Xi'an

Army of Terracotta Warriors and Horses

兵马俑; Bīngmǎyǒng

This mighty army of terracotta warriors and horses, found in three vaults, is perhaps the most popular tourist attraction of Shaanxi and one of the most popular in all of China. An in-site museum has been built over these pits, covering a floorspace of 20,000 m² and housing 8,000 lifelike terracotta warriors, 100 or so chariots, and 40,000 weapons, allegedly crafted to replace actual human sacrifices that had been commonplace in previous dynasties. Not all of these are on display, and the site is still an active archeological dig. There are 3 pits (numbered and clearly signposted 1,2,3). Going from pit 3 to pit 2 to pit 1 means that each pit gets more impressive and ensures a grand finale. The assemblage has been billed by the tourist industry as the Eighth Wonder of the World and a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO in 1987. The ticket office is next to the parking lot, which is a 5- to 10-minute walk away from the entrance to the museum. Buy your tickets at the ticket office or you can also buy them from resellers at the entrance for a ¥5 fee. For ¥5, you can opt to take a small bus from the ticket counter to the entry to the site, which saves you about 10 minutes of walking. On the way back, however, you are forced to walk in order not to "miss" the countless opportunities to buy small terracotta warriors, other tourist articles and food. When buying your ticket you are likely to be approached by a 'guide', especially if you look foreign. The normal asking price is ¥200 (per person) but you should be able to bargain them down to around ¥75-100. ¥100 is reasonable for the 2 - 3 hours they will accompany you. When talking to them, take the time to evaluate how they speak, because if you can't understand them at the start it'll just get worse. Inside Pit 1 there is a 'photo spot' to the left of the entry when you can be escorted to one of the nicer places. However it costs ¥200 for ~15 min (but includes a picture). You won't miss much by not doing it, but you wi

Closed · opens 8:30 am·¥120, students ¥60 (only for local students). Passport required for ticket purchase

Baihui Market

百汇市场

Local youngsters shop here. It is one of those fake-brand markets. Sport shoes should be less than ¥150, pullovers and nice jeans sometimes less than ¥100, lots of cheap fashion accessories. This is also a great place for DVDs and CDs but understand these are mostly pirated copies.

Banpo Village Ruins

半坡遗址, 半坡博物馆 Banpo Museum

6,000-year-old ruins of a village site including residential and pottery-making areas, ancient tools, and a burial ground. You should also visit the Shaanxi History Museum to see some of the best examples of the pottery found at Banpo.

Closed · opens 8 am·Tickets are normally ¥65. Children aged 6 to 18 pay half price. Children under 6 and adults over 65 get in for free

Beilin (or Stele) Museum

西安碑林博物馆; Xī'ān Bēilín Bówùguǎn

Remarkable collection of 4000 inscribed stone tablets, covering scripture, poetry, classic Chinese texts, triumphs of rulers, family history, and practical affairs such as instructions to rebuild a school. The 7th century Nestorian Stele (Showroom 2, first exhibit on the left) depicts the coming of Nestorian Christianity to China.

Mar-Nov: 08:00-18:30; Dec-Feb: 08:00-18:00, no entry in last 45 minutes·Mar-Nov: ¥60, Dec-Feb: ¥50, or ¥100 (if combined with City Walls)

Bell Tower

钟楼; Zhōnglóu

The traffic island is almost ringed by a subway, enter from north side next to Metro entrance. Great tower with ancient bells to toll the time for the city. Short musical performances every hour or so.

In high season (April 1st to October 10th), opening hours are 08:30-21:30, the last combo tickets are sold at 19:00, and the last standard tickets are sold at 21:00. In low season (October 11th to March 31st), opening hours are 08:30-18:00, the last combo tickets are sold at 16:30, and the last standard tickets are sold at 17:30·¥30, or ¥50 including Drum Tower

Bell Tower Xinhua Bookstore

钟楼新华书店

Another very small English language book selection can be found at the Bell Tower Xinhua Bookstore. Unless you're nearby, your best bet for English books is still the Foreign Language Bookstore or even the Book City. However, if you're also looking for stationary, cards, wrapping paper etc. then it may be worth checking out and to trying to kill two birds with the one stone. Otherwise don't expect an English-language book Mecca here.

Closed · opens 9 am

Big (Wild) Goose Pagoda

大雁塔; Dàyàntǎ

Built by Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi (高宗李治) in 652 AD. Emblem of the city of Xi'an. In the fountain in front of the pagoda there are various water and music show sometimes during the day with pleasant parks and western eateries nearby.

