Xi'an Travel Guide

 
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  •   Xi'an
    by Slapshot1
  •   Xi'an
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  • Tang Dynasty Show - Shaanxi Opera
      Tang Dynasty Show - Shaanxi Opera
    by al2401
  • The Great Mosque Prayer Hall
      The Great Mosque Prayer Hall
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  • Drum Tower, Xi'an
      Drum Tower, Xi'an
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Pro

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  Muslim quarter, foods and traditions give a wonderful mix to the local culture. 


Con

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  Maybe too Modern at the expense of its past. Pollution. 


In a nutshell

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  The Tarracotta Warriors bring the people, but they should stay for the Muslim Quarters! 

 

Explore Xi'an

Things to Do  

Terracotta Army

Terracotta Army, Xi'an

 184 Reviews  The Terracotta Army was discovered in March 1974 by a farmer digging a well, very close to the location of Emperor Qin Shihuang's tomb. Buried for approx 2,200 years, apparently it took some 38 years and 720,000 builders to complete this Army and the Tomb so that a whole army could accompany its... 

Muslim Quarters

Muslim Quarters, Xi'an

 64 Reviews  The mosque of Xi'an is a surprise, without many signs connecting to muslim art and architecture. However, when you exit, if you walk a little in the narrow roads, you will easily fell the muslim way of life around you. The "souk" could easily be pictured as part of any city in north Africa or the... 

Wild Goose Pagodas

Wild Goose Pagodas, Xi'an

 59 Reviews  The Big Wild Goose Pagoda, an enormous building comprising 7 floors and surrounded by beautiful gardens was originally built in AD652 during the reign of Emperor Gaozong (During Tang Dynasty 628-683). It's main function was to collect Buddhist materials taken from India by Xuanzang and to translate... 

City Wall

City Wall, Xi'an

 67 Reviews  Outside the city wall is surrounded by city park with trees, exercise equipment, benches, and pavilions. I walked around the park in the early morning, and enjoyed seeing the locals doing exercises including Tai Chi, dancing, badminton, and etc. 

Drum and Bell Tower

Drum and Bell Tower, Xi'an

 63 Reviews  In the centre of the old city, and marking the entrance to the Muslim quarter, there is a beautiful tower, very similar to its neighbour – the Bell Tower. The main difference is that instead of bells it has large drums all around it. We had no opportunity to assist a drum performance, but, no... 

Huaqing Hot Springs

Huaqing Hot Springs, Xi'an

 19 Reviews  " Huaqing Palace Heritage Site has been a popular attraction for visitors at home and abroad as the witness of the legendary love between the Tang Emperor Xuanzong and his favorite concubine Lady Yang in the 8th century and a modern event in 1936 known as Xi'an Incident. Located 20 km to the east of... 

Hotels  

Sofitel Xian On Renmin Square

 4 Reviews and 438 Opinions  Chinese New Year 2010 - 4 nights Centrally located with good sized, nicely appointed rooms. When we... 

Grand Mercure on Renmin Square Xi'an

 4 Reviews and 108 Opinions  A life saviour. Best hotel ever. Excellent food, service, facilities and all... 

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Restaurants  

Muslim Quarters

Muslim Quarters, Xi'an

 20 Reviews  An unique experience. Each customer will be given two pieces of hard bread and an empty bowl. You tear the bread into small pieces and place them into the bowl. Then you bring the bowl to the kitchen window and they will fill it up with a hot broth. 

De Fa Zhang Jiaozi Shop

De Fa Zhang Jiaozi Shop, Xi'an

 12 Reviews  Personally I think it is way too expensive. Anyway it is nice to try it once and tell the world that I have tried the dumpling banquet in Xian. We have the dumpling downstairs where the locals eat since they are a lot nicer and cheaper. 

Nightlife  

The Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty, Xi'an

 15 Reviews  The Tang Dynasty Dinner and Show is just that - a banquet dinner featuring numerous courses of beautifully prepared and presented food - including the famous Xi'an Dumplings, and afterwards,an hour-long musical theatrical performance. The show itself is all about the costumes, music and dancing of... 

Transportation  

Train

Train, Xi'an

 17 Reviews  Xi'an Metro Line 2 is an connection metro line serving the from south to North, cut through the city center including the South Gate (Nanmen), Bell Tower, North gate or Bei Dajie, Daminggong West, all the way to North Railway Station (Beikezhan). This is a clean and modern metro system. In fact,... 

Xi'an Airport

Xi'an Airport, Xi'an

 16 Reviews  The airport is 47 km from Xian city centre and there's a very convenient airport bus that goes there from outside the Melody Hotel which is opposite the Drum Tower in the city centre. The bus costs RMB27, takes about an hour or so and runs between 6am and 6pm. 

