XI'AN, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, has attracted over 750,000 new permanent residents this year, according to local authorities.

The newly registered permanent urban residents in Xi'an has now exceeded one million, after easing of the city's household registration policy started in March 2017, according to the Xi'an public security bureau.

As one of China's ancient capitals, Xi'an is not only rich in cultural heritage but also boasts great potential and promising prospects, said Wang Zhuo, 22, a newly registered resident in Xi'an.

The household registration permit, or "hukou," is a crucial document entitling residents to social welfare in a given city.

Currently, university students can apply for a Xi'an hukou online using only their Chinese ID card and student ID card.

Since last year, many second-tier cities including Shenyang, Changsha, Chengdu, Wuhan and Tianjin have also been rolling out measures to ease restrictions on hukou, in order to woo talented people from elsewhere.

Xi'an, known in ancient times as Chang'an, is the starting point of the Silk Road -- an ancient land trade route that ran through northwest China's Shaanxi, Gansu and Xinjiang, and central and western Asia, before reaching the Mediterranean.