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Roots Earth in Xian: audio stories about 48 places

Roots Earth has audio stories about 48 places in Xian, China, in Asia. The Xian stories are in all seven Roots Earth languages: English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The app needs no account: open Xian, pick a place on the city's map of places and play. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection. The stories are written by local people.

The 48 places are listed below in the order the app shows them, and again further down with their coordinates. The lists were taken from the Roots Earth catalogue on 15 September 2026.

Published 16 September 2026. Markdown: xian.md

The 48 places in Xian with audio stories

In the order the app shows them.

  1. Terracotta Army
  2. Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
  3. Fortifications of Xi'an
  4. Bell Tower of Xi'an
  5. Drum Tower of Xi'an
  6. Great Mosque of Xi'an
  7. Shaanxi History Museum
  8. Small Wild Goose Pagoda
  9. Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor
  10. Stele Forest
  11. Huaqing Pool
  12. Daming Palace
  13. Famen Temple
  14. Mount Hua
  15. Banpo
  16. Tang Paradise
  17. Xi'an Museum
  18. Weiyang Palace
  19. Mount Li
  20. Qianling Mausoleum
  21. Maoling
  22. Yangling Mausoleum of Han
  23. Daxingshan Temple
  24. Xingjiao Temple
  25. Wolong Temple
  26. Qinglong Temple
  27. Tang West Market Museum
  28. Qinling
  29. Xi'an Railway Station
  30. Xi'an North Railway Station
  31. Xi'an Olympic Sports Centre
  32. Xi'an Xianyang International Airport
  33. Muslim Quarter
  34. Beilin District
  35. Lianhu District
  36. Yanta District
  37. Xincheng District
  38. Qujiang New District
  39. Chang'an District
  40. Lintong District
  41. Xi'an Jiaotong University
  42. Northwest University
  43. Shaanxi Normal University
  44. Yongning Gate
  45. Huimin Street
  46. Da Tang Bu Ye Cheng
  47. Xingqing Park
  48. Revolution Park

Is there an audio guide for Terracotta Army?

Yes. Terracotta Army has its audio stories in the Roots Earth app: a short introduction and a deeper story, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian.

It is place 1 of the 48 Xian places in the app, at 34.385, 109.27306. Every one of the other 47 places in the list above has the same two stories.

Roots Earth is not a guided tour: you choose the place on the city's map of places and play its story yourself.

How to use Roots Earth in Xian

Open Roots Earth and choose Xian. The city has its own map of places with all 48 of them on it. Tap the place you are standing in front of, or any other, and play its short introduction or its deeper story. You decide what to listen to and in which order.

You can listen in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian, and there is no account. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection.

In full

All 48 places in Xian, in the app's order, with their coordinates.

All 48 places in Xian, with coordinates

Every place below has a short introduction and a deeper story in the Roots Earth app, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The names, the coordinates (latitude, longitude) and the one line descriptions are the app's own catalogue values of 15 September 2026; a place without a line here has none that this page can print.

1. Terracotta Army

Coordinates
34.385, 109.27306
In one line
Thousands of life-size clay soldiers stand in battle order east of Xi'an, an army modeled around 210 BCE to guard China's First Emperor in death. Discovered by farmers in 1974, every face is different.

2. Giant Wild Goose Pagoda

Coordinates
34.21984, 108.95935
In one line
A seven-story brick pagoda raised in 652 to house the scriptures the monk Xuanzang carried home from India. Standing about 64 meters tall at Da Ci'en Temple, it remains a defining landmark of Tang-era Chang'an.

3. Fortifications of Xi'an

Coordinates
34.25343, 108.94234
In one line
Begun in 1370 under the Hongwu Emperor on older Tang foundations, Xi'an's Ming wall runs an unbroken 14-kilometer circuit roughly 12 meters high. It ranks among the largest and best-preserved ancient city walls in China.

4. Bell Tower of Xi'an

Coordinates
34.261, 108.942
In one line
Raised in 1384 under the Hongwu Emperor and moved to the city center in 1582, this triple-eaved timber tower on a brick base is the largest and best-preserved bell tower in China, marking the heart of old Xi'an.

5. Drum Tower of Xi'an

Coordinates
34.26167, 108.93861
In one line
Completed in 1380, this Ming-era tower once beat the drum to mark the close of day, partner to the nearby Bell Tower. It edges the Muslim Quarter and carries the rows of drums that give it its name.

