Chang'an (长安) is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. By the time of the Ming Dynasty, the name was changed to Xi'an (西安), meaning "Western Peace", which has remained its name to the present day.

Chang'an had been settled since the Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao Culture (仰韶文化) established in Banpo (半坡) in the city's suburb. Also in the northern vicinity of the modern Xi'an, the tumulus ruler Qin Shi Huang of Qin Dynasty held his imperial court, and constructed his massive mausoleum that is guarded by the famed Terracotta Army.

The capital Chang'an of the Han Dynasty (汉朝) was located 3 km northwest of modern Xi'an. As the capital of the Western Han (西汉), it was the political, economic and cultural center of China. It was also the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, and a cosmopolitan metropolis comparable with the greatest cities of the contemporaneous Roman Empire.

It was a consumer city, a city whose existence was not primarily predicated upon manufacturing and trade, but rather boasted such a large population because of its role as the political and militaristic center of China.