Xi'an, China, in one of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history. Before the Ming Dynasty the city was known as Chang'an.
Today, Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province. Its metro population in 2010 was 6,501,200.
Xi'an is the eastern terminus of the Silk Road and home to the
Terracotta Army. During its history, Xi'an was the capital of China during several of the
most important Dynasties in Chinese history and is one of the
Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. Beginning in the 1990s,
Xi'an has re-emerged as an important cultural, industrial and educational center of the central-northwest region of China.
[1]
Between between the late 11th century BCE and 770 BCE: The area west of Xi'an becomes a cultural and political centre of China with the founding of the Zhou Dynasty.
1133 BCE: King Wen of Zhou (a population that originated in Central Asia) founds the Zhou Dynasty and builds the capital of Hao (near Xi'an).[4]
210 BCE: Qin Shi Huang is buried in a colossal tomb near Xi'an, surrounded by thousands of terracotta soldiers, while Li Ssu chooses a new successor who is incompetent.
202 BCE: Emperor Gaozu of Han, (Liu Bang) the founding emperor of the Han dynasty, established Chang'an province as his capital; his first palace Changle Palace was built across the river from the ruin of the Qin capital. This is traditionally regarded as the founding date of Chang'an and Xi'an.
194 BCE: Construction of the first city wall of Chang'an began, which did not finished until 190 BCE. The wall measured 15 miles (25.7 km) in length, 39.4 to 52.5 feet (12-16 m )in thickness at the base. The area within the wall was 19.9 Miles 2 (36 km2).
312 to 316: Chang'an is the capital during the Jin Dynasty.
652: Construction of the Great Wild Goose Pagoda begins. It measured 210 feet (64 m) in height.
707: Construction of Small Wild Goose Pagoda began. It measured 147.6 feet (45 m) in height. After the earthquake of 1556, its height was reduced to 142.4 feet (43.4 m).
725: Xi'an is probably the largest city in the world.
904: The end of the Tang dynasty brings destruction to Chang'an. Residents were forced to move to Luoyang, the new capital. Only a small area continued to be occupied after the destruction.
1130: Peasant uprising by Zhong Xi'an in the lower Yangtze.
1135: Song general Yue Fei puts down Zhong Xi'an's rebellion.
1902, January 30: Japan signs the Anglo-Japanese Alliance.
The alliance was renewed and extended in scope in 1905 and 1911, before its demise in 1921. It was officially terminated in 1923.
Allied (Entente) Powers
France, British Empire, Russia (1914–17), Italy (1915–18), United States (1917–18), Romania (1916–18), Japan, Serbia, Belgium, Greece (1917–18) and others
Central Powers
Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria (1915–18)
1918, March 3: Russia and Germany sign an armistice at Brest-Litovsk.
1918, November 11: Armistice Day. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Germany
signs an armistice with the Allies. The war is officially over. More than 8.5 million have been killed and over twice as many wounded from across the globe. New technology has
been created, America has risen to prominence as an economic power and new countries are forming in Europe and the Middle East.
1935, October 3; The Second Italo-Abyssinian War. Italian armed forces from Eritrea invaded Ethiopia without a declaration of war. In response Ethiopia declares war on Italy. On October 7, the League of Nations declared Italy to be the aggressor, and started the slow process of imposing limited sanctions on Italy.
1949: The murder of Kim Gu. Kim Gu was a Korean Nationalist who believed in, and fought for, a unified Korea. He strongly objected to the formation of a separate South Korean state. He was shot in his home by a South Korean Army lieutenant.
1949, March 23: President Harry S. Truman approves the withdrawal of all US Forces in South Korea except for 500 military advisors.[7]
1950, October 19: UN Troop capture Pyongyang city, the capital of North Korean.[9]
1950, October 25: Two hundred thousand Chinese troops of the People's Volunteer Army enter North Korea. Chairman Mao Zedong appointed Zhou Enlai as the overall commander and coordinator of the war effort, with Peng Dehuai as field commander. [10]
1950, October 25: The Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) 13th Army Group launched the First Phase Offensive, attacking the advancing U.N. forces near the Sino-Korean border. Twelve days later, Stalin allowed the Soviet Air Force to provide air cover, and provides more aid to China.[11]
1950, November 27: The Chinese 9th Army launched multiple attacks and ambushes along the road between the Chosin Reservoir and Koto-ri. At Yudam-ni, the 5th, 7th and 11th Marines were surrounded. The UN forces breakout on December 6 and conduct a fighting withdrawal to the port city of Hungnam. Approximately 105,000 soldiers, 98,000 civilians, 17,500 vehicles, and 350,000 tons of supplies are evacuated from Hungnam.[12]
Monthly average highs and low temperatures and the average amount of precipitation for Xi'an, China. Data from Information from Wikipedia, China Meteorological Administration. The location of the reporting station is unknown.
Month
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sep.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Annual
Avg. High
41.2 °
48 °
57.9 °
70.7 °
79.9 °
88.5 °
90.3 °
86.5 °
78.1 °
66.7 °
54.3 °
43.3 °
67.12 °
Avg. Low
26.13 °
31.3 °
39.4 °
50.5 °
59.2 °
67.8 °
72.1 °
69.8 °
61.7 °
50.4 °
37.8 °
28 °
49.51 °
Mean
33.66 °
39.65 °
48.65 °
60.6 °
69.55 °
78.15 °
81.2 °
78.15 °
69.9 °
58.55 °
46.05 °
35.65 °
58.31 °
Avg. Prec.
0.26 in
0.385 in
1.07 in
1.48 in
2.16 in
2.54 in
3.84 in
3.09 in
3.70 in
4.43 in
0.85 in
0.29 in
22.09 in
The warmest month of the year is July with an average maximum temperature of 90.3° Fahrenheit, while the coldest month of the year is January with an average
minimum temperature of 26.13° Fahrenheit. The highest recorded temperature was 107.2° Fahrenheit in June, while the lowest reported was -5.1° Fahrenheit in
January.
Temperature variations between night and day tend to be moderate with an average difference of 17.6° Fahrenheit.
The wettest month of the year is July with an average rainfall of 3.84 inches, the driest month of the year is January with an average rainfall of 0.26 inches and
December has an average rainfall of 0.29 inches. The total annual precipitation in Xi´an is 22.09 inches.
Cold semi-arid climates (type "BSk") tend to be located in elevated portions of temperate zones, typically bordering a humid continental climate or a Mediterranean climate. They are typically found in continental interiors some distance from large bodies of water. Cold semi-arid climates usually feature warm to hot dry summers, though their summers are typically not quite as hot as those of hot semi-arid climates. Unlike hot semi-arid climates, areas with cold semi-arid climates tend to have cold winters. These areas usually see some snowfall during the winter, though snowfall is much lower than at locations at similar latitudes with more humid climates. Areas featuring cold semi-arid climates tend to have higher elevations than areas with hot semi-arid climates, and tend to feature major temperature swings between day and night, sometimes by as much as 20 °C (36 °F) or more in that time frame. These large diurnal temperature variations are seldom seen in hot semi-arid climates. Cold semi-arid climates at higher latitudes tend to have dry winters and wetter summers, while cold semi-arid climates at lower latitudes tend to have precipitation patterns more akin to subtropical climates, with dry summers, relatively wet winters, and even wetter springs and autumns. Cold semi-arid climates are most commonly found in Asia and North America. However, they can also be found in Northern Africa, South Africa, Europe, sections of South America and sections of interior southern Australia and New Zealand. [Ref]
