Xian, China 5 Day Itinerary
Xian, China: 5-Day Travel Itinerary
The Terracotta Army was discovered in 1974 by farmers digging a well. They found pottery shards and reported them to local authorities, were paid a small fee, and that was largely the end of their formal involvement. The site they stumbled into turned out to contain more than 8,000 life-size clay soldiers, horses, and chariots buried with the first emperor of unified China, Qin Shi Huang, in 210 BCE. The soldiers’ faces are individually distinct. No two are identical, which means either each one was modelled from a real soldier, or the craftsmen varied them systematically to create that impression. Archaeologists have not fully resolved which. The emperor’s actual tomb mound sits nearby and has never been excavated.
That is the reason to come to Xi’an. The food, the city walls, and the Muslim Quarter make it worth staying five days rather than one.
Getting There and Into the City
Xi’an Xianyang International Airport (XIY) is approximately 40 kilometres northwest of the city centre. In February 2025 a new Terminal 5 opened, served by Metro Line 14. The metro is the fastest and cheapest option: CNY 6-9, around 40 minutes to the Bell Tower area. A shuttle bus costs CNY 25 and takes 60 to 90 minutes depending on traffic. A taxi runs CNY 100 to 200 and is 30 to 60 minutes; use the metered cabs from the official taxi queue rather than accepting any offer inside the terminal.
Xi’an is also well connected by high-speed rail. From Beijing the journey takes around 4.5 hours; from Shanghai around 5.5 hours. The Xi’an North Railway Station is a major hub on the national network.
Where to Stay
The Bell Tower Hotel sits at the literal centre of the old city, where the tower is visible from the lobby and the location puts you within 10 minutes’ walk of the Muslim Quarter, the Drum Tower, and the South Gate of the city wall. Mid-range pricing but the location justifies the cost.
For a higher budget, the Sofitel Xi’an on Renmin Square has the best pool and most consistent international service standards in the city. The Qinlong Hotel in the South Gate area is a budget option used frequently by independent travellers; basic but very well placed.
Day 1: Arrival and the Muslim Quarter
After arriving and checking in, resist the instinct to plan a structured afternoon. Go directly to the Muslim Quarter.
The quarter (Huimin Jie) runs north from the Drum Tower and is Xi’an’s most concentrated area of Hui Muslim culture, trade, and food. It is crowded almost constantly and best entered from Beiguangji Street to the west, via Metro Line 6 (Guangji Street station), a marginally quieter approach than the main Drum Tower entrance. The smaller alley Dapiyuan, running east-west off the main drag, has sit-down restaurants that are easier to navigate than the pure street food strip.
What to eat on Day 1: Yangrou Paomo at Lao Sun’s (hand-torn flatbread in rich mutton broth, a dish that requires sitting down and at least 20 minutes), Jia San’s soup bao dumplings with tissue-thin skins, and biangbiang noodles (wide, hand-pulled noodles with chilli oil and vinegar) from any stall with a visible kitchen. Average spend for a meal of multiple dishes: CNY 60-100.
Evening: Walk to the Bell Tower and Drum Tower at night. Both are lit and the square between them is a local gathering place with street performers. Admission to climb either tower costs around CNY 40 combined. Skip the overpriced Tang Dynasty dinner shows near the towers; they are aimed at group tours and the food is not the point.
Day 2: Terracotta Warriors
Book this in advance. The Terracotta Warriors Museum (Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum) requires pre-purchased timed entry tickets. The site caps entry at 65,000 visitors per day and 13,700 at any one time. During peak season (April to October, Chinese public holidays) tickets sell out days ahead. Standard adult admission is CNY 120 in the off-peak season (December to February) and CNY 150 at peak season. Book through the official museum website or through Trip.com with an international credit card and passport details.
Getting there: The museum is 30 kilometres east of the city centre. Tourist Bus 5 (306) from the train station costs CNY 8 and takes around an hour. A taxi costs CNY 100 to 150 each way. The first tram slot of the morning is quieter; try to be at Pit 1 by 8:30 AM.
The site: Pit 1 is the largest, at 230 metres long, with row upon row of soldiers arranged for battle. Pit 2 contains cavalry and archers in a more complex formation and is where the most archaeologically significant ongoing work is happening; some areas are actively being excavated behind barriers. Pit 3 is the smallest and represents the command headquarters, with officers and chariots. The Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum Park (Lishan Garden) across the road from the main site contains the unexcavated burial mound; it is a large grassy hill with a small museum and requires about 45 minutes.
