The Tang West Market

Known as “The Gold Market” at the Starting Point of the Silk Road, the Tang West Market lies in the Lianhu District, Xi’an City, Shannxi Province, with a building area of 1.35 billion square meters and is established with an investment of 8 billion yuan.

13,00 years ago during the Tang Dynasty, the city of Chang’an had an East Market and a West Market. The East Market aimed at domestic market, while the West Market was the international market, also called the “Gold Market.” It was the grandest commercial market for prosperous international trade at the time. The Tang West Market was not only a very important window of the Tang Empire for social development, economic prosperity and cultural advancement, but also a starting point and an international trading center for the Silk Road that connected the East and the West. It was the first city proper that had economic and cultural characteristics in the ancient history of China.

The Tang West Market is the only international commercial, tourism and cultural industrial project that has been built on the original site of the West Market of the city of Chang’an during the Tang Dynasty with the Tang culture and the Silk Road as its theme, and it is also the only project that is named as the starting point of the Silk Road.

West Market falls into five major functional areas, namely, Characteristic Pedestrian Mall, Modern Commercial Area, Recreational Area, Hotel Area, and Office Block. Thus, the citizens and visitors can taste a strong Tang culture flavor while doing shopping and tourism，and a new tourist consumption hot spot has come into being, described as “See the Terra-Cotta Warriors if you want to seek antiques and go to West Market if you want shopping in Xi’an”.

Tourists can also visit the Museum of the Tang West Market to learn some historical knowledge of the culture and business culture of the Silk Road, and appreciate those cultural relics housed here. Also, there is a big shopping mall in this scenic area, with lots of world-famous brands, many local restaurants and snacks for people to enjoy.

Tang West Market Museum

In the north of the market, there is the Tang West Market Museum, focusing on the Silk Road culture. With an area of 3.5 hectares (9 acres), the museum stores more than 20,000 relics from Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC) to Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Exquisite bronzes, colorful ceramics, various terra figures, bright gold and silver wares and gorgeous silks are shown in the museum.

In the first floor you can see a glass floor, under which stands the original West Market Site. The ancient well mouth and sewer are still intact. Even the track left by horses and carriages can also be seen today. From all of these, we are able to see a little bit of the West Market’s prosperity.

West Market of Great Tang is characterized by a diversified and multi-leveled culture and commerce, being a marker building of Xi’an or even the whole Shaanxi Province.

TIPS

1.Basic info

The Tang West Market

Address: South Laodong Road, Lianhu District, Xi’an

Ticket：Free for all

Time: Open all day

The Tang West Market Museum

Address: No.118 South Laodong Road, Lianhu District, Xi’an

Admission Fee

Floor 1 to 3: free

Floor 4: CNY 30

Opening Hours

April-October: 09:00-17:30

November-March: 09:00-17:00 (Closed on Mondays.)

2. Transportation

By bus:

Take bus No.201, 40, k40, 206 and get off at Datangxishi Station.

By taxi:

It costs about CNY 21 from the Xi’an Railway Station to this scenic area.

By subway:

Take Subway Line 1 to Laodonglu station(Exit C1), then take bus No.24 and get off at Datangxishi Station.