6. Great Mosque of Xi'an

Coordinates
34.26333, 108.93639
In one line
Founded in the Tang era and largely rebuilt in 1384 under the Ming, this mosque in the Muslim Quarter blends Chinese garden courtyards and timber halls with Islamic worship. It serves Xi'an's Hui community as one of China's oldest mosques.

7. Shaanxi History Museum

Coordinates
34.22528, 108.95139
In one line
Opened in 1991 in a Tang-palace-style building, this museum holds more than 370,000 artifacts spanning ancient China. Its Tang gold and silver, tomb murals and bronzes make it one of the country's premier collections of antiquities.

8. Small Wild Goose Pagoda

Coordinates
34.24081, 108.93739
In one line
A slender Tang-dynasty brick pagoda raised between 707 and 709 at Jianfu Temple to house Buddhist scriptures. Its gently tapering tiers, cracked and rejoined by centuries of earthquakes, still mark the old southern suburb of Chang'an.

9. Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor

Coordinates
34.3823, 109.2531
In one line
The vast earthen tomb of Qin Shi Huang, first emperor of a unified China, raised over decades by hundreds of thousands of laborers. The great unexcavated mound, ringed by a sprawling necropolis, is said to hide rivers of flowing mercury.

10. Stele Forest

Coordinates
34.25246, 108.95281
In one line
A museum of inscribed stone tablets founded in 1087 within a former Confucian temple, holding roughly 3,000 steles. China's greatest collection of calligraphy in stone, it preserves the Tang stone classics and the celebrated Nestorian Stele of 781.

11. Huaqing Pool

Coordinates
34.365, 109.20722
In one line
A Tang imperial hot-spring palace at the foot of Mount Li, rebuilt by Emperor Xuanzong in 723. Famed as the setting of his romance with Yang Guifei, it later witnessed the 1936 Xi'an Incident, when Chiang Kai-shek was seized here.

12. Daming Palace

Coordinates
34.29139, 108.95944
In one line
The vast Tang imperial palace begun in 634, once the seat of power for over two centuries and among the largest palace complexes ever built. Destroyed at the dynasty's fall, it survives today as an immense ruins park with a reconstructed Danfeng Gate.

13. Famen Temple

Coordinates
34.4399, 107.90455
In one line
An ancient Buddhist temple west of Xi'an, founded in the Eastern Han era and revered by Tang emperors. Its collapsed pagoda revealed in 1987 a sealed crypt holding a finger-bone relic of the Buddha and a hoard of Tang gold, silver, glass, and silk.

14. Mount Hua

Coordinates
34.48333, 110.08333
In one line
The Western Mountain among China's Five Great Mountains, a sacred Taoist peak near Huayin. Famed for sheer granite cliffs, five lofty summits crowned by South Peak at roughly 2,155 meters, ancient temples, and the vertiginous plank walk cut into the rock face.

15. Banpo

Coordinates
34.27, 109.05
In one line
Banpo preserves a Neolithic Yangshao village settled around 4700 BCE, excavated in the 1950s. Sheltered under a museum hall, its house pits, kilns and painted pottery reveal everyday life along the Yellow River more than six thousand years ago.

16. Tang Paradise

Coordinates
34.2149, 108.9691
In one line
Tang Paradise is a sprawling cultural park near the old Furong Garden, recreating the splendor of Tang-dynasty Chang'an. Around a willow-lined lake stand pavilions, halls and squares, while an evening show of fountains, lasers and projected images turns the water into a glowing spectacle.

17. Xi'an Museum

Coordinates
34.24081, 108.93739
In one line
The Xi'an Museum opened in 2007 around the Tang-era Small Wild Goose Pagoda, combining a modern museum, an ancient temple and a garden. Its collection of around 130,000 artifacts traces the city's history through bronzes, Tang figurines and a model of old Chang'an.

18. Weiyang Palace

Coordinates
34.30444, 108.85722
In one line
Weiyang Palace was the Han dynasty's seat of power, begun in 200 BCE under Emperor Gaozu and his minister Xiao He. Once enormous, it governed China for centuries before falling to ruin. Today its rammed-earth platforms survive as a UNESCO-listed archaeological park.

19. Mount Li

Coordinates
34.3587, 109.2105
In one line
Mount Li rises northeast of Xi'an to 1,302 meters, woven through Chinese history and legend. Its springs feed the Huaqing Pool, its foot guards the First Emperor's tomb, and its slopes saw the 1936 Xi'an Incident. Temples and a cable car cover it today.

