Why is Chang 'an an an international metropolis?

Because the urban area is about 84 square kilometers, it is larger than Kaifeng in the Northern Song Dynasty, Dadu in the Yuan Dynasty, Beijing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties within 60 square kilometers, 7 times larger than the capital of Byzantine kingdom in the same period, and 6.2 times larger than the Baghdad city built in 800. It was the largest city in East Asia and even the world in the 6th-9th century, the starting point of the Silk Road across Wan Li, and an international metropolis at that time. The outer Guo Cheng is rectangular, with the east-west (Chunmingmen to Jinguangmen) length of 972 1 m (including the thickness of the east-west city wall, the same below) and the north-south (Mingdemen to the east of Xuanwu Gate in northern Miyagi) length of 865 1 m.

Chang 'an in the Tang Dynasty was a rectangle with a slightly longer east and west and a slightly narrower north and south. According to archaeological investigation, the east-west width from Chunmingmen in the east wall to Jinguangmen in the west wall is 972 1 m (including the thickness of two city walls). The length from Mingdemen in the south wall to the east of Xuanwu Gate in the north wall is 865 1 m (including the thickness of the two walls). By contrast, the east-west length is 1070 meters, the circumference is about 35.5 kilometers, and the area is 84 square kilometers. The buildings in the city are divided into Miyagi, Imperial City and Outer Guo Cheng. Miyagi is located in the center of the north of the city, and the imperial city is in the south of Miyagi. Outside Guo Cheng, Miyagi and the imperial city spread to the southeast and southwest. There are twelve gates in Chang 'an City (outside Guocheng City), with Mingde Gate in the middle of the south, Qixia Gate and Anhua Gate in the east and west respectively. Chunming Gate is in the east, while Yanxing Gate and Tonghua Gate are in the north and south respectively. In the west is the Golden Gate, and in the north and south are Yanping Gate and Kaiyuan Gate respectively. The middle and east sections of the north overlap with the north wall of Gongcheng and the south wall of Daming Palace, respectively. The middle section of the west is Jingyaomen, and the east and west are Fanglinmen and Guanghuamen. There are five doorways at the main entrance, Mingde Gate, and all other doors have three doorways. According to the actual measurement, the east-west width of Mingdemen site is 55.5 meters, and the north-south length is 17.5 meters, and each doorway is 5 meters wide. In particular, Zhuque Street in the north-south direction of Mingdemen is as wide as 150m to 155m. Other streets that do not pass through the city gate are generally between 35 meters and 65 meters wide, and Shuncheng Street is 20 meters to 25 meters wide. The original pavilion-style gatehouse of Mingdemen was burned down by Zhu Quanzhong at the end of the Tang Dynasty. Miyagi is located in the middle of North Guo Cheng, with a rectangular plane, with a length of 2820m from east to west, a width of 1492m from north to south and a circumference of 8.6km. There are walls around the city, with Chengtianmen (called Yangguangmen in Sui Dynasty) in the middle of the south, Yanximen and Anfumen in the east and west, and Xuanwu Gate in the middle of the north wall. Miyagi is divided into three parts. The center is Taiji Palace (called Daxing Palace in Sui Dynasty), which is called "Dayi". On the east side is the East Palace, which is the residence of the prince, and on the west side is Yeting Palace, which is the residence of the staff of the harem. Today, Tu Gang in Wutai, Xi 'an, and the railway middle school on the north side of Qiangzi West Road outside the North City are few sites of Daxing Miyagi. The Imperial City is also rectangular, located in the south of Miyagi, which is as long as Miyagi from east to west, with a width of 1843 meters from north to south and a circumference of 9.2 kilometers. There is a horizontal street between the north of the city and the wall of Miyagi, and there are five gates on the other three sides: three gates in the south, Zhuquemen in the middle, and light gates on both sides; One in the east and one in the west, namely Jingfeng Gate and Shunyi Gate. Zhuquemen, in the middle of the south, is the main entrance, connecting with Mingdemen in Guo Cheng via Zhuquejie to the south and facing Chengtianmen in Miyagi to the north, forming the north-south axis of the city. There are seven east-west streets and five north-south streets in the city, and there are sacrificial buildings such as the central government office building, ancestral temple and country between the roads. From the perspective of urban layout, planners are strict with symmetry. The connection between Chengtianmen Gate in Miyagi, Zhuque Gate in Imperial City and Mingdemen Gate in Outer Guo Cheng, namely Chengtianmen Street (also known as Tianjie Street) and Zhuque Street, is the north-south central axis, which spreads from left to right. In order to highlight the position of Central Miyagi in the north, groups of tall and majestic buildings such as Chengtianmen, Taijitang, Liangyitang, Ganlutang, Yanjiatang and Xuanwu Gate were pressed at the northern end of the central axis, showing the majesty of imperial power with its majestic momentum. Later, with the increasing number of new temples, this pattern changed. "Unity of Heaven and Man" is one of the core of China traditional culture. China's ancient urban planning was deeply influenced by this idea. Cities on the ground are often a portrayal of the sky, which makes cities a symbol of the universe. This is especially true in the capital where the Emperor lives, and Chang 'an, Tang Dou, as a masterpiece of the world, is no exception. According to the position of the stars in the sky, the most distinguished Wei Zi Palace lives in the center of the northern sky. It is located in the extreme center of the north, and there are fifteen stars around it in its east and west. Wei Zi Palace means the imperial palace, the emperor is the son of heaven, and the monarch on the earth should correspond to the stars in the sky. Therefore, the Forbidden City can only be arranged in the center of the north. Moreover, there is the Weihe River in the north, which is relatively safe from the perspective of defense. Yu Wenkai combined the six slopes of Longshouyuan with the divinatory symbols in Zhouyi, and made full use of the terrain for planning, and finally achieved a metropolis with large scale, careful design, strict system and orderly layout. There were mainly three palaces in Chang 'an in Tang Dynasty, namely Taiji Palace, Daming Palace and Xingqing Palace, which were also called "Three Inner