Xianyang

Xianyang (Chinese: 咸阳; pinyin: Xiányáng) is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. The old Xianyang city was once the capital of the Qin dynasty and thus the first imperial capital of China. It is now integrated into the Greater Xi'an Metropolitan Area, one of the main megalopolises in northwestern China, with more than 7.17 million inhabitants. Its built-up area, consisting of 2 urban districts (Qindu and Weicheng), had 945,420 inhabitants at the 2010 census. It has a total area of 10,213 square kilometers (3,943 mi2). Xianyang is the seat of the Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, the main airport serving Xi'an and the largest airport in Northwest China, and one of the 40 busiest airports in the world. Xianyang is one of the top 200 cities in the world by scientific research outputs, as tracked by the Nature Index. It is home to the main campus of Northwest A&F University (NWAFU), one of the world's top universities in agriculture science related fields, and a member of "Project 985" club which is an organization of 39 reputable universities in China.