20. Qianling Mausoleum

Coordinates
34.57444, 108.21417
In one line
The Qianling Mausoleum, built from 684 on Mount Liang, holds Tang Emperor Gaozong and Wu Zetian, China's only female emperor. A spirit way lined with stone beasts and officials leads past 61 headless envoy statues and a famous blank stele to a tomb still unexcavated.

21. Maoling

Coordinates
34.33585, 108.57033
In one line
Maoling is the great earthen tomb of Emperor Wu of Han, begun in 139 BCE and 53 years in the making. Rising 47 meters, it is the largest of all Han mausoleums, ringed by satellite tombs, including general Huo Qubing's with its famous stone horse.

22. Yangling Mausoleum of Han

Coordinates
34.4438, 108.94071
In one line
The tomb of Emperor Jing of Han and Empress Wang Zhi, ruling 157 to 141 BCE, surrounded by 86 burial pits holding more than 50,000 miniature figures of servants, animals, and tools, viewed today through a glass-floored underground museum.

23. Daxingshan Temple

Coordinates
34.23321, 108.9499
In one line
Founded in 266 during the Western Jin dynasty, this temple in Xi'an became the cradle of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, where Indian masters and visiting Japanese monks translated sutras and transmitted Tantric teachings across East Asia during the Tang era.

24. Xingjiao Temple

Coordinates
34.09139, 109.03389
In one line
Founded in 669 during the Tang dynasty, this hillside temple shelters the relic pagoda of Xuanzang, the famed pilgrim-monk who journeyed to India, flanked by the smaller pagodas of his disciples. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Silk Road site.

25. Wolong Temple

Coordinates
34.25639, 108.95
In one line
Reputedly the oldest Buddhist temple in Shaanxi, founded during the Han dynasty between 168 and 189, the Crouching Dragon Temple grew through Sui, Tang, and Song eras into a major Chan Buddhist sanctuary in the heart of Xi'an.

26. Qinglong Temple

Coordinates
34.2361, 108.98437
In one line
First founded in 582 and named Green Dragon Temple in 711, this Tang sanctuary is where the master Huiguo taught Vajrayana to the Japanese monk Kukai, who carried it home to found Shingon Buddhism. Now rebuilt amid cherry trees.

27. Tang West Market Museum

Coordinates
34.24706, 108.90835
In one line
Opened in 2010 on the very site of the Tang dynasty West Market, this private museum displays excavated road ruins alongside Silk Road treasures, including the tomb base of a Sogdian merchant, recalling the world's busiest marketplace.

28. Qinling

Coordinates
33.96333, 107.61806
In one line
The great east-west mountain range south of Xi'an, crowned by Mount Taibai at 3,767 meters, divides north from south China and the Yellow and Yangtze watersheds, sheltering giant pandas, golden snub-nosed monkeys, and crested ibis.

29. Xi'an Railway Station

Coordinates
34.27861, 108.95833
In one line
Xi'an Railway Station opened in 1935 just north of the old walled city. The conventional rail hub handles overnight and slower services, with 11 platforms and a sweeping new north building completed in 2021.

30. Xi'an North Railway Station

Coordinates
34.37756, 108.93408
In one line
Xi'an North Railway Station opened in 2011 around 10 kilometers north of the city center. The largest railway station in Northwest China, it serves five high-speed lines across 34 platforms with fast G-series and D-series trains.

31. Xi'an Olympic Sports Centre

Coordinates
34.37821, 109.01798
In one line
Xi'an Olympic Sports Centre opened in 2020 in the city's eastern new district.

32. Xi'an Xianyang International Airport

Coordinates
34.43781, 108.75656
In one line
Xi'an Xianyang International Airport opened in 1991 northwest of the city. The busiest airport in Northwest China, it added a vast Tang-inspired Terminal 5 in 2025 and handled over 48 million passengers that year across four runways.

33. Muslim Quarter

Coordinates
34.26333, 108.93639
In one line
The Muslim Quarter is the heart of Xi'an's Hui community, a warren of lanes near the Drum Tower. Around the Tang-founded Great Mosque, food stalls, halal kitchens, and crowded markets keep centuries of Silk Road trade alive.

34. Beilin District

Coordinates
34.2487, 108.9579
In one line
Beilin District takes its name from the famous Stele Forest of inscribed stones. Xi'an's smallest yet most densely populated district, it packs the city wall, the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, and major universities into its lively streets.

