Xian

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Xian (Sian, formerly Changan) Capital of Shaanxi province, at the confluence of the Wei and Huang He rivers, nw China. Inhabited since 6000 bc, from 255 to 206 bc it was the site of Xianyang, the capital of the Qin dynasty. The elaborate tomb of the dynastic founder, Emperor Qin Shihuangdi, is a world heritage site and major tourist attraction. Changan was the focus for the introduction of Buddhism to China, and in 652 the Big Wild Goose pagoda was built here. In the following centuries it became a major centre for other religious missionaries. The Great Mosque was built in 742. At the start of the 10th century, Changan was the world's largest city. Known as Xian since the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), extant monuments from this period include the 14th-century Drum and Bell towers. The Hua Qing curative hot springs were the site of the 1936 Xian Incident, when Chiang Kai-shek was held hostage until he agreed to a united Nationalist-Communist Chinese front against the Japanese. It is an important commercial centre of a grain-growing region. Industries: cotton, textiles, steel, chemicals. Pop. (1999) 2,294,970.