Take a trip through time

Efforts have been made to breathe new life into the country's historical heritage and bring the positive results to the traveling public.

Meng Wei is still reminiscing on his debut in the 2021 City Wall Marathon, which took place on the ancient city wall of Xi'an, capital of northwestern China's Shaanxi province.

He joined 4,000 other runners in the event, which started in 1993 and exposes runners to the ancient charm of the city, which, for 13 dynasties and empires, was once the country's capital.

"As a local, it wouldn't feel right for me not to join such a big event on my doorstep," Meng says.

The city wall of Xi'an is an extension of the prior Tang Dynasty (618-907) structure. The project started in 1370 and was completed in 1378.

The rectangular construction runs more than 4 kilometers from east to west and about 3 km from north to south.

The city wall was in a wretched state 40 years ago, when weeds ran wild on top of the wall and rubbish piled up against it at the bottom.

The local authority has worked to repair the city wall over the years and continues to explore preventive protection methods.

Supervision has been arranged at more than 8,000 points along the wall to identify any potential risks, says Yang Jin, director of the city wall's management committee.

"Corresponding engineering measures will be taken to remove or curb any problems we find," Yang says.

The committee has also worked on renovating the city moat and developing a historical and cultural block nearby to turn the city wall area into a tourist getaway.

Visitors can tour a historical museum, a temple and an academy of classical learning to savor the value of those cultural relics.