Foreigners' Guide to Xi'an

To improve Xi'an's foreign-related service environment and make it easier for international friends to work and live in the city, the Xi'an Foreign Affairs Office has compiled the Foreigners' Guide to Xi'an. The guide brings together various types of foreign-related service information, covering multiple scenarios such as daily life (food, clothing, housing, and transport) and government administrative procedures.

The "Xi'an Foreign Affairs" WeChat official account will serialize the guide's content in installments, offering international friends in Xi'an a practical life "toolkit" and helping foreigners in Xi'an enjoy a wonderful time in Chang'an.

Foreigners' Guide to Xi'an

Profile of Xi'an

Known as Chang'an in ancient times, Xi'an is the largest central city in Northwest China. Covering an area of 10,900 square kilometers, it is home to a population of 13.16 million. Within its territory, the city has jurisdiction over 11 districts，2 counties，6 state-level and provincial-level key development zones as well as one state-level new area, namely Xixian New Area.

Xi'an is the eastern starting point of the ancient Silk Road. Boasting a history of over 3,100 years, Xi'an served as the capital of 13 dynasties for more than 1,100 years, such as the Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang dynasties. Xi'an leads the nation in both the duration as a capital and the number of dynasties that established their capitals here, and ranks among China's most influential ancient capitals. Alongside Athens, Cairo and Rome, Xi'an is known as one of the “Four Great Ancient Capitals of the World”. In 1981, Xi'an was designated a “World Historic City” by UNESCO. Currently, Xi'an is home to 3,246 immovable cultural relic sites, 430 major cultural heritage sites protected at various administrative levels and 152 museums of diverse types.

Xi'an functions as a comprehensive international transportation hub. Xi'an International Port is one of the largest inland ports in China and the only one assigned both international and domestic port codes. Xi'an has established sister-city relations with 41 cities in 34 countries, and friendly exchange relations with 71 cities (districts and counties) in 41 countries. Notably, five countries, namely Thailand, South Korea, Cambodia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan, have set up Consulates-General in Xi'an. The Secretariat of the China-Central Asia Mechanism has also been established in Xi'an. Additionally, the China-Europe Railway Express “Chang'an”, which was launched in 2013, has become a key international logistics corridor for the Belt and Road Initiative cooperation.

Xi'an, hailed as China's “Natural History Museum”, is a world-famous tourist destination featuring distinctive Eastern charm and ranks among China's cities with the most abundant tourism resources. In recent years, Xi'an has made concerted efforts to advance the development of its culture and tourism industry. It has established Xi'an International Communication Center, launched cultural tourism trains connecting China and Central Asia, and made full use of the 240-hour visa-free transit policy to promote the development of downtown duty-free shops. Focusing on the recovery and growth of inbound tourism, Xi'an is creating new immersive scenes for sci-tech and cultural experiences as well as high-quality clusters for integrated culture-commerce-tourism consumption. Major international events including the Xi'an Marathon and the Artistic Swimming World Cup Final have been held in Xi'an, boosting the global influence and international reputation of the city. Its cultural tourism sector ranks among the nation's top-tier, and the surging public interest in the cultural relics and museums, live performances, Hanfu (a kind of Chinese traditional clothing) and the intangible cultural heritage have formed the unique features of the city.

With a full range of industrial sectors, a complete system and solid foundation, Xi'an has fostered six pillar industries—electronic information, automobile, aerospace, high-end equipment, new materials and new energy, and food and biomedicine, most of which fall into the category of strategic emerging industries with promising prospects and robust growth momentum.

In 2025, Xi'an registered a Regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of CNY 1.390267 trillion, representing an annual growth rate of 4.7%. The per capita disposable income of residents rose by 5.4%. The total output value of industrial enterprises above designated size exceeded CNY 1 trillion, an increase of 6.9%. The industrial added value hit CNY 285.07 billion, up 6.1%, and the annual total import and export value reached CNY 498.79 billion, growing by 21.1%.

Located in the geographic center of China, Xi'an serves as a vital hub connecting the east with the west and the north with the south. It ranks among China's eight regional aviation and six high-speed railway hubs, enjoying the shortest average travel distance and the lowest transportation cost to major cities across China. Celebrated for its natural landscape of “Eight Rivers Surrounding Chang'an” (a historic description of the city’s waterways) since ancient times, Xi'an is home to the Qinling Mountains, known as China's Central Water Tower. Serving as the watershed between the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, the Qinling Mountains boast abundant wildlife species and have been designated as a “UNESCO Global Geopark”. The Xi’an section of the Qinling Mountains covers about 55% of the city’s total area and is home to rare species including giant pandas, golden snub-nosed monkeys, crested ibises and takins. Xi'an is a National Forest City and National Garden City, with a per capita park green space area of 12.33 square meters. Xi'an enjoys a pleasant ecological environment and ranks among the top-tier of China's mega-cities.

Source：Xi'an Foreign Affairs