Skip to the guide
Homeground ChinaChina Travel Agency
FAQ

City guideReviewed August 16, 2026

Xi'an: Terracotta Warriors, the city wall and food lanes, over three nights

Step into the hall over Pit 1 in Lintong and the army is suddenly below you: life-size clay soldiers, rank after rank, their faces and beards changing from one to the next. Back in the city, walk the top of the wall, wide as a road, then end the evening around the Bell and Drum Towers, eating in the lanes of the Muslim Quarter. The warriors take most of a day, so three nights give you one full day for them and one for Xi'an itself.

By EvanFacts reviewed

Xi'an's Bell Tower lit up gold against a deep-blue evening sky, with streaks of light from the traffic passing in front.
The Bell Tower stands at the heart of the walled city. Walk past the Drum Tower to eat in the lanes of the Muslim Quarter, or fifteen minutes down South Street to climb the wall at the South Gate.

Must-See Sights

What to see in Xi'an

Open one for why it is worth the trip and how to visit; the four decisions below show how to fit them into your days.

Photos (cropped and resized): Terracotta Warriors (BrokenSphere, CC BY-SA 3.0)Shaanxi History Museum (Danielinblue, CC BY-SA 3.0)

All must-see sightsTrip ideas: First time in China

Four city decisions

Understand the city, then plan the details.

How many nights, which area to stay in, how to arrive and leave, where to go next. How to book each part is in Travel Advice.

Search Travel Advice

Time

Three nights give you a full day for the warriors and one for the city.

Arrival and departure days mostly go to travel. With two nights, most people spend their one full day on the Terracotta Warriors; a third night gives the city a day of its own. Adding Mount Hua? It needs another whole day, so make it four nights.

Stay base

First time? Stay near the Bell Tower, inside the city wall.

The Drum Tower and the food lanes of the Muslim Quarter are a short walk away, so dinner is easy. It gets crowded and noisy; ask for a quiet-side room and check that a car can reach the door. If the museum and the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda are what you came for, stay at Dayanta or Xiaozhai instead.

Gateways

Check which of Xi'an's three main stations your ticket names.

Xi'an North, the main high-speed station, is a ride from the Bell Tower, not a walk. Xi'an Railway Station sits just north of the old city wall, and Xi'an East opened in June 2026, so older guides may leave it out. Flying? XIY is northwest, towards Xianyang; go to the terminal your airline names.

Next place

Go on to Chengdu or Beijing; Xi'an sits on the line between them.

Beijing, Xi'an and Chengdu make one line, in either direction. Chengdu swaps clay soldiers and city walls for Sichuan food and neighbourhood life; Beijing jumps ahead to the capital of China's later emperors. Reaching Chengdu late? Keep the next morning free of timed visits.

Xi'an's sights run south and east from the wall

NSWE1234567
  1. City Wall · Bell and Drum TowersWall walks and Muslim Quarter dinners
  2. Shaanxi History Museum · DayantaHalf a day: museum, then the pagoda
  3. Lintong · Terracotta WarriorsMost of a day, with the ride out and back
  4. Mount HuaA whole day, or stay the night nearby
  5. Xi'an NorthMain high-speed station, north of the centre
  6. XIY airportNorthwest, on the Xianyang side
  7. Xi'an EastEastern station, open since June 2026
  • Old city centre
  • Half a day or more
  • A day out of town
  • Airport and stations

Not to scale. The old city and the museum to its south take half a day each; the warriors fill most of a day, Mount Hua all of one.

Why so many first trips to China pass through Xi'an

Xi'an takes you further back in time than Beijing. Up on the city wall, the old town below is only about a seventh of Chang'an, the Tang capital; the rest lies under the modern city beyond. In the Shaanxi History Museum, Tang tomb murals bring that court back in colour: polo players at full gallop, musicians, dancers and foreign envoys, one of them from Korea. A short ride away stands the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, first built to hold the scriptures the monk Xuanzang carried back from India.

Xi'an sits between Beijing and Chengdu on major rail lines, so you can add it to a first trip without a detour. What it asks in return is time. Give it at least one full day that is neither an arrival nor a departure day. Arrive late and leave early the next morning, and you will see your hotel and very little of Xi'an.

Deeper answers

From where to stay to getting in and out of the city, one guide for each question.

Private tours

Private tours that include Xi'an

Ready-made routes with their itinerary and price on each page. Just your group, on your dates.

All private tours

Plan with a local team

Hand us the whole trip, or just part of it.

A real person replies to each request, working from your dates and group size.

Your privacy choices

Necessary storage keeps the planner working. In some regions we also remember your first page and referral source for 30 days; “Necessary only” turns this off. You can also allow analytics and Meta marketing measurement.

Read the privacy notice
HOMEGROUND CHINA

Let’s plan your trip.

Planning a trip to China? Talk to our team about routes, stays and private tours.

Chat on WhatsAppSend us an emailBrowse itineraries & prices