thousand+mounted+banner+corps+under+his+com%C2%AD+mand+were+away+on&pg=PA177 |url-status=live }}</ref>

For the over 200 years they lived next to each other, Han civilians and Manchu bannermen of both genders in Xi'an did not intermarry with each other at all. The Qing dynasty altered its law on intermarriage between Han civilians and Manchu bannermen several times in the dynasty. At the beginning of the Qing dynasty, the Qing allowed Han civilians to marry Manchu women. Then the Qing banned civilians from marrying women from the Eight banners later. In 1865, the Qing allowed Han civilian men to marry Manchu bannerwomen in all garrisons, except the capital garrison of Beijing. There was no formal law on marriage between people in the different banners, like the Manchu and Han banners, but it was informally regulated by social status and custom. In northeastern China, such as Heilongjiang and Liaoning, it was more common for Manchu women to marry Han men, since they were not subjected to the same laws and institutional oversight as Manchus and Han in Beijing and elsewhere.<ref>https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol38/34/38-34.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405203748/https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol38/34/38-34.pdf |date=April 5, 2023 }} Demographic Research Volume 38, Article 34, Pages 929-966 Published 9 March 2018 http://www.demographic-research.org/Volumes/Vol38/34/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416052619/https://www.demographic-research.org/Volumes/Vol38/34/ |date=April 16, 2023 }} DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2018.38.34 Research Article Interethnic marriage in Northeast China, 1866–1913 Bijia Chen Cameron Campbell Hao Dong p 937</ref>

In October 1911, during the [[Xinhai revolution]], revolutionaries stormed the Manchu fort in Xi'an. Most of the city's 20,000 Manchus were killed.<ref name="Ernest Frank Borst-Smith 1912">Ernest Frank Borst-Smith, ''Caught in the Chinese Revolution: a record of risks and rescue''. London: [[T. Fisher Unwin]], 1912.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Crossley |first1=Pamela Kyle |title=Orphan Warriors: Three Manchu Generations and the End of the Qing World |date=1991 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0691008779 |page=197 |edition=illustrated, reprint |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NUTE8V-WhwoC&pg=PA197 |access-date=May 10, 2019 |archive-date=August 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813014007/https://books.google.com/books?id=NUTE8V-WhwoC&pg=PA197 |url-status=live }}</ref> Hui (Muslims; then referred to as "Mohammedans") were divided in its support for the revolution. Those of Shaanxi supported the revolutionaries, while those of Gansu supported the Qing. The Hui of Xi'an (Shaanxi province) joined the Han Chinese revolutionaries in slaughtering the Manchus.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Backhouse |first1=Sir Edmund |last2=Otway |first2=John |last3=Bland |first3=Percy |title=Annals & Memoirs of the Court of Peking: (from the 16th to the 20th Century) |date=1914 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |page=[https://archive.org/details/annalsmemoirsoft002081mbp/page/n241 209] |edition=reprint |url=https://archive.org/details/annalsmemoirsoft002081mbp}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Atlantic, Volume 112 |date=1913 |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Company |page=779 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mj4wAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA779 |access-date=May 10, 2019 |archive-date=August 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813014054/https://books.google.com/books?id=Mj4wAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA779 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 112 |date=1913 |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Company |page=779 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SGACAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA779}}</ref> Some wealthy Manchus survived by being [[ransom]]ed. Wealthy Han Chinese enslaved Manchu girls<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rhoads |first1=Edward J. M. |title=Manchus and Han: Ethnic Relations and Political Power in Late Qing and Early Republican China, 1861–1928 |date=2000 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=0295980400 |page=192 |edition=illustrated, reprint |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QiM2pF5PDR8C&pg=PA192}}</ref> and poor Han Chinese troops seized young Manchu women as wives.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rhoads |first1=Edward J. M. |title=Manchus and Han: Ethnic Relations and Political Power in Late Qing and Early Republican China, 1861–1928 |date=2000 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=0295980400 |page=193 |edition=illustrated, reprint |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QiM2pF5PDR8C&pg=PA193}}</ref> Hui Muslims also seized young pretty Manchu girls and raised them as Muslims.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fitzgerald |first1=Charles Patrick |last2=Kotker |first2=Norman |editor1-last=Kotker |editor1-first=Norman |title=The Horizon history of China |date=1969 |publisher=American Heritage Pub. Co. |page=365 |isbn=9780828100052 |edition=illustrated |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vPRxAAAAMAAJ&q=manchu+girls}}</ref>

