As one of the oldest cities in the world with a vivid and rich history and culture, Xi’an is not only the birthplace of the Chinese Nation, but also the birthplace of human civilization in Asia and the cultural center of prehistoric civilization. As such, Xi'an has a wealth of historical sites and relics to visit and see and is a great place to introduce yourself to Chinese history.

Inside the downtown of Xi’an city (ranked by the distances from the hotel)

1. 10mins walking distance to Big Wild Goose Pagoda, a UNESCO world heritage site

Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Chinese name: Da Yan Ta, composed of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the Daci'en Temple, and the Music Fountain Square of Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

The pagoda was originally built to be five-storey in 652 AD (Tang Dynasty), as a well-known historic site and the landmark of the city, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda is drawn on the city emblem, welcoming innumerable domestic and international travelers to Xi'an.

Entrance fees: 50 RMB Yuan for entering the Daci'en Temple.

Music Fountain Square of Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Located at the foot of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the Music Fountain Square of Big Wild Goose Pagoda covers 168,000 square meters, with the pagoda being the central axis from south to north. It is made up of music fountains, cultural square, garden landscapes, tourist and commercial facilities and is an important part of the Xi'an Cultural Area of Tang Dynasty.

Show time:

12:00, 20:30 (Monday – Friday)

12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 18:00, 20:30 (Saturday – Sunday)

Entrance fees: FREE

2. Shanxi History Museum

Shaanxi History Museum is located in the northwest of the Xi’an Wild Goose Pagoda. Shaanxi History Museum is China’s first large-scale modern national museum; it marks that China’s museum career has entered into a new development mileage. The Museum has the style of Tang dynasty buildings of “central palace hall with four worship houses around” with orderly, harmonious, vigorous and grave construction, melting the national tradition, local characteristics and the spirit of time into an organic whole. The Museum covers an area of 65,000 square meters. It has a building area of 55,600 square meters, the cultural relic reservoir area of 8,000 square meters, and exhibition hall area of 11,000 square meters. Its collection of cultural relics reaches 370,000, dating from the simple stone that human used at the initial stage in ancient times down to all kinds implements in social life before 1840; the time span covers more than one million years. The cultural relics are rich in number and types and have high grade and wide value, among which Shang bronze is exquisite; terracotta figurines of past dynasties are of varied types and postures; gold and silver ware of Han and Tang Dynasty is unique across the country; wall paintings of Tang tomb have no equals in this world. It is called a collection of variety of boutiques carnival.

Entrance Fee：The museum issues 6,000 free ticket a day. (3,000 tickets in the morning and 3,000 tickets in the afternoon).

1. An individual tourist can get only one ticket for himself / herself at the ticket office by the valid certification (such as ID card or passport). Group tours should be booked 24 hours in advance between 09:00 and 17:00. Reservation Tel: 029-85269547

Opening Hours    Tuesday-Sunday:

Nov.15 to Mar.14: 09:00 to 17:30 (tickets available before 16:00);

Mar.15 to Nov.14: 08:30 to 18:00 (tickets available before 16:30);

Closed on Mondays except during hoildays

Recommended Time for a Visit：2-3 hours

How to get to Shaanxi History Museum

By Bus:Take Bus No. 5, 19, 24, 30, 34, 271, 400, 401, 521, 527, or You 8 (610) and get off at Cuihua Lu (Cuihua Road) bus stop.

By Metro：Take Metro Line 2 or  Line 3 to Xiaozhai Station, and exit from Exit D. Then, walk east along East Xiaozhai Road around 800 meters (0.5 miles) to get there.

Take Metro Line 3 to Dayanta Station. And then walk west along East Xiaozhai Road for about 800 meters to reach.

3. Xi'an City Wall

Xi'an City Wall is the most complete city wall that has survived in China, as well being one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world. Encircling the rectangled city center of Xi'an, it has totally 18 city gates, but they are not all open for visitors. Visitors can ascend the Wall from the South Gate, Small South Gate, East Gate, West Gate, North Gate, Heping Gate, Wenchang Gate and Hanguang Gate. You can choose the nearest city gate according to your location. No matter which gate you choose, you can tour the whole circle of the wall if you like. Here is a hiking itinerary around the wall starting from the South Gate for your reference. The South Gate (Yongning Gate) is the most time-honored and magnificent one among all the city gates. There is bicycles for rental up to the South Gate. So it is popular for visitors to ascend here.

Admission Fee：CNY 54 for adults.