Local Customs  

Medicine

Medicine, Xi'an

 2 Reviews  I've been sick in China once and went to a Chinese medicine shop. They doctor told me to open my mouth and asked the nurse what it looked like- he was pretty much blind. Then he prescribed some herbs to mix and make Chinese Medicinal Tea with. It tasted like arse but did the trick. 

Board Games

Board Games, Xi'an

 2 Reviews  I don´t know if I should call it as a 'cultural tip' because you won´t go Xi´An to play chess. No, I don´t mean the game what the Westerner play but Chinese Chess. Once I saw a group of men standing on the street and they stared on the floor. I am curious so I was interested to find out what they... 

Warnings Or Dangers  

Photos/Video

Photos/Video, Xi'an

 6 Reviews  What a challenge for the photo maniacs! The poor illumination, the reflexes in the glass, the impossibility to use flash, the uncomfortable position, everything contributes to the poor quality of all the taken pictures. Of course, some efforts deserve respect! 

Tourist Traps  

At the Terracotta Army

At the Terracotta Army, Xi'an

 7 Reviews  It's nice to hire a local guide, who gives you good information. They charge from 80 to 100 RMBs (Yuans), equivalent to USD 15 (Mar 2009). It is not much and you help the locals. BUT let the guide know, from the beginning, that you don't need to be taken to the site's souvenir shops! Or simply... 

Taxis

Taxis, Xi'an

 5 Reviews  You'll be told and see signs at the hostels that there are no taxis between 3 to 4pm as this is the changeover for drivers - their dinner breaks. So if you need to catch a train, flight etc you need to go super early apparently. Well we found a taxi at 3.30pm and although it was a little difficult... 

Off The Beaten Path  

Hua Shan Mountain

Hua Shan Mountain, Xi'an

 4 Reviews  Huashan is a sacred Taoist mountain 120 km to the east. Bus go from the train station to the base. It is fantastically beautiful, but hard work to hike. I've got a whole page for it here. 

City Wall

City Wall, Xi'an

 4 Reviews  The big, solid volume of the walls make the long and wide moat that surrounds them look like a "insignificant" detail, but we are forced to admit that its perfect conception was an effective defense, and it helps today to enhance the views of the walls and the sensation of power that they emanate. 

Favorites  

Terracotta Army

Terracotta Army, Xi'an

 18 Reviews  The Terracotta Army of XIAN. What you have to do is buy a ticket cost RMB60 and enter. There are many many tour guides willing to offer you their services for RMB40, they can speak English, Italian, French and more. Also, just outside the gate you can get some cute tigers as souvenirs for only RMB2... 

Hua Qing Hot Springs

Hua Qing Hot Springs, Xi'an

 4 Reviews  I really enjoyed Huaqingqiao most. My timing was especially appropriate since it was the day they buried Zhang Xueliang in Hawaii, the general who kidnapped Chiang Kai-shek. You oculd see the bullets littering the walls and the signpost that said 'Jiang was captured here' up the hill. 

The Place

Plan a Xi'an vacation with reviews, tips and photos posted by real travelers and Xi'an locals

Experience Xi'an
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The People

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Advice from the Locals
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 Kublai Khan's New XiAn Page - Invincible Terracotta Warriors, Ming City Walls, Big Goose Pagoda and many other attractions tell the history of the once glorious capital city! 

50 members live in Xi'an

 

Questions and Answers

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Q:  Hi fellow VT'ers. Can somebody help me with my travel plan? What is the best way (cheap and fast) from Xian to Qingdao? Then... 

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A: from Xian to Qingdao,you could take train K912,which departs at 12:13 and arrives at 11:15 in next morning,which would cost you 345 Yuan for hard sleeper or 530 Yuan for... 

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Top Xi'an Writers

1

The echo of ancient

jasmine_ding profile photo

 This is my hometown. I live here, I love it here. I feel like I have a responsibility to let you know more about it. There is an old saying "If you want to see China of 100 years ago, visit Shanghai;... 

2

FABULOUS

solopes profile photo

 Xi'an is a must see. I was doubtful about the importance of Xi'an. Of course, there are the warriors, but.. all that distance... for that... WRONG! The warriors for themselves sure deserve the trip,... 

3

Xian "Peaceful western part of China"

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 Xi’an was formerly called Chang’an and lies in the central part of Guanzhong Plain between the Wei River to the north and the Qinling Mountain to the south. Xi’an has immense historical... 

4

Shifting cities

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 Like Alexandria, Baghdad or Rome, Xia'an is a city whose future is bound up inexorably in its past. It anchored the eastern end of the Silk Road, the earliest thread of global trade. Yet the current... 

5

Beautiful Xi'an

ahoerner profile photo

 A part of the old Xi'an is still preserved within its city walls. As interesting as the terracota warriors, worth of visits for sure... the old town is a living contrast of preserved monuments and... 

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Travel Editors for Xi'an

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