Xi’an China
When most people hear of the city Xi’an, they immediately think of the Terracotta Warriors which is true, they are located nearby but the historic city of Xi’an has so much more to offer! Take a read through our 3-day weekend trip to Xi’an to get all the tips and tricks.
Located in the Shaanxi province, just a 4 hour train ride from Beijing or 6 hours from Shanghai, this city of 12.9 million is a site to see. Having been the previous capital of 13 dynasties, over 1,000 years, this city is rich with history and culture. Qin and Tang dynasty arts and crafts can be seen throughout the city including glazed pottery, antique copperware, jade and paperworkings. It’s now a modern city that has so much to offer along with all the history!
Getting Around
The high speed railway station is a little out of town but Xi’an has an excellent public transportation system. So depending on where you are staying, you can take the bus or train. We got in too late, after the trains stopped running (after 11pm), so we had to take a DiDi/taxi but it was quick and easy getting into the city. Most of the trip we walked around the city or used rental bikes to get from place to place. The only exception was to get out to the Terracota Warrior site. I’d recommend a DiDi or if you book a tour, most companies will pick you up at the hotel. Also coming back, even though it was far out (like 40 minutes or so) there were so many taxis and DiDis waiting to take you back into the city.
Where to Stay
We stayed at the cutest hotel, Han Tang Inn, which was such a zen retreat from the busy streets of the city. They had a tea house on top of the hotel where we just sat and relaxed each afternoon. You can purchase a tea package from them with small snacks or bring your own, like we did. This hotel was in the middle of the walled city but it felt so private. There are many options from budget hotels to swanky western style hotels. The choices are limitless here.
Local Food
As in all places in China, this region touts its own specialty cuisines. There are tons of foods to try but we’d recommend lamb or beef paomo. It’s a delicious soup made with glass noodles and meat broth. They serve it with freshly ripped bread chunks in the soup. Also the rou jia mo in this area is a delicious steamed bun filled with savory meat filling. And finally, we recommend you try any of the thousands of breads served at roadside vendors throughout the city. It comes in so many different flavors: spiced, salted, scallion, green pepper, etc. It almost felt like Paris with the baguette: you can just walk down the street eating the bread out of the bag!
Things To Do
Terracotta Warriors – To be honest, the history of the Terracotta Warriors may be more impressive than actually being there. If you’ve traveled this far though, you should probably go visit but just be aware that it’s crazy crowded and you can’t get super close. Basically as we understood from our guide, back in 1974, a farmer was digging on his land when he accidentally discovered this massive underground grave site filled with thousands of statues made from terracotta clay. Each statue is life sized, with different facial features, eyes, cheeks, smiles, etc. It is rumored that the artists crafted each warrior off of actual individuals. They think that around 200 B.C. the first Emperor of China created this underground burial ground for himself so that the warriors, carved horse, and goods could keep him safe in the afterlife.
We also learned that each warrior was originally painted with vibrant colors. Unfortunately when they unearthed the first pit, the exposure to air immediately destroyed the color. There are 3 total pits, and parts of pit 2 and 3 have not been exposed as they are waiting for a technology to emerge that will stabilize the color to keep it intact before they unearth the rest.
This is a good time to say that normally when we travel, we don’t buy a tour guide but this was well worth it. There are trained guides in uniforms at the entrance grate. Most speak multiple languages so ask for your specific language. You don’t have to book the guide in advance, just pay right at the entrance gate and price didn’t seem to be negotiable as it’s a company service not just random people haggling their service. The guide will give you an earpiece to listen as they walk you through the excavation sites and tell you all the history and answer as many questions as you have. After debating if we should, I am so glad we hired a guide. With all the people inside it would have been easy to accidentally miss something and the information we learned was well worth the price.
As with a lot of places in China, after you are done visiting the attraction, there are tons of restaurants and shops right outside the exit. You can get souvenirs here as well as some delicious local dishes like biang biang mian (hand pulled noodles). You’ll find these noodle shops because a chef will be outside hitting the noodles hard on a table and it makes a distinctive noise which is where the name comes from.
