Though ROK President Park Geun-hye will spend most of her ongoing state visit in Beijing, she also plans to take a side trip to Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi province.

She chose to visit this city because it is an ancient cultural city with more than 3,000 years of history, a hub for China's Great Western Development Strategy and one of the top three educational cities in the country.

"It best illustrates the past, present and future of the country," according to ROK media.