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When we started planning China travel, there was no doubt Xi’an would make it on this list due to the famous Terracotta Warriors. But there is so much more to discover in the first Chinese capital ruled by 13 dynasties and we will show you this in our 3 day Xi’an itinerary below. Visiting Xi’an also means seeing the easter end of one of the most significant trading ties with the West, the Silk Road. It was the heart of the development, where thousands of Arabian and Persian traders stop while travelling on trade routes or diplomatic trips to visit the emperors.
Don’t be fooled, Xi’an is still a huge city, but it’s surprisingly easy to find your way around it. As part of our China itinerary, you should set aside two days for Xi’an.
Follow our Xi’an itinerary to avoid the mistake of skipping must-see places and experience the most in a limited time.
2 Day Xi’an Itinerary
This Xi’an itinerary will help you plan the visit of top attractions while including suggestions for additional days, days trip, local food, and providing you with the inside tips and recommendations.
Due to our travel during the national holidays in October, we needed to visit the Terracotta Warriors on the first day. However, you can also start your visit by swapping the days and dive deep into the city and its culture first.
Table of Contents
How to get to Xi’an?
Depending from where you are heading to Xi’an, you can either come by high speed train or plane. You can find all the information on how to travel from Xi’an airport to city centre here.
We recommend taking the train if you are coming from Beijing and the plane from Shanghai as the train takes too much time.
Is Xi’an worth visiting?
Xi’an was once the most important city in China. It was the capital to 13 Chinese empires and kingdoms making it a centre of great historical, political and economic importance. This is why we absolutely recommend visiting it. You can see the fantastic experience this city offers in our Xi’an itinerary below.
How many days to spend in Xi’an?
You can cover all the main attractions in 2 days. We dedicated to spend 2,5 days as part of our 3 weeks China Itinerary with the connecting flight to Guilin in the afternoon of the 3rd day.
Therefore, we think 3 to 4 days is more than enough if you want to include some day trips to our Xi’an itinerary.
Xi’an Day 1: Meet the eight world wonder
Start the day by visiting the world famous Terracotta Warriors and conclude it in the heart of the city.
Terracotta Warriors
Recommended time: 5 – 6 hours
The most significant archaeological discovery of the 20th century is at the same time a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Thousands of clay warriors and horses were created to safeguard Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who was the founder of the Qin Dynasty, in his life after death. The masterpiece took 11 years to be made. The farmer and was discovered by farmers looking to discover pottery ruins found them in 1974.
The Terracotta Warriors consists of 3 pits: number 1, 2, and 3.
Pit number 1
It is the largest of all three and the first one discovered. Here you will find a formation of over six thousand battle-ready terracotta warriors and horses in life-sizes. This is the most famous part except the largest crowd here. It’s also really hard to make a nice photo of yourself with the warriors.
Pit number 2
The units of the warriors in the second pit are more complete. This floor contains various other clay subjects, including cavalry, chariots, and archers array. The most interesting part is the up-close statues of different ranks of terracotta warriors – archer, soldier, general, and horse.
Pit number 3
The smallest part of all three served as the command center. It’s supposed to feature high-level official. They stand face to face along the passageways to the main hall.
How you can get to Terracotta Warriors from Xi’an? We decided to book a tour with hotel pick.up, but you can also take a taxi. Keep in mind that the sight is located almost 40 km from the city centre of Xi’an. Having said that, the taxi will probably be expensive.
The best time to visit Terracotta Warriors
The best time to visit is early in the morning before 9 am because all the major tours arrive around 10 am. We have visited it during the Chinese holidays. Being there early, we didn’t notice bigger crowds than they usually are. In fact, we passed the security and entrance in just a few minutes.
The Mausoleum Site Museum
Recommended time: part of the Terracotta Warriors complex
Before exiting the sight, make sure to visit the Exhibition Hall with weapons, tools, and different jewellery with the main focus on the two large scale models of chariots and horses made of bronze.