Halls". Among them, "Ouchi" is the Taiji Palace in Miyagi, the residence and meeting place of emperors in Sui Dynasty and early Tang Dynasty. Tai Chi Palace is1285m wide from east to west and1492m long from north to south, with an area of about1.92km2.. The palace is divided into three areas from south to north: the former dynasty, the later dynasty bedroom and the back garden. The main hall of the former dynasty was Taiji Hall (called Daxing Hall in Sui Dynasty), surrounded by huge palaces surrounded by cloisters, with official offices on the east and west sides. The main hall of the back bedroom is Liang Yi Hall, surrounded by Wanchun Hall, Qian Qiu Hall, Ganlu Hall, Shenlong Hall and Anren Hall. The garden is located in the last part of the palace, with pavilions and ponds. There is Xuanwu Gate on the palace wall in the north, where the famous "Xuanwu Gate Change" took place. Because the Taiji Palace was built by Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty, the decoration is relatively simple. After Tang Gaozong ascended the throne, he felt damp here and moved to Daming Palace. Daming Palace, located in the highland of Longshou Plateau in the northeast of Taiji Palace, is a relatively independent castle overlooking the whole Chang 'an City. Built in the eighth year of Zhenguan (634), this palace was the place where Emperor Tang Gaozong lived and handled state affairs, and was called "Dongnei". Miyagi has a symmetrical central axis pattern. The front of Miyagi is composed of Danfengmen, Hanyuan Temple, Zhengxuan Hall and Chenzi Hall, while the back is composed of the inner courtyard centered on Ethereum, with dozens of halls and pavilions such as Linde Hall, Sanqing Hall, Dafu Hall and Qingsi Hall. The whole Daming Palace is 1.5km wide from east to west, 2.5km long from north to south, and covers an area of about 3.2km 2, making it the largest of the "three palaces". Xingqing Palace, located in the east of Waiguo City, was originally the official residence of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty when he was the king of Linzi in his early years. In the second year of Kaiyuan (7 14), it was renamed Xingqing Palace. In the 14th year of Kaiyuan (726), it was expanded and merged with the surrounding palaces and temples. Completed in the sixteenth year (728), it was called "Nannei". In the 13th year of Tianbao (754), palace walls and towers were built to form a small castle. At the same time, a waiguo wall was added to build a city between Daming Palace in the north and Furong Garden in the south, which is convenient for the palace people to sneak. Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei lived here for a long time. After the prosperous Tang Dynasty, its status was reduced and it became the place for the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager. Xingqing Palace is1.250m in length from north to south,1.075m in width from east to west, 4.6km in circumference and about1.35km2 in area, which is the smallest of the "Big Three". There are doors on all sides of the palace wall, and the main entrance Xingqing Gate is in the north of the Western Wall. The palace is dominated by gardens, not symmetrically arranged according to the central axis, so it has the nature of leaving the palace. Longchi is the main place in the south, surrounded by pavilions such as Jingjin Building, Calyx Xianghui Building and Chenxiang Temple. There are a number of palaces in the north, such as Xingqing Hall, Nanxun Hall, Changqing Hall and Datong Hall. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Xingqing Palace was destroyed by war, and the former site of 1958 was converted into a park, and a monument of Abe Zhongma Road was built. There are 8 north-south streets and 8 east-west streets 14 in Guo Cheng. Drainage ditches are set on both sides of the street, and roadside trees such as elm trees and locust trees are planted. Among them, six main streets leading to South Sanmen and connecting East and West Liumen are main roads, most of which are more than 100 meters wide. Suzaku Street is the widest 155 meters, which is the north-south axis of the city. Taking this as the boundary, the east of the city belongs to Wannian County and the west belongs to Chang 'an County. The crisscross roads divide the outer Guo Cheng into 1 10 squares (called "Li" in Sui Dynasty). Each square has a different area, with a length of 500-838m from north to south and a width of 550-1125m from east to west. There is a fence around every square. Generally, there are four doors in a big square, and there is a cross street in it. In Little Square, there are two east and west doors, and there is a cross street, both of which are about 15 meters wide. According to archaeological excavations, Cross Street divides a square into four areas, and each area has a small cross lane, which divides the whole square into sixteen small blocks, including houses, official residences, temples and Taoist temples. All workshops are closed management, guarded by guards at the door, and a curfew will be imposed at night. There are many Buddhist temples in Chang 'an, and Zongzhi Temple, Zhuang Yan Temple, Xingshan Temple and Du Xuan Temple all occupy the whole square. Other famous Jionji (Big Wild Goose Pagoda), Jianfu Temple (Little Wild Goose Pagoda) and Seiryuji also own large areas of land. During the archaeological process, the city also found many collections of Sui and Tang kilns, among which 27 1 piece of gold and silver unearthed in hejia village (Xinghuafang) is the largest and most valuable gold and silver unearthed in the Tang Dynasty since the founding of the People's Republic of China. There are two markets outside the city of Guo, the East Market (called metropolis in Sui Dynasty) and the West Market (called Liren City in Sui Dynasty), each occupying two squares. The two cities are almost the same size, with a length of1025m from north to south and a width of 927m from east to west. The market has a wall with eight doors, and there are streets and streets along the wall, which divide the city into nine districts. Each district is surrounded by streets, and there are shops along the streets, including restaurants, jewelry stores and handicraft workshops. Most of Chang 'an's businesses are concentrated in these two markets, and other workshops also have some scattered commercial facilities. There are four ditches in Chang 'an city, namely, Ming Longshou, Qingming, Yong 'an and Caoqu, which introduce tributaries of Weihe River into the city from the southeast and west respectively to provide domestic and environmental water. The first three canals were dug in the third year of Huang Kai in the early Sui Dynasty (583), and the grass canal was dug in the first year of Tang Tianbao (742).

