Xi'an is the capital of Shaanxi province, located in the central part of China. Xi’an, previously known as Chang’an meaning Perpetual Peace or Eternal Peace, has a very long history of 3000 years, and has been the capital of ancient China for more than 1300 years.

Xi’an is one of the birthplaces of the ancient civilization in the Yellow River Basin area of the country. Xi'an enjoys equal fame with Athens, Cairo, and Rome as one of the four major ancient civilization capitals. In addition, with the longest history and most influence among its Chinese counterparts, Xi'an has been reputed as the cradle of Chinese people and civilization, as well as the representative of Chinese culture. As the starting point of the Silk Road, Xi’an is the economic, cultural and commercial center, the new Asia-Europe continental bridge.
Besides the profound history and culture, Xi’an is also one of the biggest centers for education, science & technology in China. Till the end of 2012, there are more than 3000 institutions for scientific research and development and 460 individual scientific research institutions, in which there are 231 of the national-level key laboratories, engineering technology research centers and industry testing centers, 0.44 million professionals and 55 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering.