Xi'an, the ancient Chinese Chang'an is an important site of the world's cultures.
The city on the Yellow River with its surroundings is one of the birthplaces of Chinese culture and civilization. North-east of Xi'an, in 1974, the clay army of the first Chinese emperor, with its thousands of warriors, was discovered. Here, too, his huge burial mound, still unopened, is situated. And it was here that, by uniting the country for the first time, Emperor Qin Shihuangdi founded the series of Chinese imperial dynasties which extends up to the present day.
Xi'an, Chang'an was the capital city of the Tang dynasty and the starting point of the Silk Road, which led to the Mediterranean. It was here that merchants and artists from all over the world met, here there emerged an exceptionally vibrant, festive culture, in which women enjoyed equal status and took part in all activities of social and cultural life.
The film shows the excavation site of the clay army, in detail which was hitherto impossible; it takes us to the sites of Tang culture, shows the treasures in the museums and, in a performance of the Tang theatre, it also shows the magnificent, colorful dancing and music of this time. It takes us to the imperial tombs of the Han and Tang eras, allows us to witness Buddhist rituals in a famous temple and invites us to stroll through the city's Muslim district and to visit the Great Mosque of Xi'an.
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