西安
Xi'an
The old capital of thirteen dynasties has one world-famous sight and a lot of quieter ones. Two full days covers it; a third lets you slow down.
At a glance
- Stay
- 2–3 days
- Best seasons
- Apr–May, Sep–Oct
- Airports
- Rail or road access
- Region
- Northwest China
Chaimaa Lkhaili · Owned / licensed upload
Places to begin
Make the city tangible.
回民街
Muslim Quarter
Street food from mid-afternoon. Walk past the main drag to Dapiyuan.
秦始皇兵马俑博物馆
Terracotta Army
Go early, do Pit 1 last, and hire a guide or use the audio guide.
西安城墙
City Wall
Rent a bike at the South Gate and ride the full 14 km loop.
陕西历史博物馆
Shaanxi History Museum
Free, essential context for everything else, and hard to book.
大雁塔
Big Wild Goose Pagoda
A Tang pagoda in a temple courtyard, with a fountain show at night.
西安博物院与小雁塔
Xi'an Museum and Small Wild Goose Pagoda
Xi'an Museum combines a city-history collection with the Jianfu Temple grounds and the Tang-dynasty Small Wild Goose Pagoda, one of the Chang'an sites included in the transnational Silk Roads World Heritage property. Archaeological objects explain the development of the capital, while the pagoda and garden preserve a quieter spatial setting than many of Xi'an's larger attractions.
西安碑林博物馆
Xi'an Beilin Museum
Xi'an Beilin Museum brings together a historic Confucian temple, a dense collection of inscribed steles and major stone sculpture. Texts preserve classics, historical records and celebrated calligraphy, while funerary and Buddhist carvings show how images and writing moved through imperial society. Even visitors who cannot read classical Chinese can compare scripts, carving and layout.
汉景帝阳陵博物院
Hanyangling Museum
Hanyangling preserves the mausoleum landscape of Western Han Emperor Jing and Empress Wang. Its underground exhibition hall allows visitors to look into excavated burial pits containing smaller terracotta figures, animals and objects associated with court and daily production. The restrained scale provides a revealing contrast with the martial spectacle of the Qin mausoleum.
大明宫国家遗址公园
Daming Palace National Heritage Park
Daming Palace was the principal imperial palace of the Tang capital for much of the dynasty. Today the immense archaeological park uses foundations, reconstructed scale, museums and landscape markers to communicate an urban complex that no longer survives above ground. Its open distances make the organisation and ambition of Chang'an clearer than a small architectural replica could.
华清宫
Huaqing Palace
Huaqing Palace occupies hot-spring grounds beneath Mount Li with layers of imperial resort history, Tang court memory and twentieth-century political events. Archaeological bathing remains and the landscape associated with Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Guifei sit beside sites connected with the 1936 Xi'an Incident, requiring visitors to separate history from later romance and performance.
华山
Mount Hua
Mount Hua is a major landscape whose scale, setting and local conditions reward advance planning rather than a rushed stop.
Local snacks
Taste the city, one dish at a time.
These cards describe dishes, not restaurants. Images are added only after their license and attribution are verified.
Savory, meaty and crisp
Roujiamo
肉夹馍
Chopped braised meat is packed into a crisp-edged wheat flatbread for a compact Shaanxi staple.
Eat immediately while the bread keeps its contrast of crisp edge and soft centre.
Tangy, spicy and refreshing
Cold skin noodles
凉皮
Cool, springy wheat or rice noodles are tossed with vinegar, chili, garlic and vegetables.
Ask about the base if gluten matters; not every liangpi is made from rice.
Rich, warming and wheaty
Lamb paomo
羊肉泡馍
Pieces of dense flatbread soak up a rich lamb broth with meat, noodles and aromatics.
Some shops ask diners to tear the bread themselves; smaller pieces absorb broth more evenly.
Chewy, spicy and tangy
Biangbiang noodles
𰻝𰻝面
Very wide hand-pulled noodles carry chili, vinegar, garlic and vegetables in a bold, chewy bowl.
One bowl is substantial; mix the hot oil and seasonings thoroughly.
City essentials
The practical details, when you need them.
Places and local food come first. Open these notes for context, arrival and neighbourhood advice.
Overview+
BEIJINGTIANJINHEBEISHANXIANHUISHANDONGHUBEICHONGQINGSICHUANGANSUNINGXIAXi'an
Xi'an is a walled city, and the wall is the frame for everything: the Bell Tower at the centre, the Muslim Quarter to the northwest, the old streets in the south. The Terracotta Army is an hour east and takes most of a day.
Inside the wall the city is compact enough to walk. The metro handles the rest. It is drier and colder than the south, dusty in spring, and the food is wheat-based: noodles, flatbreads, lamb.
Evenings are the best time here. The wall and towers light up, the Muslim Quarter fills, and the night market on Yongxing Fang runs late.
Getting there+
**Xianyang (XIY)** is about 45 minutes from the centre by metro line 14 or the airport bus. High-speed trains arrive at **Xi'an North** , on metro line 2; Beijing is around four and a half hours, Chengdu three and a half, Luoyang under two.
**Rail tip.** Your passport is your ticket. Book on 12306 or [Trip.com](/go/trip?to=trains&from=city-rail), then go straight to the gate. See [Getting around](/guides/getting-around). The Trip.com link earns us a small commission at no cost to you ([how that works](/about#affiliate)).
**Stay online.** Google, WhatsApp and Instagram are blocked on Chinese networks; a travel eSIM that roams gets around it. Install one before you fly — [Saily](/go/saily?from=city-esim) takes US$5 off a first plan with the code **CHINA**. See [Staying online](/guides/staying-online). The code earns us the same amount in Saily credits, at no cost to you ([how that works](/about#affiliate)).
Where to stay+
Inside the wall, south
南门
Near the South Gate and Shuyuanmen. Walkable, atmospheric.
Guesthouses in old courtyard buildings, the calligraphy street, and the wall gate for cycling. Everything within twenty minutes on foot.
first visitwalking
Bell Tower
钟楼
The very centre. Convenient, loud.
Chain hotels around the tower, both metro lines, and the Muslim Quarter a few minutes' walk. Traffic noise is the trade-off.
convenience
Qujiang
曲江
New district by the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Spacious, family friendly.
South of the wall, with parks, malls and the pagoda's evening fountain show. Quieter, and a metro ride into the centre.
familiesmodern
**Booking.** Compare hotels in Xi'an on [Trip.com](/go/trip?to=hotels&city=xian&from=city-stay), filtered to its China travel essentials list: English-speaking staff, foreign cards, guest rating 8 or higher. See [Where to stay](/guides/where-to-stay). Booking through this link earns us a small commission at no cost to you ([how that works](/about#affiliate)).
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