In the long history of China, 17 dynasties and political powers established their capitals in Chang 'an, and the total capital establishment time exceeded 1200 years.

Chang 'an is recognized as the capital with the most dynasties, the longest time and the greatest influence in the history of China.

Chang 'an ranks first among the four ancient capitals in China, and it is also one of the four civilized ancient capitals in the world, which is equally famous with Athens, Rome and Cairo.

Chang 'an was the largest city in the world from 65438 BC +095 to 25 AD (Western Han Dynasty) and from 637 AD to 904 AD (Tang Dynasty).

The bird's-eye restoration map of Chang 'an City in Tang Dynasty is 35.56 kilometers long and covers an area of about 84 square kilometers, which is 9.7 times that of Xi 'an City now, 2.4 times that of Han's Chang 'an City, 1.2 times that of Luoyang City in Northern Wei Dynasty, 1.8 times that of Luoyang City in Sui and Tang Dynasties and 1.7 times that of Yuan Dynasty.

Chang 'an in the Tang Dynasty was the first big city with a population of one million in the history of the world. In the population of Chang 'an in the Tang Dynasty, besides residents, royalty, dignitaries, soldiers, slaves, monks and nuns, and ethnic minorities, there were no fewer than 30,000 foreign businessmen, messengers, international students, and monks studying abroad. At that time, envoys from as many as 300 countries and regions came to Chang 'an and Tangtong. Tang's scientific and technological culture, political system and diet fashion spread from Chang 'an to all parts of the world. In addition, western culture was digested and recreated by Chang 'an in the Tang Dynasty and then spread to Japan, North Korea, Myanmar and other neighboring countries and regions. Chang 'an in the Tang Dynasty became a gathering place for business and cultural exchanges between the East and the West, and was the largest international metropolis in the world at that time.

Chang 'an City in Tang Dynasty consists of three parts: Outer Guo Cheng, Miyagi and Imperial City, with a total area of more than 80 square kilometers. The outer Guo Cheng is rectangular, with a length of 972 1m from east to west, a width of 865 1.7m from north to south, and a circumference of 36.7km There are three doorways on each side, except for the south main entrance, Mingde Gate, which has five doorways. Miyagi is located in the northern center of Kuocheng, with a rectangular plane, with a length of1492m from north to south and a length of 2820m from east to west. The central part is Taiji Palace (Sui Daxing Palace), and the main hall is Taiji Hall (Sui Daxing Hall). East is the Crown Prince's East Palace, and west is the Imperial Secretary's Ye Ting Palace. The Imperial City is connected with the south of Miyagi, with 7 East-West Streets, 5 North-South Streets, Zuozong Temple and Youzhou, and it has central government offices and affiliated institutions. Later, Emperor Taizong (Li Shimin) built Daming Palace for his father's summer vacation, and when Emperor Xuanzong (Li Longji) was king of Linzi, he rebuilt and expanded his palace to Xingqing Palace, and the three palaces were collectively called "Three Neifu".

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