Closed · opens 8 am·¥30 for the temple complex. Entering the pagoda additional ¥12.5, purchased inside

Calligraphy Street (书院门步行街)

This is another souvenir shopping area. Less hectic than the Muslim Quarter.

Century Ginwa

This luxury shopping mall has three locations in Xi'an. One downtown by the Drum Tower, one in Gaoxing on Keji Lu, and one just outside of the South Gate.

Daming Palace National Heritage Park

大明宫国家遗址公园

This is, first of all, a huge park with both green spaces and an enormous open square with an equally-impressive ancient palace gate (the palace is Tang dynasty, built in 634 AD). There's a model of the palace next to the gate. The square sometimes hosts public performances. The park even has an IMAX theatre. The park, gate and square are accessible for free. If you pay for admission, you can actually go into the partially restored palace ruins and other sections of the park protected by a moat. Worth seeing for the sheer size of it - it's more than 4 times the size of the Forbidden City, and a very surreal effect compared to the crowding in the rest of Xian.

In spring and summer (April 15th to October 15th), opening hours are 08:30-19:00, the last tickets are sold at 17:30 and the last entry is at 18:30. In autumn and winter (October 16th to March 14th), opening hours are 08:30-18:00, the last tickets are sold at 17:00, and the last entry time is 17:30·The standard ticket price is ¥60. Children aged 7 to 18 pay half-price. Children aged 6 or under and adults aged 65 or over are granted free entry

Daxingshan Temple

大兴善寺

Established in 266 AD during the Jin Dynasty, the Daxingshan Temple was one of the most influential temples in China during the Tang Dynasty, being the place where the eminent monks Śubhakarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra translated sacred Buddhist texts from India and disseminated Chinese Esoteric Buddhism. In the 9th century, Emperor Wuzong ordered the temple to be destroyed as part of his campaign against Buddhism. It was rebuilt during the 15th century.

Closed · opens 8 am·Free

Daxuexi Alley Mosque

大学习巷清真寺

The temple was founded in 705 AD, it is one of the oldest mosques in Xi'an.

Closed · opens 8 am·Free

De Fu Lou Cafe & Bar

De Fu Lou Paulaner Bar

In Bar Street (De Fu Xiang), one of the first bars ever to open in Xi'an and a favorite hangout for locals. Live football on the big screen and live music every night.

Delhi Darbar

新德里餐厅

Authentic North Indian food run by a wonderful Indian manager. Service is good, food is divinely delicious, and prices are very affordable. Mango Lassi for only ¥10 is a must-have. Average meal price is about ¥40 per person.

Drum Tower

鼓楼; Gǔlóu

Great tower with drums to toll the time to the old city. Short musical performances every hour or so.

In high season (April 1st to October 10th), opening hours are 08:30-21:30, the last combo tickets are sold at 19:00, and the last standard tickets are sold at 21:00. In low season (October 11th to March 31st), opening hours are 08:30-18:00, the last combo tickets are sold at 16:30, and the last standard tickets are sold at 17:30·¥30, or ¥50 including Bell Tower

East Street

Dong Dajie

Has regular fashion shops. On the right side of the street there is an underground mall (called LuoMaShi) where one can find cheap socks, knockoff goods, and local brands

General Yang Hucheng's Zhiyuan Villa

杨虎城将军止园别墅

One of two heritage properties administered by the Xi'an Incident Museum (西安事变纪念馆). the other being General Zhang Xueliang's Official Residence (listed below). Generals Yang Hucheng and Zhang Xueliang were the leading conspirators behind the Xi'an Incident.

09:00-17:00, closed on Mondays·Free

General Zhang Xueliang's Official Residence

张学良将军公馆

The Xi'an Incident Museum's main exhibition halls are at this site.

08:30-17:00, closed on Mondays·Free

Great Mosque

大清真寺; Dàqīngzhēnsì, 化觉巷清真大寺; Huàjué Xiàng Qīngzhēndàsì

Uniquely built in a traditional Chinese architectural style during the Ming Dynasty, with room for 1,000 worshipers. Built by the Muslim community who is settling in China for the Silk Trade. It is still an active place of worship for the local Hui community, and only Muslims are permitted entry to the main prayer hall. As with all mosques, visitors should dress conservatively and avoid revealing clothing, though non-Muslim women are not required to wear the hijab.