A British missionary who witnessed the massacre commented that "Old and young, men and women, children alike, were all butchered... Houses were plundered and then burnt; those who would fain have laid hidden till the storm was past, were forced to come out into the open. The revolutionaries, protected by a parapet of the wall, poured a heavy, unceasing, relentless fire into the doomed Tartar (Manchu) city, those who tried to escape thence into the Chinese city were cut down as they emerged from the gates."<ref name="Ernest Frank Borst-Smith 1912"/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OXQkDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Old+and+young,+men+and+women,+little+children,+were+alike+butchered.%22&pg=PA191 |title=Manchus and Han: Ethnic Relations and Political Power in Late Qing and Early Republican China, 1861–1928 |author=Edward J. M. Rhoads |page=191 |publisher=University of Washington |year=2000 |isbn=9780295980409 |access-date=June 21, 2023 |archive-date=June 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621222349/https://books.google.com/books?id=OXQkDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Old+and+young,+men+and+women,+little+children,+were+alike+butchered.%22&pg=PA191 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1936, the [[Xi'an Incident|Xi'an (then "Sian") Incident]] took place in the city during the [[Chinese Civil War]]. The incident helped to bring the [[Kuomintang]] (KMT) and [[Chinese Communist Party]] to form the [[Second United Front]] in order to concentrate on fighting against the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] in the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]].<ref>Guo Rugui, {{lang|zh-hans|《中国抗日战争正面战场作战记》 ,第二部分：从"九一八"事变到西安事变 绥远抗战的巨大影响和军事上的经验}}</ref>

On March 11, 1938, an aerial battle broke out for the first time over Xi'an as [[Imperial Japanese Army Air Service|Imperial Japanese Army Air Force]] aircraft attacked the city, and was engaged by [[Development of Chinese Nationalist air force (1937–1945)|Chinese Air Force]] [[Polikarpov I-15|I-15]] fighter planes, led by Lt. [[Cen Zeliu]] of the 5th Pursuit Group, 17th Squadron.<ref>{{cite web |last=蔡 |first=乔治 |title=第五大队副队长 岑泽鎏 |url=http://flyingtiger-cacw.com/gb_902.htm |access-date=2021-04-08 |website=flyingtiger-cacw.com |quote=1938年3月8日，在山西风陵渡炸敌。11日，参加西安空战。4月26日，在湖北孝感与僚机合力击落敌机一架。29日，在武汉击伤敌机一架。5月11日，在安徽蒙城炸毁敌军阵地。20日，在河南仪封炸敌阵地，座机中弹百余发，仍勉力飞回。 |archive-date=February 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209070913/http://flyingtiger-cacw.com/gb_902.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> While repeatedly attacked by air, Shaanxi was heavily fortified by units of the [[Eighth Route Army]]; Xi'an was never taken by the Japanese forces.<ref>{{cite web |last=Yang |first=HX |date=2016-10-13 |title=Why did not the Japanese army occupied Shaanxi? |url=http://www.bestchinanews.com/History/6613.html|access-date=2021-04-08 |website=www.bestchinanews.com |quote=While Xian became one of the main targets of the Japanese bombing campaign of the 8 years of war, with Japanese aircraft bombing of Shaanxi 560 times, injuring and killing thousands of people, the Japanese basically have not been able to take Xian, nor occupy any land in Shaanxi.|archive-date=May 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513154722/http://www.bestchinanews.com/History/6613.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On May 20, 1949, the Communist-controlled [[People's Liberation Army]] captured the city of Xi'an from the [[Kuomintang]] force.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.xa.gov.cn/zwgk/content/content_zwzy1402525_1.htm|script-title=zh:西安市历史沿革 |publisher=City of Xi'an |language=zh-hans|access-date=2011-02-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707042857/http://www.xa.gov.cn/zwgk/content/content_zwzy1402525_1.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-07-07}}</ref>