The Bell and Drum Towers
Recommended time: 10 – 45 minutes (if going inside)
One of the first buildings you will see coming into the city is the Bell Tower. It’s a traditional building from the Ming Dynasty that once represented the heart of Xi’an. The bell was used to signal the start of the day, whereas the Drum Tower nearby indicated the sunset (the end of the day) and emergencies. They are gorgeous at night when they light up.
Inside the Bell Tower, you can find a replica of the original 8-foot-tall bell known as the Jingyun Bell.
The Drum Tower features the largest drum in China and musical performances by locals dressed up in traditional costumes. At the top, you can enjoy some great views of the city.
How to find the towers? You can take metro line 8 and get off at Shichahai Station (Exit A2) or take metro line 2 and exit at Guloudajie Station (Exit G).
The Great Mosque
Recommended time: 30 minutes
It’s an interesting clash between the Confucius and Buddhist temples you have seen so far. What is interesting is that this mosque is the oldest and the largest in China. You will be surprised as it doesn’t look anything like a typical mosque with minarets. With five courtyards and 20 buildings, it kept a combination of Muslim and traditional Chinese look. The tour around it will give you insights into similarities and differences between the Islamic World and Chinese Islam.
How to find it? If you are situated in the city centre you can just walk up on the main street (East Street or West Street depending from which site you are coming). Coming from the outside, you can use metro line 2 and get off at Zhonglou Station (Bell Tower) using Exit B.
Muslim Street Market
Recommended time: 1 – 2 hours
One of the heritage of many merchants that travelled the Silk Road and settled in Xian live in the quarter known nowadays as a Muslim Quarter. You can notice the Arabic influence in the cuisine of Xi’an. It’s the perfect place to wander around and try delicious street food, buy all sorts of souvenirs or simply watch people.
Try beef skewers, Shaanxi sandwiches (Chinese hamburgers), Roujiamo (steamed bread sandwiches stuffed with shredded beef), noodle bowls, squid on the stick and desserts of different types. Regardless of which time of the day you decide to come, it’s lively and busy.
To reach the street use the same instruction as for The Great Mosque above.
Suggestion for the night: We have concluded the day by watching a musical performance in front of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. It was one of the most impressive performances we have seen.
Make sure to be there at least half an hour before the show. Otherwise, you won’t see much.
Xi’an Day 2: City at glance
Start the second day by exploring the city walls. And there is no better and more fun than to rent bicycles and ride on top of the walls. Make sure to start early in the morning as it can get challenging to ride a bike with enormous crowds.
Xi’an City Wall Cycling
Recommended time: 2 – 3 hours
The centre of Xi’an is surrounded by a 14 km long city wall build under emperor Zhu Yuanzhang in the 14th century for defence purposes. The most preserved city wall remained is accessible through 18 gates. However, each gate has different operating hours.
Bicycles can be rent only at the main four gates: North, South, East, West. These gates also feature watchtowers that used to decide when the city will open and close. Take time and enjoy this fun activity, but also make some stops and take photos. You can cycle the whole length or stop at the next gate.
The most beautiful gate is southern, where you can observe the changing of guards (09:30, 15:30, and 18:40 ). Afterwards, they are available for photos.
Travel Momento Insider Tip: Make sure to bring something to drink with you as there are not many vendors.
Shuyuanmen Street
Recommended time: 20 minutes
If you finish your Xi’an City Wall tour at the South Gate, make sure to take a promenade through the so called Calligraphy street. It’s the cultural centre of Xi’an, where you can find different art and hand crafted products. From books, keepsakes and paintings to calligraphy and tools.
Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
Recommended time: 1 hour
Giant Wild Goose Pagoda is a Buddhist landmark build in 652 in the Tang dynasty. It’s made in a typical Tang architectural style.
Its main purpose was to collect Buddhist scripts and relics. Inside the pagoda, you will find numerous murals painted on the wall.
The North square features one of the largest fountains in Asia, where you can admire a spectacular water show every night. On the other side, you can find the Great Tang Mall.
We would recommend visiting it before closing hours so you can stay for a pleasant evening walk with music, food and incredible public art sculptures.
How to get there? You can either take metro line 3 / line 4 to Dayanta Station directly or metro line 2 and get off at Xiaozhai Station (Exit C).
