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5 Stars - 14 Opinions
No.19 Jiangong Road, Xincheng District, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710043, China
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of people enjoy staying here
14 Opinions
The wall around the old city in Xi'an
Dumplings - China
Tandem bicycles are available
Xi'an - China
I only stay at Xi'an one evening plus one full day. What are the must see historical sites in addition to the Terra Cotta Warriors. Thank you.
Take a walk through the muslim quarter and have a meal there. Visit the mosque.
Walk on the walls, visit the Drum Tower and the Bell Tower, also Wild Goose pagoda.
It's easy to combine all the sights mentioned here, if you limit yourself to a small section of the wall. Get a decent map, head for the Drum and Bell Towers, and spend a couple of hours walking. You won't have any trouble finding a place to eat in the Muslim quarter.
I quite agree with the other responses. The Terracotta soldiers for sure - the small side museum with some of the other discoveries are well worth visiting - the one housing the small model of the Emperor's wagon should be visited while at the site.
Next, the Muslim quarter would be at the top of my list, followed by the city wall. The pagoda and bell tower could be skipped after a day of touring. We also visited the Banpo neolithic site, but again, too much for one day.
Like the others have said, the Muslim quarter, the Drum Tower, the Bell Tower, and the Wild Goose pagoda. A short walk of bike ride on the wall would also be interesting.
Yes agree with other posters, apart from the Soldiers which is usually ones main reason for visiting Xian, the other places to try and fit in would be - and in this order:-
1. City wall
2. Muslim Quarters and Great Mosque
3. Drum and Bell Towers
4. Small Wild Goose Pagoda
5. Shopping - we found great shopping in Xian but had to restrict ourselves due to luggage limits!!!
Does the museum qualify as "historical sight"? After all, it's to do with history, and most of the unearthed artifacts from the Xi'an area are displayed here.
Are you hiring a vehicle and driver for the full day, or getting by with public transport and taxis?
Also, there's the Big Goose Pagoda and Small Goose Pagoda. Which's the "Wild Goose Pagoda"?? Most people seem to recommend the Big Goose Pagoda, so I'm a little surprised to see the Small one recommended.
If you type into google "wild goose pagoda" it will explain about the big and small......
I thoroughly enjoyed a cycle around the wall. In the evening I went to a Chinese Opera variety show which was very entertaining and not at all what you might think.
hawkhead, I did just exactly that and it gave me a bunch of results for both Big and Small. Which one do you mean? If both, shouldn't it be "Pagodas", in the plural rather than singular?
If you look at the pictures you will be able to see which is which. Yes, two pagodas is plural; however, one Big Wild Goose Pagoda is singular, as is Small Wild Goose Pagoda.....
hawkhead, I know that. But this is the pertinent question I'm asking you: So which one of the Wild Goose Pagodas are you actually recommending? The Big one, or Small one?! It can't be both, or else you would've said "Pagodas" rather than "Pagoda"!
For the sake of putting an end to this - I should have said Wild Goose Pagoda complex. I never dreamed it would involve into something so pedantic.
Ingredients :
1. Hot thick syrup
2. Ice cream stick
3. Marble slab (cooled by the winter weather)
Method :
1. Observe one talented Chinese man scoop syrup onto a cool marble slab.
2. Watch while he uses a few practiced wrist flicks, twirls and....
Famous Big Goose Pagoda at the end of Yanta Lu south of the city. The original pagoda was built in the 7th century by Tang Emperor Gao Zhong to house Buddhist scriptures brought back from India by the backpacking monk Xuan Zang who translated them into Chinese. The original mud brick pagoda collapsed several times until replaced by this stone version in the Ming Dynasty.
Xi'an is one of few ancient cities which still have an intact city wall....or at least one of the few that Western tourists are shown. Kevin points out an impressive building on the way and asks us to guess its age -- turns out it is only 2 years old. Xi'an is trying to keep the ancient flavor in their central city and encouraging architects to design new buildings to fit in to the ancient settings. The wall is aproximatelly 8 1/2 miles all the way around, and you could rent bikes or run if you wished (two of our group were athletic -- he a Danish triathlete, his wife was also a runner, and the next morning they ran the wall for exercise!) Kevin provides an excellent lecture explaining the defense of the city, from the moat to the archers’ towers to the command posts. The distance between the guard towers were precisely 120 meters -- which was so that archers could cover the territory effectively without shooting each other (an arrow’s range was 60 meters).
The Terracotta Army can now be visited in three large pavilions or vaults depending on your interpretation. I visited the Terracotta Warrior by way of a bus tour from Xian which is I think how most people go about it. This was a good tour which includes a fine lunch. The tour took you to the Big Goose Pagoda and some baths near the Terracotta site.
Upon visiting the Terracotta Warrior you enter what is essentially a large souvenir shop which also houses a large theatre where you walk in and are shown a 15 minute movies about how and why the Terracotta Warriors were built and there eventual rediscovery by four farmers. One of the two remaining farmers is usually sitting outside telling stories about how they found them.
You will then proceed to Vault 1 which is where the greatest number of the warriors have been found. This was also the location of the first excavations of the site. Seeing the pit full of rows of terracotta warriors is an engrossing experience even if you have a problem with the crowds. Each warrior is life-size and carrying a real weapon. There are also a handful of horse drawn chariots in the centre of the pit.
The next two vaults are not as impressive but should not be ignored. Perhaps this will change one day as they are still under excavation and are thought to hold many more warriors than even Vault 1. In Vault 2 you will notice that there is a larger variety of poses that warriors were sculpted in and there are more cavalry units. Vault 3 has just 68 warriors on display. It is felt that this was planned as a headquarters rather than a mass of soldiers marching in formation. This Vault is also more of a museum than the other two. Many of the warriors can be seen up close in glass cases.
The Bell Tower is a strategically important building that marks the geographical centre of the ancient capital of Xian. From this important landmark extend East, South, West and North Streets, connecting the Bell Tower to the East, South, West and North Gates of the City Wall. It was built in 1384 during the early Ming Dynasty and is one of the grandest of its kind in China. The Bell Tower also contains several large bronze-cast bells from the Tang Dynasty. The tower base is square and it covers an area of 1,377 square meters. The tower is a brick and timber structure and close to 40 meters high. The bell standing outside, is a replica of the original Tang dynasty bell which can be seen in the Forest of Stele Museum.
On the second floor, a plaque set in the west wall records the relocation of the tower in 1582. When it was first built it stood near the Drum Tower on the central axis of the city. As the city grew, however, the geographical centre changed. Therefore, in 1582, the Tower was moved 1,000 meters east of the original site.
Open: 8am-10pm. Admission: RMB40 (which also includes the Drum Tower).
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