Opening Hours：South Gate: 8:00 - 24:00

East/North/West Gate, Hanguang Gate, Wenchang Gate,  Heping Gate, Zhongshan Gate, Shangde Gate:May - Oct.: 8:00 - 19:00; Nov. - Apr.: 8:00 - 18:00

Ways of Visit: Walking, Sightseeing Battery Car, Biking

How to get there

To the South Gate: Take metro line 2 to Yongningmen Station; bus no.6, 11, 12, 23, 46, 215, 239, 258, 600, 603, 608, 910, K600…and arrive at South Gate Station.

4.  Bell tower, Drum tower, Muslim Quarter

     Bell tower

The Bell Tower, is a stately traditional building, that marks the geographical center of the ancient capital. From this important landmark extend East, South, West and North Streets, connecting the tower to the East, South, West and North Gates of the City Wall of the Ming Dynasty. The tower was built in 1384 as a way to dominate the surrounding countryside and provide early warning of attack by rival rulers. On each side of the base, there is an arched door 6 meters (20 feet) high. In the past, vehicles were allowed to pass through the arches, but as the city has grown the volume of traffic has become too great, so a bright, spacious pedestrian subway has been constructed under the tower. The entrance to the tower is from this subway.

Entrance fee: Bell Tower only: CNY 30

Opening Hours: March 26-October 25: 08:30-21:00 (Ticket selling stops at 20:30.)

October 26-next March 25: 08:30-18:00 (Ticket selling stops at 17:30.)

Recommended Time for a Visit: One hour

Drum tower

The Drum Tower is located northwest of the Bell Tower of Xi'an, across the Bell and Drum Tower Square. Both of them are called the 'sister buildings' or 'morning bell and dark drum'. In ancient China, especially from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the drums were used to signal the running of time and on occasion were used as an alarm in emergency situations. When you finish visiting the Drum Tower, you may round off your trip, by tasting a number of delicious snacks of Shaanxi in the Muslim Quarter adjacent to it.

Entrance fee:     Drum Tower only: CNY 30; Bell Tower only: CNY 30; Joint ticket of Bell and Drum Tower: CNY 50

Opening Hours March 26-October 25: 08:30-21:00 (Ticket selling stops at 20:30.)

October 26-next March 25: 08:30-18:00 (Ticket selling stops at 17:30.)

Drum Musical Performance Timetable: 09:30, 10:15, 11:00, 11:45, 14:00, 14:45, 15:30, 16:20

Recommended Time for a Visit: One hour

Muslim Quarter

Just as its name implies, the Muslim Quarter, also known as Huimin Jie in Chinese, is the hub of the Muslim community in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province. Located to the north of the West Street in the city center. Muslim food and souvenir market is feature of the area. There are also a great many other snacks to be found along this street, such as preserved meat, casserole, various noodles, and so on. They are waiting for you to enjoy.

Admission Fee: Free

Opening Hours: Whole day (stores usually open at 08:00-23:00)

How to Get to the three spots:

By Bus: Take bus No. 7, 15, 32, 205, 215, 221, 222, 251, 252, 612, 618 or Tourist Line 8 (No. 610) and get off at Zhonglou Xi (Bell Tower West) Station. Walk towards the Drum Tower and you will easily find the street behind the Drum Tower.

 By Metro: Take Metro Line 2 and get off at Zhonglou (Bell Tower) Station. Get out from Exit B. Walk towards west for around 6 minutes and you can see the Drum Tower. The street is behind the Tower.

OUTSIDE the downtown of Xi’an city

Terracotta Warriors and Horses

Being the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Terracotta Army is no doubt a must-see for every visitor to Xi'an. It is a super large collection of life-size terra cotta sculptures in battle formations, reproducing the mega imperial guard troops of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (259 - 210BC), the first emperor of the first unified dynasty of Imperial China.

Ticket Price: CNY 120

 Notes:

 Visitors need to show identity cards or passports when buying tickets and entering the museum.

Opening Hours 

March 16 to November 15: 8:30 - 18:00, ticketing stops at 17:00;

November 16 to March 15: 8:30 - 17:30, ticketing stops at 16:30.

Time for a Visit 3 hours

How to get to Terracotta  from downtown Xi'an

1. The tourist bus line 5 (306) runs from the east square of Xi'an Railway Station to Terracotta Warriors Museum in one hour, costing CNY 7 per person.

2. Bus 307 runs from Tang City Wall Zone 9 Bus Station to the museum in 1.5 hours and costs CNY 8 per person, passing by Tang Paradise, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Banpo Museum Bus Hub, and Huaqing Pool.

3. A taxi from downtown Xi'an to the museum takes 40-50 minutes and costs about CNY 150.