In the first half of this year, Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, saw a year-on-year increase of 2.8 percent in its gross domestic product (GDP) which hit 457.51 billion yuan ($65.62 billion), according to the Xi'an bureau of statistics.

During the period, the added value of the city's manufacturers above a designated size -- those with an annual revenue of 20 million yuan or more -- increased by 6.2 percent year on year, an increase of 8.3 percentage points on the first quarter.

In the first six months, the added value of the primary industry reached 10.58 billion yuan, an increase of 1.6 percent on last year.

Meanwhile, the added value of the secondary industry came in at 151.99 billion yuan, up 5.5 percent and the added value of the tertiary industry rose by 1.4 percent to 294.95 billion yuan, compared with the previous corresponding period.

The city's total retail sales came in at 208.62 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 13.3 percent -- but the rate of decrease narrowed by 9.8 percentage points from the first quarter.

In addition, Xi'an reported total imports and exports worth 166.11 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.8 percent.