Small Wild Goose Pagoda
Recommended time: 30 minutes
Originating back over 1,300 years in the time of Tang Dynasty, it’s one of the most-well preserved pagodas. It was build for the transport of Buddhist texts from India. Due to the earthquakes, it now only has 13 or 15 stories.
How to reach it? Take metro line 2 and take off at Nanshaomen Station (Exit A1 or A2).
Suggestion for the night: Dinner in a theatre with a magical traditional performance – Tang Dynasty Show.
Xi’an Day 3: Relax at the park
We decided to spend the last day in Xi’an in one of the two famous parks, Daming Palace National Heritage Park.
If you have the whole day available, you can continue your adventure in the Tang Cultural Paradise Park.
Daming Palace National Heritage Park
Recommended time: 3 hours
Nowadays, you can only find ruins of what used to be the Daming Palace, which had the equivalent meaning to the city as the Forbidden City has for Beijing. This park area is three times the size of Versailles and consists of several museums and exhibits to show you the artefacts, photos, maps, and small scale models to understand the place better.
A portion of the park is free for visitors. But you have to pay the entrance fee to visit the area with the ruins and history of Xi’an. It’s easily accessible by the metro just north of the city wall.
Places to add to this 3 day Xi’an itinerary
If you have some additional time you can spend in Xi’an than you can add some of below places to your Xi’an itinerary.
Things to see within the city:
- Forest of Stone Steles Museum
- Shaanxi History Museum
- Qujiangchi Relics Park
Day trips from Xi’an to see its surrounding:
- Hukou Waterfall
- Huaqing Palace and Lishan
- Yuanjia Village
- Yangling Mausoleum of Han Dynasty
- Mount Hua Shan
Following this Xi’an itinerary will help you avoid the mistake of skipping must-see places and experience the most of Xi’an in a limited time. Hope you enjoy it!
Let us know how you find the city in the comments below 🙂
We are two travel passionistas, who are always in the minds of planning their next travel trip and creating memories. Get honest tips and all the details, learn from our mistakes and enjoy our travel guides so you can have the best time!
It’s great to know that you can see a lot of the city in just 3 days! The last time I was in China, I wanted to add on a trip to Xi’an from Beijing, but I didn’t have enough time in my itinerary. I’m definitely going to save this for my next visit! Thanks for the suggestions!
If you are not into hiking, 3 days or even 2 days are enough to see the city without running around like crazy. We would definitely recommend to visit Xi’an. Not only the sight, the food is also really amazing.
Wow what an interesting place with so much to explore. Thanks for sharing 😊
I have not traveled to China yet, but it is on my list! Going going to save this itinerary for my future trip and will make a point to visit the historical city of Xi’an. Thank you for sharing!
It’s such a memorable experience. You’ll love it 🙂
You managed to do quite a lot in only a few days. I liked that you put the approximate time you spent at each places. Thank you for sharing, hopefully we can travel again soon 🙂
We try to see as much as possible as we are both working 9 to 5. However, we didn’t feel our days were too packed. I hope the same 🙂
I really hope to travel to Xi’an to see the Terracotta Warriors and your post is very helpful in crafting a great itinerary around the visit. I would especially enjoy biking along the wall and visiting Shuyuanmen Street and Daming Palace National Heritage Park. Thanks for all of the tips!
Make sure to take some time and explore other beautiful sights besides Terracotta Warriors. Biking around the Xi’an City Wall was a highlight for us.
This sounds like an incredible experience!
It really was an incredible experience.
Wow it looks like there is loads to do on Xi. The pagoda would be at the top of my list
Depending on your travel style and how much you want to see. We found it just the right amount without the need to run around but rather to enjoy it.
China is on our bucket list of future travels. What a well-organized and thoughtful travel guide. Will definitely be referring back to when the time comes! It looks wonderful! Thank you!
Wow! This is so fantastic. I went to see Terracota in Liverpool, UK but a dream is to visit China one day and this is a perfect itinerary for me! Saving it for later, thanks 🙂
So so happy to hear you like it 🙂 If you have any questions or would need some additional information, don’t hesitate to reach out.