Xi’an City of Eternal Peace, built under heaven’s brightest stars

To arrive in Xi’an, China, is to enter a city where history does not simply sit behind glass. It stands on ramparts, rises from excavated earth, scents the air with cumin and fresh bread, glows in lantern light and, at night, returns in costume, music and spectacle for a generation that records wonder through phone screens. Once known as Chang’an, meaning “Eternal Peace,” Xi’an is one of China’s great ancient capitals and the eastern starting point of the Silk