Old Walled Off City
If you’re looking on a map, you can’t miss the walled off city in the center of Xi’an. It’s massive. Just west of the center road, is the Muslim Quarter. This is an amazing walking food street. It’s lined with thousands of restaurants and vendors selling hundreds of different types of delicious breads, halal skewers, mutton stew, and so much more. It’s fun to go at night because of all the neon signs and lights. For food, I’d definitely recommend the crispy rice crackers. They look like giant pancakes but they have a delicious crunch and flavor. Also you have to try the lamb skewers (yang rou chuan). They grill the meat in front of you and for just a few RMB per stick, you can have some of the most delicious grilled lamb. They give you the stick as well so it’s the perfect walking food!
Don’t stop at just this main drag. During the day, venture farther west and you’ll find the more local spots as well. We just walked up and down all the streets lined with market vendors where we found a dentist performing open air surgery while sitting next to a chicken vendor and a lady selling socks. It was wild. Most vendors only take digital payment so you’ll have a lot of practice scanning the vendors QR code and entering the amount you owe them. Once you’ve paid, just show them the screen. It’s easy peasy.
Inside the wall city are also so many cute coffee shops and restaurants. I’d recommend Natural Awakening for amazing coffee and fresh salads. Also the Huancheng South Road district nearby is fun to walk around, with interesting street art graffiti mixed with a local fruit and veggie market underneath. It’s an eclectic blend of new and old.
Xi’an Shuyuanmen Pedestrian Street has an old outdoor market vibe with lots of traditional paintings, ceramics, and books. It was a very pleasant morning, strolling through this part of the Old City. Feel free to wander the alleys and go in all the doors. There are so many shops hidden behind other shops where you can find great antiques and unique souvenirs.
If you are looking for other fun things in the wall city, I’d recommend you take a walk up to the top of the wall. You can purchase a ticket at any of the staircases. Just scan the QR code, enter your information and for a small fee, you can walk on top of the wall. It gives a really interesting perspective and a fun way to see the streets you’ve just been walking. If you really want to, you can rent bikes (not the normal city ones) from a guy on top and ride the whole square. You can also visit the Bell and Drum Towers. To enter, you must use the underground crosswalks which will lead you right to the Bell and Drum Towers underground entrance as there is no entrance above ground due to the intense traffic.
To The South
If you are looking to venture outside the walled city, head south to Everbright City at night. This pedestrian street is basically malls/stores/theaters on the inside but fantastically lit up, bright colored, displays at night. This part of town really comes alive at night. Street vendors line the wide walkways between buildings and you can peruse and enjoy the lights. They host performances when the weather is nice and really use the space to highlight the outside of the buildings as they are so bright at night. Honestly the interiors of the buildings were not much but the exterior is what you come for.
If nature is more your thing, don’t miss Xi’an Botanical Gardens, Tang Dynasty City Wall walking park, or Qujiang Pool Heritage Park. It’s a walk between them but it’s all doable if you enjoy city walking. They’ve done a nice job making sure there is green space, manicured parks, and water features throughout the south end of the city. We saw so many photo shoots in this area because it’s really picture perfect.
Also don’t miss the Big Wild Goose Pagoda if you want some history with beautiful temples. There really is so much to do in this southern area!
To The North
To the north of the walled city is Daming Palace National Heritage Park. This park is bigger than it looks. We spent a few hours walking around. There are beautiful gardens and a lake on the north side which is all free to enjoy. When the trees are in bloom, people bring picnic baskets and lay on the hills. Kids run through the grass and it’s just a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. However if you want to go inside the Palace or museum, there is a small fee. You can also purchase a tram ticket so you can ride around the park to see all the sights in about 30 minutes but I’d recommend a walk if you are up for it because you can meander through all that the park has to offer.
Mount Huashan
The Huashan Mountains are revered in the Taosist tradition as a holy place. There are 5 different peaks that each have significance: East Peak (Facing Sun Peak), South Peak (Landing Wild Geese Peak), West Peak (Lotus Flower Peak), Middle Peak (Jade Maiden Peak), North Peak (Cloud Terrace Peak). You are able to either hike or cable car to the top. If you only have one day, a recommended route/hike that takes 6-8 hours and allows you to see a bit of everything: start at the tourist center, go to North Peak by cable car, then to East Peak, then to South Peak, then to West peak, and finally take the West Peak cable car back to the tourist center. Mount Huashan is 120 kilometers (75 miles) from Xi’an but is easily reachable by high speed train in just 30-40 minutes.
Overall, we LOVED Xi’an. It was a good mix of culture, history, modernity and was super walkable and easy to explore. We spent 3 days there and loved it. If you want to go out to Huashan, then I would definitely recommend adding a few more days to your trip. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
