Xi'an: Home to 6 UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites

2. Site of Weiyang Palace

Weiyang Palace was a palace complex built in 200 BC and served as the administrative center and imperial residence of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24), as well as the Western Jin dynasty (265-316) and several other regimes during the Northern and Southern dynasties.

When viewed from above, the palace was roughly square with a gross area of 4.8 square kilometers. Nowadays, only an archaeological site can be found in the Weiyang Palace site, no palace.

It was one of the largest, longest-lasting and most far-reaching ancient palaces in the history of China, the political, economic, military and cultural center of the Western Han Dynasty, the decision-making place and the beginning of the ancient Silk Road.