What most guides miss: The bronze chariots in the separate Qin Bronze Chariot Museum on the main site are more technically astonishing than the soldiers and receive less attention. Each horse is cast in 34 individual pieces and assembled. They were made around 210 BCE.
Allow at least 3 hours on site. Ticket checking stops at 5 PM.
Day 3: City Wall and Shaanxi History Museum
Morning: Rent a bike at the South Gate (Yongning Gate) and cycle the complete circuit of the Xi’an city wall. The wall dates from the Ming Dynasty (1370 CE), runs 13.7 kilometres, and the full circuit takes 60 to 90 minutes by bike. Bike rental costs around CNY 45 for 90 minutes; return the bike to any of the multiple stations around the wall. The wall is 12 metres high and wide enough for four people to walk abreast; the views down into the interior city and outward to the modern city are genuinely striking.
Afternoon: The Shaanxi History Museum holds one of the best provincial collections in China, covering 1.5 million years of human settlement in the region with particular strength in Tang Dynasty artefacts: gold and silver tableware, Buddhist figures, painted pottery figurines. Standard admission is free but the Special Exhibition Hall (CNY 30) is worth it for the Tang Dynasty objects. Queue or book in advance online; the free entry causes bottlenecks. Allow 2 to 3 hours.
Evening: Skewer restaurants in the Huifang quarter around the Muslim Street area stay open late. Lamb skewers, whole flatbread stuffed with spiced minced lamb (a proper roujiamo), and sesame cold noodles are the evening staples. Beer is available in the non-halal restaurants on parallel streets.
Day 4: Small Wild Goose Pagoda and Tang Paradise
Morning: The Small Wild Goose Pagoda in the Jianfu Temple complex is frequently overshadowed by the more famous Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, which is the better-known landmark but surrounded by a large tourist commercial zone that diminishes the experience. The Small Pagoda, built in 707 CE, survived a major earthquake in 1556 partially intact; the crack running through it sealed itself over subsequent centuries, which local historians interpreted as a sign of divine favor. The temple and park grounds are free; climbing the pagoda costs CNY 30. Quieter than its counterpart and worth the early morning visit.
Afternoon: Tang Paradise (Da Tang Fu Rong Yuan) is a large cultural park built on the site of a Tang Dynasty imperial garden. It is unambiguously a commercial recreation rather than a historic site, but the lake, pavilions, and Tang-era architecture recreations are well done and the evening light show at the central lake is the best pure spectacle in Xi’an for visitors with children or an appetite for theatrical production. Evening tickets are sold separately from daytime admission; the evening show starts around 8 PM.
Evening Dinner: De Fa Chang on the Bell Tower Square has been serving Xi’an’s classic dumplings (jiaozi) for decades. The dumpling banquet (a set course of miniature dumplings in 18 different shapes and fillings representing Tang Dynasty court cuisine) is the tourist version but the food is genuinely good. Book ahead or expect a queue.
Day 5: Huaqing Hot Springs and Departure
The Huaqing Palace and Hot Springs are on the way to the airport, approximately 30 kilometres east of the city near the Terracotta Warriors site. They have been in continuous use since the Tang Dynasty, when Emperor Xuanzong built palace halls for his imperial consort Yang Guifei here in the 8th century; the romantic tragedy of their relationship is one of the most-retold stories in Chinese classical poetry. Admission costs around CNY 120 and includes the reconstructed Tang palace buildings and the outdoor hot spring pools (bathing requires a separate spa ticket). The site is also where Chiang Kai-shek was arrested during the 1936 Xi’an Incident; the bedroom where he was surprised and the nearby hillside where he fled are marked.
Allow 90 minutes before heading to the airport. From the Huaqing site, a taxi to the airport takes around 20 minutes. If departing by high-speed train from Xi’an North Station, return directly from the city centre by metro (Line 2 to Xi’an North Station) and allow adequate time, as the station is very large and security queues on busy days can take 20 minutes.
Practical Notes
The Muslim Quarter does not serve alcohol and pork does not appear. Bring cash (the quarter is mostly card-unfriendly for small purchases). The summer months of July and August are hot and humid; late September through October gives the most comfortable weather and the autumn light on the city walls is excellent. Avoid Golden Week (first week of October) unless you book everything months ahead; the Terracotta Warriors alone see 80,000 visitors some peak days.
Download the Alipay or WeChat Pay app before arriving if you have a compatible foreign bank card linked; many food stalls and smaller restaurants do not take cash or foreign cards directly. The Metro is the most reliable way to move around the city and uses the same QR code payment system.