2．文化藝術(shù)瑰寶地

2．文化藝術(shù)瑰寶地

西安作為12朝古都，見證了多個(gè)王朝的榮辱興衰。歷史在這里留下的文物景觀和遺址不勝枚舉，如秦始皇陵兵馬俑、漢長安城遺址、慈恩寺大雁塔、華清池等都是人類文化藝術(shù)的瑰寶。

秦始皇陵與兵馬俑坑　秦始皇陵位于西安市臨潼縣城東的驪山北麓，是中國歷史上第一個(gè)皇帝嬴政（前259～前210）的陵墓，前后延續(xù)30余年。

秦始皇陵墓結(jié)構(gòu)宏大，筑有象征著都城的皇城和宮城的內(nèi)外兩重土制城垣，可以稱得上是一個(gè)地下王國。據(jù)史料記載，秦陵中還建有各式各樣的宮殿，每個(gè)宮殿中都陳列著許多珍寶。秦始皇陵墓四周分布著大量的陪葬坑，秦始皇陵兵馬傭坑就是其中最著名的一個(gè)。

兵馬俑的發(fā)現(xiàn)被稱為"20世紀(jì)最重要的考古發(fā)現(xiàn)"，堪稱“世界第八大奇跡”。兵馬俑坑位于秦始皇陵東側(cè)，其中出土的秦代陶俑、大量的戰(zhàn)馬戰(zhàn)車和武器，代表了秦代雕塑藝術(shù)的最高成就。其中出土的兵馬俑高大威武，像是一組在守衛(wèi)地下皇城的軍隊(duì)。兵馬俑形體高大，形象生動(dòng)，神態(tài)逼真，栩栩如生，是中國古代的藝術(shù)寶庫。而且，這里出土的數(shù)萬件青銅兵器都是實(shí)戰(zhàn)兵器，有的直到現(xiàn)在還寒光閃閃，這說明2000多年前秦朝人的高超智慧，更是世界冶金史上的一個(gè)奇跡。

秦始皇陵兵馬俑是可以同埃及金字塔和古希臘雕塑相媲美的世界人類文化的寶貴財(cái)富，以其濃厚的文化內(nèi)涵和豐富的文物資源，成為舉世聞名的世界文化遺產(chǎn)。

漢長安城遺址　漢長安城遺址位于今西北郊的漢城鄉(xiāng)，是西漢時(shí)期的都城遺址。

漢長安城的城墻均為板筑的土墻，墻高8米，墻基寬16米，高大結(jié)實(shí)，前后用了5年時(shí)間才修筑而成。城的四面有三座城門，每座城門大小都不一樣，但卻都依據(jù)嚴(yán)格的規(guī)制設(shè)計(jì)。城內(nèi)街道寬闊平整，規(guī)劃整齊，將長安城分為9個(gè)區(qū)。長樂宮、未央宮、建章宮是城中最著名的三大宮殿群，未央宮前殿是目前仍保存完好的遺址，位于城的西南部，又稱為西宮。它利用龍首原高臺作為殿基，體現(xiàn)了封建帝王的威嚴(yán)。

慈恩寺大雁塔　慈恩寺大雁塔位于西安南郊。慈恩寺建于唐代，是唐朝太子李治為了追念他的母親文德皇后而建立的，至今已經(jīng)有1000多年的歷史。

大雁塔塔身高大，結(jié)構(gòu)堅(jiān)固，外觀莊嚴(yán)大方，最初建的時(shí)候只有5層，后來又經(jīng)過多次重修，現(xiàn)在的塔是7層，高達(dá)64米，呈方形角錐狀。塔身由青磚砌成，塔內(nèi)的平面也呈方形，每一層都有樓板，且設(shè)有扶梯，參觀者可以攀登到塔頂。

大雁塔底層南門兩側(cè)，有唐代著名書法家褚遂良書寫的《大唐三藏圣教序》和《述三藏圣教序記》兩塊石碑，碑側(cè)的花紋圖案優(yōu)美，造型生動(dòng)，是研究唐代書法、繪畫、雕刻藝術(shù)的重要文物。

華清池　又稱華清宮，位于西安以東約30千米的驪山腳下，是中國著名的溫泉?jiǎng)俚亍ＨA清池作為中國古代帝王的行宮和游覽地已經(jīng)有3000多年的歷史了，從周朝開始，許多皇帝都在這里修建過行宮別墅。秦、漢、隋各代先后幾次進(jìn)行修建，到了唐代又多次增建。

但是，經(jīng)過歷史上的多次王朝更替和頻繁的戰(zhàn)爭，華清池的原貌已不復(fù)存在，現(xiàn)在的建筑都是按照歷史記載的布局在1959年重新建的。我們有幸可以領(lǐng)略到當(dāng)年華清池的大體風(fēng)貌。

2. Historical Relics

Capital of twelve dynasties and a witness of the rise and fall of times, today, the city of Xi'an continues to tell its residents what their ancestors did through numerous historical sites and cultural relics. Among them are the famous Qinshihuang's Mausoleum and the Burial Pits of Terracotta Warriors and Horses, the Site of Chang'an City of the Han dynasty, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in the Ci'en Temple and the Huaqing Pool.

