View of the south gate whitin Xi'an's city walls.

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Unlike many city walls in China Xi'an's walls are still intact forming a 9 mile long retangle around the city centre. In 1370 during the reign of Hongwu the first Ming emperor these walls were built on the foundations of the Tang imperial palace. Visitors can climb the walls at several locations particularly at the steps east of the South gate or at the West gate for walks along the ramparts.

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Size: 5099px × 3414px
Location: Xi'an City Walls, Xi'an, China
Photo credit: © M Franzoni / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: architecture, asia, attraction, china, city, defence, dynastic, dynasty, emperor, gate, hongwu, lanterns, ming, protection, south, tourism, tourist, tower, travel, wall, walls, xi, xian