Historic places in Xi'an

Historic places in Xi'an

1. See

   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

2. See

   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)

3. See

   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

4. See

   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

5. See

   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

6. See

   Shaanxi History Museum

   陕西历史博物馆; Shǎnxī Lìshǐbówùguǎn

   This museum houses a collection of local artefacts that span the province's history from the Neolithic period through the Qing dynasty. In particular, it contains fabulously well preserved pottery from the nearby Banpo neolithic village (also worth a visit) and many excellent Shang Dynasty bronzes. Although some guidebooks call it "one of the best museums in China", its old fashioned pots-and-arrowheads-behind-glass format may appeal mainly to enthusiasts. The most eye-catching articles are those from the Tang Dynasty that were used by the royal family. All visitors are required to make a booking on the museum's official WeChat account before visiting (see website for QR code). Upon arrival at the museum, you will need to pick up your pre-booked tickets from the counters on the east side of the South Entrance. The specific counter you will need to go to will depend on what kind of tickets you have booked. Go to Counters 1 or 2 for tickets to the 'Treasures of the Great Tang Dynasty', Counter 3 for tickets to the 'Mural Paintings of the Tang Dynasty' or Counter 4 for tickets to the main exhibition halls. You will also see automatic ticketing machines but these can only be used by visitors with Chinese ID cards.

   Nov 15-Mar 14: 09:00-17:30; Mar 15-Nov 14: 08:30-18:00, no tickets issued in last 90 minutes,:closed on Mondays·Entry to the main exhibition halls is free. Tickets for the 'Treasures of the Great Tang Dynasty' cost ¥30 and tickets for the 'Mural Paintings of the Tang Dynasty' cost ¥270. The fees for English language tour guides are ¥300 for the main exhibition halls, ¥100 for the 'Treasures of the Great Tang Dynasty' and ¥100 for the 'Mural Paintings of the Tang Dynasty'

7. See

   Shaanxi Science & Technology Museum

   陕西科学技术馆, 陕西科技馆

   The museum has four floors. The first floor focuses on the history of human technological development. The second floor is devoted to electromagnetics. The third floor is concerned with optics, mechanics and mathematics. The fourth and uppermost floor has multimedia and electronics exhibitions.

   09:00-17:00, no entry after 15:00, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays·Tickets are free but there are strict limitations on visitor numbers. From Wednesday to Friday, there are no more than 600 tickets available per day, and on the weekend, there are no more than 1000 tickets available per day. Visitors cannot visit the museum more than once on a single day

8. Buy

   Shuyuanmen Antique Paper & Ink

   书院门古籍纸墨店

   Tucked away on the historic street, this shop sells traditional rice paper, ink stones, and calligraphy sets. It's a great place to find a thoughtful, cultural souvenir away from the mass-produced trinkets.

   Closed · opens 9:30 am

9. See

   Tang West Market Museum

   大唐西市博物馆

   Said to be China's first privately run on-site archaeological museum. The museum is located at the site of the excavated ruins of the West Market, probably the most important market in China during the Tang Dynasty. Thousands of artefacts have been unearthed at the site, including not only Tang Dynasty artefacts, but also artefacts from earlier and later dynasties.

   09:00-17:30 (summer), 09:00-17:00 (winter), no entry in last 60 minutes, closed on Mondays and the eve of Chinese New Year·General admission is free. Tickets for the special exhibitions are ¥60. Tickets for the epitaph collection are ¥150.

10. See

    Xi'an Museum

    西安博物院

    The Xi'an Museum isn't as large or as famous as the Shaanxi History Museum, but has a decent collection of over 110,000 artefacts, of which around 2000 are normally on display. Visitors are required to make a booking on WeChat or another app before entering the museum.

    Mar 15-Oct 31: 09:00-18:00; Nov 1-Mar 14: 09:00-17:30, no entry in last 60 minutes, closed on Tuesdays·Free

11. Eat

    Yongxingfang

    永兴坊

    Set in a historical building complex, and translating to "the food museum" the restaurant serves traditional food from the Shaanxi province. There are also different folk cultural performances. This place is the home of the local "smashing wine bowl" tradition where you drink rice wine from a small cup, then smash it into pieces, which is supposed to bring luck.

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Xi'an (CC BY-SA 4.0).