The historic city of Xi'an. Photo: Chinanews.cn

The State Council has recently approved Xi'an municipal government's proposal to move its offices out of downtown to the suburban area. The relocation proposal indicates that Xi'an's urban development structure will undergo fundamental changes and the old town restoration plan will be kicked off soon.

Xi'an city mayor Sun Qingyun said the old town restoration plan is aimed to restore the city's original conditions. To do so, the downtown area will be rebuilt to imbue it with strong historical and cultural features and functions as a tourism, trade, and residential area.

In the city's new development plan, the downtown area will become the main area of the city, surrounded by three new towns, Lintong, Yanliang, and Jingwei. The Chang'an City will be the core building in the main area, and it will be built into a commercial, tourist site.

After the relocation of the Xi'an municipal government offices, the old town's functions in administration, transportation, and living will be weakened, while its functions in tourism and cultural exchange will be strengthened. The reconstruction will adhere to the principle of "more dismantling, less new construction." Public buses will be the main transportation in the town. Cycling and walking on foot will be encouraged.

The old town restoration plan is considered as the most important part of the city's new development plan and its efforts to preserve the historical feature of the city. The plan consists of three parts, namely the core area of the Tang-Dynasty imperial buildings, which is located within the ring road; the extended area of the Tang-Dynasty imperial buildings which is 200-500 meters near the core area; and the related area of the Tang-Dynasty imperial buildings which mainly includes the Daminggong Palace and Xingqing Palace sites. (Source: Chinanews.cn)