Qinshihuang's Mausoleum and the Burial Pits of Terracotta Warriors and Horses

Situated at the north foot of the Mount Lishan east of Lintong County, Xi'an, Qinshihuang's Mausoleum is the mausoleum of Emperor Yingzheng, the first emperor (which shihuang literally means) recorded in history. After more than thirty years of construction, the mausoleum was completed with two layers of walls segregating the underground capital into the imperial city and the imperial palace as the capital above the ground was. So magnificent it is, the mausoleum is literally "an underground kingdom". According to historical records, inside the mausoleum, there are all kinds of palaces with numerous treasures on display; around the Mausoleum are various burial pits, among which is the most famous one-the Burial Pits of Terracotta Warriors and Horses.

The discovery of the Burial Pits of Terracotta Warriors and Horses which are deemed as the "eighth wonder of the world" is the most significant archaeological discovery in the 20th century. All the unearthed terracotta warriors, horses, chariots and weapons are a testimony to the artistic achievements the Chinese scored in the Qin dynasty. Tall and imposing, the warriors of vivid and varied expressions, together with the horses, constituted a troop stationed to guard the underground imperial capital in the past and a treasury of the ancient Chinese arts at present. Some of the thousands of unearthed bronze weapons are still sharp and glistens after being buried under the ground for more than 2000 years. This is a real wonder in the world history of metallurgy and demonstrates the wisdom of the Qin people.

The Mausoleum with the terracotta army, regarded as valuable as the pyramids in Egypt and the Statue of Zeus in Greece, is a cultural heritage of the whole world.

The Site of Chang'an City of the Han Dynasty

Situated in the Hancheng village in the northeast suburb of today's Xi'an, the site is where the capital of Western Han dynasty used to be.

Built with rammed earth and completed in five years, the city wall, 8 meters in height and 16 meters in thickness at the base, was imposing and solid. On the four walls surrounding the capital, there were three gates, built in different sizes yet all in accordance with strict rules. Inside the capital city which was neatly divided into nine blocks by wide and smooth streets, there were the three most important palace groups-the Changle Palace complex, the Weiyang Palace complex and the Jianzhang Palace complex. Of the three, the Weiyang Palace, located southeast of the capital and also known as the West Palace, is the best preserved. Constructed on a plain called Longshouyuan, the palace well embodies the stateliness of the emperor.

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in the Ci'en Temple

Located in the south suburbs of Xi'an, Ci'en Temple, the home of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, was built by Emperor Gaozong of the Tang dynasty in memory of his mother Empress Wende ("Wen" menas gentle and "de" means virtuous) and has stood there ever since for more than one thousand years.

Simple yet solemn, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda is of a firm structure built of grey bricks. Originally built with only 5 stories, now the Pagoda measures 64 meters high with additional two stories after several repairs. Externally it looks like a square cone while inside stairs twist up so that visitors can climb to the top.

On both sides of the south gate to the ground floor of the Pagoda stand two stone tablets on which are inscriptions of An Introduction to the Sacred Teaching of Monk Tripitaka of the Great Tang Dynasty and Notes on the Introduction to the Sacred Teaching of Monk Tripitaka of the Great Tang Dynasty inscribed by Chu Suiliang, a famous calligrapher of the Tang dynasty. The two tablets, with a beautiful floral design on its sides as well as the calligraphic works, are important cultural relics for a study on calligraphy, paintings and carvings in the Tang dynasty.

Huaqing Pool

The Huaqing Pool, also known as the Huaqing Palace, is famed as a hot spring resort and situated at the foot of Mount Li 30 kilometers north to the city proper of Xi'an. Around 3000 years ago, an emperor of the Zhou dynasty built a temporary imperial abode there. Ever since then, as a palace for leisure for emperors, it was under constant reconstruction through Qin, Han and Sui dynasties and was expanded several times in Tang.

After the change of dynasties and frequent wars, the original Huaqing Pool had vanished into thin air long before. However, we can still gain a glimpse of the original based on the current one which was constructed in 1959 according to the original layout as is written in historical records.