Xi'an City Wall (Chengqiang)

Xian City Wall is not only a well preserved ancient Chinese monument but was once also a complex and well-organized system of defense for the city. The City Wall was built by order of Zhu Yuanzhang, the forefather of Ming Dynasty. He was admonished by a hermit named Zhu Sheng to  "build high walls, store abundant provisions, and take time in proclaiming yourself emperor." Zhu Yuangzhang accepted his proposal and gave orders to the local governments to build the city walls when the whole country was unified. The current City Wall is an extension of the old Tang Dynasty structure. It is 12 meters high, 12 to 14 meters in width across the top, 15 to 18 meters at the bottom and 13.7 kilometers in a total length.