For tourists, Xi'an's gates are always open

An army of cleaners and sweepers were out keeping the city in tip-top condition, so it always has its best foot forward for snap-happy tourists. I also noticed many more foreign visitors in the mix, a clearer sign than any of Xi'an's continuing opening-up.

You can feel the significance tourism plays by just walking through the city. Everywhere there are well-kept parks, beautified walkways, time-honored local brands and immaculately maintained relics from dynasties long-since overthrown.

Of course, these also improve the quality of life for local residents, who hit the streets in droves in the evenings, which meant I was hard pressed to find a route through all the dancing couples. Square dancing, as it is known, is a common sight in most Chinese cities, but the diversity of cultures and the sheer number of participants beat anything I'd ever seen.

Innovative new ideas, originally thought up to help tourists, are also improving local lifestyles. The tourism bureau is working with internet giant Baidu on a map app that shows the nearest toilets - the first of its kind in the country. Around 450 locations are already live on the app and another 650 or so are set to join in the next three months, with incentives offered for hotels to open up their facilities for passers-by.

Kang says that last year Xi'an housed, fed and entertained 180 million tourists both from home and abroad, and the city provides employment for 20,000 tour guides. Unsurprisingly then, the tourism industry makes up a healthy portion of the city's economy, contributing a hefty 8.6 percent to GDP last year. That's roughly equivalent to the amount generated by Chinese high-tech companies fueling the emerging industries sector.

And those numbers say a lot about the Xi'an of today. While it is the rich heritage that draws visitors, like me, in their hundreds of millions every year, the city's new innovative and creative sectors are propelling it toward becoming a modern global metropolis, a key self-set goal.

As a tourist in the city, it's becoming easier to see how these two central characteristics are blending to create a new Xi'an - harnessing an innovative spirit to preserve and popularize its historical roots.