"City Life in the Capital: Chang 'an" by Conrad Schirokauer in A Brief History of Chinese Civilization pp. 110-114 Even the most casual glance at a map of the Sui-Tang capital' Chang 'an, is enough to reveal that it was a planned city. Containing about 30 square miles, excluding the palace area, it was the largest planned city ever built, and also the largest city encompassed by walls. Its roughly one million inhabitants also made it the most populous city in the world, in its day. Roughly another million people lived in the greater metropolitan area outside the walls. Many cities grow naturally in response to the social and economic needs of their inhabitants, but planned cities express the values and priorities of their builders. The essential feature of Chang 'an is that it was built to be the capital of a great empire. In accord with ancient tradition, it was oriented so that both the city and the imperial palace faced south. The entire city was in a sense the home of the emperor. Its layout resembled that of a typical Tang house, with a service area in front and a garden in the rear. The imposing presence of the emperor and his government were further emphasized by the grand avenue that led from the main city gate to the palace and the government complex. Five hundred feet wide, it was well calculated to impress envoys from lesser lands with the might and grandeur of the great Chinese Empire. The people of the city, including those employed in the government complex, lived in rectangular wards. Each ward was a self-contained unit surrounded by walls, with entry provided through a gate that was closed each night. Two friends in adjacent wards might be able to see each other's houses but find it difficult to visit. Since it was the center of government, Chang 'an was hardly the place to escape government surveillance and interference. In contrast to medieval Europe, where the city became a refuge and a center of freedom, in China one sought freedom in remote mountains and hills. Not everyone wished to rusticate in a remote village however; there were many who bitterly bemoaned an enforced absence from the great capital—unless, perhaps, they were posted to the secondary capital of Luoyang or to the southern metropolis of Yangzhou. Tang culture was doubly cosmopolitan: first, in the sense that China was open to cultural influences from India and the distant west; second, in the sense that China, itself, was the cultural model for the other settled societies of East Asia. Both aspects were reflected in the considerable number of foreigners who lived in Chang 'an. Some were students. Among these the most numerous were the Koreans, of whom some 8,000 were said to be in Chang'an in 640. Other foreigners were engaged in commerce, coming from as far away as India, Iran, Syria, and Arabia. The West Market was the center for foreign trade, where customers could enjoy exotic foods and beverages and attend performances of foreign acrobats or magicians or see a foreign play. Stylish Tang ladies sported foreign coiffures, while painters and potters had a good time rendering the outlandish features of "barbarians" from distant lands. Images of foreigners from all over Central Asia and beyond to Iran were prominent among the clay figurines manufactured in specialty shops to be used for burial with the dead. Among the tomb figures are camel drivers and grooms for the horses, examples of which can be found in almost all museum collections of Chinese art. Information concerning foreign foods, music, and customs can also be found in Tang writings, particularly poetry. It is characteristic of the robust and cosmopolitan spirit of the period that one of the favorite pastimes of its aristocratic ladies and gentlemen was polo, a game which originated in Persia. The participation of women in such athletic activities and their fondness for riding are worth emphasizing in the light of the very different ethos that was to prevail in post-Tang times. Among the amenities of the capital were the Serpentine Lake and the Hibiscus Garden in the southeast corner of the city, where newly granted degree holders celebrated their good fortune by floating wine cups on the water, and the emperor himself sometimes entered the Purple Cloud Pavilion to observe the festivities. Notably absent, however, were such public buildings as forums, baths, or stadiums found in cities inhabited by citizens rather than subiects. Nor did Chang 'an boast great, monumental structures of stone or brick. The men of Tang were under no illusion concerning the permanence of stone. In their view, it was the written word which endured. As the map of Chang 'an clearly shows, the city was also a religious center. Manichean, Nestorian, and Zoroastrian temples testify to Tang tolerance and cosmopolitanism, but their congregations, like those of Buddhist temples during the Han, were largely foreign.