During the Mao era, Xi'an was further developed as part of the [[Third Front (China)|Third Front Construction]].<ref name=":9">{{Cite book |last1=Marquis |first1=Christopher |url= |title=Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise |last2=Qiao |first2=Kunyuan |date=2022 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |isbn=978-0-300-26883-6 |location=New Haven |doi=10.2307/j.ctv3006z6k |jstor=j.ctv3006z6k |oclc=1348572572 |author-link=Christopher Marquis |s2cid=253067190}}</ref>{{Rp|page=186}}

Xi'an made headlines for being one of the many cities where the [[2012 China anti-Japanese demonstrations]] occurred.<ref name=sinapatriot>{{cite news |script-title=zh:打砸抢烧不是爱国是害民 |work=[[Beijing Youth Daily]] |date=2012-09-16 |access-date=2012-09-16 |url=http://news.sina.com.cn/pl/2012-09-16/000025182748.shtml |language=zh-hans  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422190004/http://news.sina.com.cn/pl/2012-09-16/000025182748.shtml |archive-date=April 22, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://sg.news.yahoo.com/photos/demonstrators-hold-chinese-flags-banners-beside-overturned-car-photo-094258536.html |title=Xi'an Protesters Overturn Cars|access-date=2012-09-17}}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/15/anti-japan-protests_n_1886427.html |title=Anti-Japan Protests In China Swell, Turn Violent |date=2012-09-15|access-date=2012-09-17 |work=Huffington Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304050324/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/15/anti-japan-protests_n_1886427.html|archive-date=March 4, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2022, Xi'an witnessed the largest [[COVID-19]] community outbreak since the initial months of the pandemic hit China.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Taipei |first=Rhoda Kwan in |date=2021-12-27 |title=Covid cases rise in Xi'an as China battles biggest community outbreak since 2020 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/27/covid-cases-rise-in-xian-as-china-battles-biggest-community-outbreak-since-2020 |access-date=2022-01-06 |website=the Guardian |language=en |archive-date=January 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105090152/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/27/covid-cases-rise-in-xian-as-china-battles-biggest-community-outbreak-since-2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> From December 23, 2021, the city was put into strict lockdown after local authorities reported more than 250 cases,<ref>{{cite web |title=13 million people under lockdown in Xi'an, China |url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211224_16 |work=NHK |access-date=December 27, 2021 |archive-date=December 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225160055/https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211224_16/ |url-status=live }}</ref> traced to the [[Delta variant]] by authorities.<ref name= "cnbc_20211222">{{Cite news |title=Major Chinese city locks down to control Covid outbreak |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/23/major-chinese-city-locks-down-to-control-covid-outbreak.html |first=Evelyn |last=Cheng |work=CNBC |date=22 December 2021 |access-date=3 January 2021 |archive-date=January 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220104022529/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/23/major-chinese-city-locks-down-to-control-covid-outbreak.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This led to stressed healthcare and delayed or insufficient food deliveries to some part of the city.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Tales of anguish emerge from China's locked-down Xian, as hospitals demand patients be covid-free |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/01/05/china-covid-xian-lockdown-miscarriage/ |access-date=2022-01-06 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=January 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105114103/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/01/05/china-covid-xian-lockdown-miscarriage/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Restrictions of Xi'an were lifted on January 24.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-26 |title=China is determined to make the Winter Olympics go smoothly |url=https://www.economist.com/china/china-is-determined-to-make-the-winter-olympics-go-smoothly/21807403 |access-date=2022-02-02 |website=[[Economist]] |publication-date=2022-01-29 |archive-date=February 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202150018/https://www.economist.com/china/china-is-determined-to-make-the-winter-olympics-go-smoothly/21807403 |url-status=live }}</ref>