Xi’an was once the capital of thirteen dynasties. The historical and cultural treasures left behind are like stars. The magnificent ancient city wall, the bustling Muslim Quarter, and the world-famous Terracotta Army are all favored by tourists from all over the place.
The following scenic spots are the most popular in Xi’an and are suitable for first-time visitors. The scenic spots are concentrated in the city center and the eastern suburbs, including historical sites, food blocks, and city landmarks. Three days are enough for a full tour.
Top 1 Terracotta Army
Highlights: One of the eight wonders of the world, a large-scale relic
The Terracotta Army (Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum) is located in Lintong District in the east of Xi’an. It is about more than an hour’s drive from downtown Xi’an. Every year, millions of domestic and foreign tourists come here especially to see this “eighth wonder of the world”.
Even after thousands of years, the facial expressions of the figurines in this huge underground formation are still vivid. The details of the clothing are also clearly visible, and even the threads on the soles of the shoes can be seen clearly.
The museum is divided into Pits No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, as well as the Bronze Chariot and Horse Exhibition Hall. Pit No. 1 displays thousands of terracotta warriors and horses, with a large and spectacular scene. Pit No. 2 has not been excavated on a large scale yet, but the unearthed military types are more delicate. The green-faced figurine currently on display in the Shaanxi History Museum was discovered here. Come in and maybe under your feet is a treasure that will shock the world in the future. The military types in Pit No. 3 belong to the “command post”. Warrior figurines and chariots that are not found in Pits No. 1 and No. 2 are unearthed. It has the smallest area but is the most special.
Practical information
Tickets and opening hours
Ordinary ticket: 120 yuan/person (You need to follow the official WeChat public account of “Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum” and purchase tickets through WeChat appointment).
Peak season: 8:30 – 17:00 (from March 1 to the end of November).
Off-season: 8:30 – 16:30 (from December 1 to the end of February of the following year).
Suggested tour duration
Two and a half hours is enough to fully visit Pits No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, as well as the Bronze Chariot and Horse Exhibition Hall.
Transportation information
Take Metro Line 9 in the urban area to Huaqingchi Station and transfer to Lintong Tourist Route 613 to go there; or take Metro Line 1 to Fangzhicheng Junction Station and transfer to Tourist Route 5 or Bus No. 306 to go there.
Surrounding side trips: Huaqing Palace
Both Huaqing Palace and the Terracotta Army are located at the foot of Lishan Mountain in Lintong District. When taking a bus from downtown Xi’an to the Terracotta Army, Huaqing Palace will be passed on the way. If you want to make a round trip in one day, you can arrange to visit Huaqing Palace in the morning and then go to the Terracotta Army in the afternoon, which is more convenient.
If you want to experience Huaqing Palace more deeply, you can choose to stay at the Huaqing Yu Tang Hot Spring Hotel inside the scenic area and enjoy a “private hot spring” in the room. In addition, the stage plays “The Song of Everlasting Sorrow” and “The Xi’an Incident” in the evening also offer very good experiences and are worth enjoying.
Top 2 Muslim Quarter
Highlights: A place to taste Northwest snacks and gather many time-honored brands.
The Muslim Quarter is also known as “Huifang”. It is composed of several streets such as Beiyuanmen, Beiguangji Street, Xiyangshi, and Dapiyuan. Among them, the most prosperous one is Beiyuanmen. Sometimes people only stroll to the end of Beiyuanmen and then return by the same way. In fact, there are many delicious foods hidden in the other streets.
Here you can taste many Northwest-style roujiamo (Chinese hamburgers), a wide variety of noodles, sizzling red willow kebabs on the grill, as well as decades-old signature time-honored stores like “Dingjia Crispy Pork” and “Jia San Steamed Soup Dumplings”. The lively market atmosphere on the street is also worth stopping for. The Muslims are skilled in their crafts. They throw noodles, grill kebabs, and cut osmanthus cakes in the street. Watching the process of delicious food being born is very interesting and also a good time to experience Xi’an’s food culture.
Top 3 Xi’an Ancient City Wall.
The Xi’an Ancient City Wall was built in the Ming Dynasty and is now the largest and best-preserved city wall in China. There are buildings such as enemy platforms, main towers, arrow towers, gate towers, and corner towers on the city wall. There are currently 18 city gates, four of which are ancient relics, and the rest are rebuilt later. The magnificent city wall stands in the very center of the city, surrounding the old city areas such as the Bell and Drum Towers and the Muslim Quarter.
The city wall is about 14 meters wide and very flat on top. Travelers can rent bicycles on the city wall to tour around. The original features inside the wall and the numerous high-rise buildings outside the wall can all be seen at a glance from the city wall. Nowadays, the ancient city wall is not only a historical attraction but also a place for Xi’an people to relax. Under the city wall, occasionally you can see old people playing erhu and yelling a few lines of Shaanxi Opera. If you are in the mood, you can also take a cruise on the moat around the city wall and experience seeing the city wall from the water.
Practical information
Suggested tour duration
The total length of the ancient city wall is nearly 14 kilometers. There are three ways to travel around the city wall: walking takes about 3 hours, cycling takes more than 1 hour, and taking an electric sightseeing car and getting off to visit also takes about 1 hour. If you have time and energy, it is recommended to experience the fun of cycling around the city wall. After all, this is not common in China. But if you are in a hurry, you can go up from the more lively South Gate, walk around and take pictures casually, and then find a nearby city gate to go down. If you only want to experience half a circle, most people choose to go up from the North Gate and down from the South Gate.
Recommended shooting spots on the city wall:
1️⃣ The most classic shooting spot is on the west side of Yongning Gate. Sitting on the city wall with the intricate antique-style buildings as the background. Be careful not to fall as there is no guardrail.