35. Lianhu District

Coordinates
34.2659, 108.9036
In one line
Lianhu District, named for its Lotus Pool park, covers the northwestern quarter of old Xi'an. Home to over a million residents, it holds the Drum Tower, the bustling Muslim Quarter lanes, and a dense web of historic neighborhoods.

36. Yanta District

Coordinates
34.2106, 108.9327
In one line
Yanta is the southern district of Xi'an named after the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. Home to roughly 1. 2 million people, it blends Tang-era monuments with a dense cluster of universities and technology parks across 152 square kilometers.

37. Xincheng District

Coordinates
34.2649, 108.9891
In one line
Xincheng, meaning New City, is a compact central district of Xi'an covering 31 square kilometers. It holds the city's main railway station, the seat of the Shaanxi provincial government, and the northeastern quarter of the historic walled town.

38. Qujiang New District

Coordinates
34.1935, 108.9549
In one line
Qujiang is a cultural and tourism zone in southeastern Xi'an, built on the site of a Tang-era imperial garden. Established in 1993 and expanded to 47 square kilometers, it now blends Tang-themed attractions with luxury shopping and five-star hotels.

39. Chang'an District

Coordinates
34.1645, 108.9502
In one line
Chang'an, meaning Perpetual Peace, is the largest and second-most populous district of Xi'an. Stretching from the city's southern suburbs to the Qinling Mountains across nearly 1,600 square kilometers, it carries the ancient name once given to the imperial capital itself.

40. Lintong District

Coordinates
34.3754, 109.2177
In one line
Lintong is the eastern district of Xi'an where the Terracotta Army, the First Emperor's tomb, the Huaqing hot springs and Mount Li all lie. Named for two rivers, it became a district in 1997 and spans roughly 916 square kilometers.

41. Xi'an Jiaotong University

Coordinates
34.24722, 108.97917
In one line
Xi'an Jiaotong University traces its roots to Nanyang Public School, founded in Shanghai in 1896. Relocated west to Xi'an in the 1950s, it is now a leading engineering university and the only member of China's elite C9 League in the country's west.

42. Northwest University

Coordinates
34.2499, 108.9232
In one line
Northwest University in Xi'an is a public comprehensive university descended from the Shaanxi University Hall founded in 1902. A Project 211 and Double First Class institution, it is renowned for geology, history, archaeology and economics across its Taibai and Chang'an campuses.

43. Shaanxi Normal University

Coordinates
34.1591, 108.9029
In one line
Shaanxi Normal University is a major teacher-training institution on South Chang'an Road, formed in 1960 from two Xi'an colleges. Known nationally for handwriting its admission letters in traditional brush calligraphy, it draws tens of thousands of students each year.

44. Yongning Gate

Coordinates
34.24535, 108.94075
In one line
Yongning Gate is the grand south gate of Xi'an's Ming-era city wall, its name meaning "eternal peace." The wall's most complete and ceremonial entrance, it stages traditional welcome rites and anchors the southern face of the rampart begun in 1370.

45. Huimin Street

Coordinates
34.262, 108.9375
In one line
Huimin Street is the bustling heart of Xi'an's Muslim Quarter, a warren of food lanes behind the Drum Tower. Home to the city's Hui community since Silk Road days, it serves lamb stews, flatbreads and skewers from stalls open late into the night.

46. Da Tang Bu Ye Cheng

Coordinates
34.218, 108.961
In one line
Da Tang Bu Ye Cheng is a Tang-themed pedestrian boulevard running 2,100 metres south from the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Opened in 2009 and famed for its nightly lights, statues and street performers, it recreates the dazzle of Tang-dynasty Chang'an for modern crowds.

47. Xingqing Park

Coordinates
34.249, 108.984
In one line
Xingqing Park is Xi'an's largest city-centre park, laid out in 1958 on the ruins of the Tang dynasty's Xingqing Palace. Centred on a broad lake, it mixes Tang-style pavilions with the everyday leisure of a busy public garden.

48. Revolution Park

Coordinates
34.272, 108.946
In one line
Revolution Park is a quiet green space in central Xi'an, created in 1927 by the general Feng Yuxiang to honour the tens of thousands who died in the eight-month siege of 1926. A martyrs' shrine stands among its old trees.

Roots Earth in short

Roots Earth has audio stories about 5,665 places in 130 cities, 25 countries and 6 regions, written by local people.

  • No account
  • Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection
  • Audio stories in English and German in every city, and in Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian in 126 of the 130 cities

Roots Earth for Android is available on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rootsearth.app.