It is located in the central area of the Northwest of China, which is now the capital of the Shaanxi Province of China. Xi'an is one of the most ancient capitals in the world, bringing together 12 dynasties from the Western Zhou (1046-771 BC) to the Tang (618-907) dynasties. In the Han and Tang dynasties, Xi'an was called Changan. http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa012398.htmOther great web sites, include:
"Xi'an...is situated in the central part of Weihe Plain. The city is bounded by the Weihe River in the north and the Qinling Ranges in the south. As one of China's seven ancient national capitals, it served as the capital for 12 dynasties spanning more than 1,000 years. Xi'an therefore, has a great number of precious relics and historical sites. More than 4,000 historical sites and tombs have been excavated and over 120,000 historical relics remain unearthed."
"The ancient city is located in the center of Xian, which is surrounded by the city wall."
I drove past different parts of the ancient wall, but never walked it.
It's the most complete city wall that has survived in China, as well being one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world. The wall now stands 12 meters (40 feet) tall, 12-14 meters (40-46 feet) wide at the top and 15-18 meters (50-60 feet) thick at the bottom. It covers 13.7 kilometers (8.5 miles) in length with a deep moat surrounding it. Every 120 meters, there is a rampart which extends out from the main wall. All together, there are 98 ramparts on the wall, which were built to defend against the enemy climbing up the wall. Each rampart has a sentry building, in which the soldiers could protect the entire wall without exposing themselves to the enemy. Besides, the distance between every two ramparts is just within the range of an arrow shot from either side, so that they could shoot the enemy, who wanted to attack the city, from the side.
On the outer side of the city wall, there are 5948 crenellations, namely battlements. The soldiers can outlook and shoot at the enemy. On the inner side, parapets were built to protect the soldiers from falling off. The wall was built in the Ming Dynasty. http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shaanxi/xian/citywall.htm
Along one section of it there is a park where plenty of people go every day, especially the elderly. There they bring their pet birds in bamboo cages to get some fresh air while they practice their Tai Chi.
There are lots of people doing all kinds of exercises and simply enjoying the day or playing with their children. I was whizzing by on a tour, so only captured fleeting shots of the wall, sometimes sticking my camera out the window and hoping for the best. It was quite massive and had many watch towers, with a gate opening in each of the four directions.
"Inside the ancient city, there are mainly four attractions. The Great Islamic Mosque was built during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The Bell Tower was built in the Ming Dynasty (1384). The Drum Tower was established in 1380. And the Provincial Museum has a rich collection of cultural relics, including the famous Forest of Tablet Stones, which has over 2,300 stone tablets from the Han, Wei, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Those are truly the treasures of calligraphic art of the world."
"There are also a pair of ancient Goose Pagodas, built in the Tang Dynasty, the Large Wild Goose Pagoda (652) and the Small Wild Goose Pagoda (707-709), which are just outside the ancient city and considered the masterpieces of Chinese architecture."
"The Large Wild Goose Pagoda (dayanta) is located within the premises of the Temple of Great Maternal Grace (Dacien Si). This magnificent pagoda is four kilometers south of Xi'an and many regard it as a symbol of the city. The pagoda, built in 652 A.D, is a square pyramid and stands at 60 meters high and seven storeys tall."
The Small Wild Goose Pagoda, is situated about 1 km south of Xi'an city in the grounds of Jianfu Temple. The Pagoda is a square brick construction with dense eaves, 45 meters high but missing it's top which was shaken off by an earthquake! The pagoda is uniquely and delicately shaped with a hollow inside and was originally built to house Buddhist scriptures and relics." http://www.sinohotelguide.com/xian/tour/sight/sights.html
I only saw the larger Goose Pagoda (to the left), and that was only in passing. The same with the Drum Tower (immediately below and below left) and the Bell Tower (farther below left), both of which I could see from my hotel window. They kind of looked the same to me, and I didn't take the time to climb either one of them or learn much about them until after I'd left Xi'an. 
However, "the Drum Tower is situated in a lively street which is filled with street traders and hawkers. This tower marks the entrance to the city's 
Muslim Quarter. The streets around this district heading up to the Mosque are like a small village crammed with people selling all kinds of weird and wonderful things."
Muslim Quarter. The streets around this district heading up to the Mosque are like a small village crammed with people selling all kinds of weird and wonderful things."To the east is the larger Bell Tower, which is located in the center of city where the four main streets intersect. The 36-meter (118 ft) high tower was built on a square base with a length of 35.5 meters (116.4 ft) in each side. Covering an area of about 1377.4 sq meters (0.34 acres), the Bell Tower is the largest and also the best preserved one among the existing bell towers in China."
The 
original city Bell Tower was situated to the west of this site and the present construction was built in 1582 and restored in 1739. There is a huge bell hanging on the roof of the tower which was traditionally used to tell the time by and there are other, smaller bells on exhibit in the tower too.
original city Bell Tower was situated to the west of this site and the present construction was built in 1582 and restored in 1739. There is a huge bell hanging on the roof of the tower which was traditionally used to tell the time by and there are other, smaller bells on exhibit in the tower too.And of course, Xi'an was the starting point of the Ancient Silk Road that extended from Asia to Europe and played an important role in cultural exchange between the East and West in ancient times." http://www.chinahighlights.com/xian/
"The camels would be clustered in loose groups outside the city walls, the traders' camps a mixture of colorful tents, utensils, bags, and bundles. There would be cottons and exotic spices from India, metals and interesting ceramics, scrolls of paintings, and seeds. Above all, there would be silk; piles and cascades of silk in all colors and textures to take on the western journey after the present cargo had been sold. Inside the city of Chang'an the merchants would be getting ready to bargain to fill their stores with the latest imports. The Emperor's officials would usually take the best of the items, but there would be enough left to fill the homes of the wealthy and to filter into the rural areas to change life and expand it." http://hua.umf.maine.edu/China/xian.html
There is an incredible amount of historical significance and sights to see in and around Xi'an. Had I realized this beforehand, I would have spent a couple of extra days there.....well worth going to.
The main tourist attractions, which I visited, I have done a separate pages, and they include the Terra cotta Warriors and Horses, Huaqing Hot Springs , Banpo Museum, Mausoleum of Jing Di and the Historical Museum of Shaanxi Province / Shaanxi Lishi , which gives a fantastic overview of Chinese history.
There are some wonderful descriptions of the sites around Xi'an on this web site: http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/xian-chn-sn-x.htm.
The links above and throughout are to find more information on the sites. Check my blog page archive to see my info and photos. I took so many photographs of each that they have become unwieldy, so I've divided them into segments: silk making, factory, Terra Cotta warriors, Banpo Musem and Huaqing Hot Springs, etc.
Nope, there are no pyramids in China....they've just built a small replica so that people in this country will be able to experience what it's like...apparently it is finished inside to look like the real thing too.