2️⃣ The stairs of Changle Gate. It’s an extremely charming angle. The right staircase has a better and more majestic visual angle than the left one. But if someone is sitting there, you can only shoot from the left. The photographer needs to stand far away and shoot at an oblique angle. This shooting spot has not been recommended by anyone yet.
3️⃣ Take a group of pictures against the setting sun. Around 5:30, make sure to capture the ancient buildings in the background. Otherwise, only the stone path will be in the picture and it won’t be rich enough.
4️⃣ The building diagonally opposite the second shooting spot. Stand on the platform and take a top-down shot. With the lamppost as the center and the building as the background, walk naturally.
Top 4 Bell Tower and Drum Tower
Highlights: Landmarks of Xi’an, night view viewing spots.
The Bell Tower and Drum Tower are located in the center of Xi’an city within the city wall. The two towers face each other across the street, and the walking distance between them is only five minutes. The exteriors of the two towers are majestic and magnificent, and among the bell and drum towers of the same period, they are the best preserved. In ancient times, the bell and drum towers played the role of transmitting signals and telling time. Nowadays, the history of the bell and drum towers, some calligraphy and paintings, as well as furniture from the Ming and Qing dynasties are exhibited in the two towers. You can choose one tower to climb up and overlook the streets of Xi’an.
In addition, the area near the Bell Tower and Drum Tower is very suitable for accommodation. It is relatively convenient to reach various attractions in the city. Most of the hotels here are budget chain hotels and youth hostels. Staying here overnight, going out at night to enjoy the night view of the Bell Tower and Drum Tower, taking a walk and taking pictures, and you can also have a snack by the way. The bell-ringing performance at 9 am in the Bell Tower allows people to start their journey in Xi’an in the sound of the bell.
Best shooting angles.
The Bell Tower is at the intersection of the four avenues of east, west, south, and north. Vehicles are coming and going on all sides. Standing on the opposite side of the road, you can take a complete picture of the Bell Tower. When taking night scenes, you might as well lower the shutter speed to let the traffic flow stretch into a line and converge in front of the Bell Tower, showing the feeling of the coexistence of modernity and antiquity.
Practical information
Tickets and opening hours
Bell Tower: 35 yuan/person
Drum Tower: 35 yuan/person
Combined ticket for both towers: 50 yuan/person
Opening hours: 8:30 – 21:30.
Top 5 Shaanxi History Museum
Highlights: A glance through thousands of years, a treasure trove of China, a palace of art and history.
Visiting the Shaanxi History Museum once, the profound history of Xi’an is unfolded layer by layer like unwinding a cocoon. From the Lantian ape-man in the primitive society to the cultural treasures of the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, the span is as long as more than one million years. Nearly 400,000 exhibits are on display, including paintings, bronze wares, gold, silver, jade and so on.
The museum is divided into three major exhibition halls, namely “Ancient Civilization of Shaanxi”, “Treasures Left from the Great Tang Dynasty” and “Exhibition Hall of Rare Tang Dynasty Murals”. “Ancient Civilization of Shaanxi” is a basic permanent exhibition and admission is free; the latter two require separate ticket purchases (holding any ticket of the latter two allows entry into the permanent exhibition with the ticket; holding a ticket to the Exhibition Hall of Rare Tang Dynasty Murals allows free entry into the “Treasures Left from the Great Tang Dynasty” and the permanent exhibition halls).
Practical information
Tickets
The permanent exhibition hall of Ancient Civilization of Shaanxi implements “free admission but ticket required”.
“Treasures Left from the Great Tang Dynasty – Exhibition of Cultural Relics Unearthed from Hejia Village Cellar”: 30 yuan/person.
Exhibition Hall of Rare Tang Dynasty Murals: 270 yuan/person, student ticket 130 yuan/person.
(All tickets need to be reserved and purchased on the WeChat official account [Shaanxi History Museum Ticketing System]).
Opening hours: 9:00 – 17:30 (entry stops at 16:00), closed on Mondays (except for national holidays).
Recommended tour duration: A relatively in-depth tour takes more than 3 hours. It is recommended to set aside half a day.
Top 6 Giant Wild Goose Pagoda (Datang Ever-bright City)
Highlights: The place where Xuanzang stored scriptures, musical fountain, leisure square.
The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda is also one of the famous landmarks in Xi’an. It is located in the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda Temple. It was originally built for Xuanzang to enshrine Sanskrit scriptures and relics. It is a representative work of introducing Buddhist architecture into China. The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda was also the place where newly promoted scholars in the Tang Dynasty inscribed their names. Unfortunately, these inscriptions can no longer be seen today. On both sides of the south gate at the bottom of the tower are two stone tablets, “Preface to the Sacred Teachings of the Tripitaka of the Great Tang Dynasty” and “Record of the Preface to the Sacred Teachings of the Tripitaka of the Great Tang Dynasty”. Inside the tower, Buddhist cultural relics are exhibited layer by layer.
Today, the area around the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda has been transformed into Datang Ever-bright City with prosperous Tang culture and Tang style elements, becoming a one-stop consumption area for eating, staying, traveling, shopping and entertainment. Visiting at night is even more charming. The famous “Miss Tumbler” performance is in Wuling Jiayun on the west side of the North Square. The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda musical fountain in the North Square and the large-scale performance “Return to Chang’an Again” in Kaiyuan Square are all worth seeing. “The Story of the Wild Goose Pagoda” in the South Square of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda is a light and shadow theme park with the theme of “Journey to the West”. You can take your children to experience the story of “Journey to the West” in person.