Closed · opens 8 am·¥25 (if not Muslim)

Green Molly Restaurant & Pub

绿茉莉

A restaurant where you can indulge in the tastes of home, whether that be in the U.S., Europe or even Mexico. The restaurant owns only the second authentic pizza oven in Xi'an. Downstairs, the first and only real pub in Xi'an has a wide selection of beverages ranging from imported beers to wine and delicious cocktails.

Closed · opens 10 am

Guangren Temple

广仁寺

Established by the Kangxi Emperor in 1705. The temple is noteworthy for being the only Tibetan Buddhist temple in Shaanxi Province.

Closed · opens 8 am·Free

Havana Bar

哈瓦那酒吧

Has a Colombian band and makes good cocktails. It's not your average Buena Vista Social Club, though: they play loud music in between band performances and the band plays a wide array of pop and salsa. This location is more of a club than an actual Latin bar.

Huaqing Palace

华清宫; Huáqīnggōng 华清池; Huáqīngchí; Huaqing Pool

Built by the Tang emperor Xuanzong near hot springs at the foot of Li Shan (Mount Li) so he could frolic with his favoured Imperial Concubine Yang to his heart's content. You may also take the nearby cable car (¥35 return) to catch a Birdseye view of the area. Most of today's structures date not from the Tang Dynasty, but from later dynasties. The exception is the ruins of the Tang Dynasty baths, which have been excavated and are open to public viewing. Also of interest is a residential compound dating from the late Qing Dynasty that was briefly home to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek. This was the site of the Xi'an Incident in 1936 and the bullet holes from the incident can still be seen.

Closed · opens 7 am·Standard adult tickets are ¥120, Students, children and persons over 65 pay half price

Hui Muslim Quarter

Huimin Street (回民街 Huímínjiē)

Walk through the Muslim quarter sampling food and buying souvenirs. The Hui Muslim Quarter (回民街 Huí mín jiē, hwei-min-jyeh) is a series of small alleys located in a high-density Hui community (very much like Chinatown in North America) inside the city walls, where the residences open up small restaurants and food shops like street food. Some of these restaurants are among the most famous ones in the city, regarded as the "true Xi'an cuisine" by the locals. However, visitors from outside the city may dislike the environment while the locals may not, because garbage can be seen almost everywhere on the street. Price is high here (some time more doubled) without matching the quality. It is recommended to try only the Huimin food here while keeping other Xi'an delicacies elsewhere in the city.

Huimin Street (回民街 Huímínjiē)

Muslim Quarter

The best place to buy souvenirs in the city center is the bazaar area. The seller usually offers you a very high price, and even if you bring them down by 50%, they will still make a big profit. This is also a good place to buy folk art, specifically folk style block prints in a single shop which go for about ¥50 if you can stand bargaining when the older gentleman artist himself is standing right there. This area is also full of fake name-brand products like watches, bags, clothes. Bargain hard. Shop owners will typically sell such fake branded products to expatriates at three times the price they offer to Chinese people. For instance, a Louis Vuitton wallet going at ¥80 will be touted to Westerners at ¥200 or more. If your haggling skills are exceptional, you can bring down the price to a mere ¥30.

Jiahui Hantang Book City

嘉汇汉唐书城

The largest bookstore in Xi'an, Book City has a fairly decent selection of imported English books. You'll find a wide range of books here, from educational ones, to classic novels, and modern literature to children's books. The place gets swamped with people at the weekends, so for a more pleasant browsing experience, come during a weekday.

Closed · opens 9 am

Kangfu Road

A great place for a bargain. Nothing is (bargained for) over ¥50 and most clothes can be bargained down to about ¥20 if you are really aggressive. But this place is full of poor quality stuff.

Lantian Man Site

蓝田猿人遗址

In 1964, at this site in Lantian County, the cranium of a hominid was discovered. The discovery came just one year after a mandible belonging to a similar individual had been found in another part of the county. The two individuals were later classified as belonging to a subspecies of Homo erectus known as Homo erectus lantianensis or Lantian Man. A small museum at the site displays both the cranium and the mandible, as well as a collection of stone tools and animal fossils, which were also found in the area.

Closed · opens 9 am·Free

Lao Sun Jia

老孙家

Has fantastic yangrou paomo which is very cheap but flavorful. No English spoken but easy to communicate with sign language! Franchises all across town.

Li Ming's Dumpling House

李明饺子馆

A tiny, family-run spot known only to locals, serving exceptional guotie (potstickers) and baozi (steamed buns) with secret-recipe fillings. No frills, just authentic flavor.

Closed · opens 11 am