3 Day Xian Exploration Tour

Welcome to Xian, the seat of power for 13 of China’s dynasties! Your local tour guide will greet you at the Xian Xianyang Airport or the Xian train station to take you to your private car and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day will be free for you to rest and relax from your trip to Xian, or you can begin to explore the ancient capital city on your own. (If you arrive early enough in the day, we can also schedule in some sightseeing for you today.)

Accommodation: Overnight in Xi'an

This morning your local tour guide and driver will pick you up from your hotel, or meet you at the train station if you are arriving in the morning by train to start your exploration of this fascinating city. First up, we will take you about 40 kilometers (25 miles) outside of the city to witness what is truly one of the greatest man-made wonders of the world – the Terracotta Warriors and Horses. The Terracotta Warriors and Horses were built around 2,200 years ago as part of a much larger complex known as the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang. In 221 B.C. Qin Shi Huang became the first emperor to conquer and unify the different warring states into the country of China. More than 8,000 life-sized warriors, horses and chariots made of terracotta and bronze were created and buried to protect the first emperor in the afterlife, standing in guard to the east of his actual burial tomb, facing those states that he conquered in unifying China. These life-sized figures are each unique, designed with different facial features, uniforms and body positions. It is truly awe-inspiring to visit this spectacular site and contemplate how they were so intricately designed thousands of years ago by such skilled Chinese artisans.

After visiting the world-famous Terracotta Warriors and having a nice lunch, we will take you to another of Xian’s historic treasures, the Xian City Wall. Construction began on the wall in 1370 on top of an earlier existing palace wall that was built during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 A.D.) Rectangular in shape, 12 meters high and 18 meters wide, the wall runs a total length of 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) around the inner city. Visitors can climb to the top of the wall for great views over the city, or bicycles are available for rent to bike along the top of the wall as well.

From the ancient city wall we will take you on to the lively Muslim Quarter, a historic section of the city that is great for walking around to see how the local people live while sampling the many traditional Xian snack foods. We can also walk around the nearby Drum and Bell Towers, which were constructed in 1380 A.D. and 1384 A.D. respectively, marking time in the ancient capital city with a bell being rung in the morning at sunrise and a drum struck in the evening to mark the sunset. These very well preserved towers have stood for centuries as reminders of Xian’s important place in world history.

Accommodation: Overnight in Xi'an

First up this morning will be a visit to the Da Cien Temple and its Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The temple was first constructed in 648 A.D. with the famous monk Xuanzhuang in charge – his epic journeys to and from India were the inspiration for the novel Journey to the West. Xuanzhuang oversaw construction of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in 652 A.D. to store the precious Buddhist manuscripts that he brought back from India. 1,400 years later it is still possible to climb to the top of this pagoda for some great views over Xian.

After visiting the Da Cien Temple and the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, we will take you to another of Xian’s historic treasures, the Shaanxi History Museum. As Shaanxi was the home of 13 of China’s historic dynasties, including the Qin dynasty that gives China its name, it is rich in historic artifacts. The museum buildings were built in the Tang Dynasty style and house more than 370,000 objects. Please note that during overcrowding during the high season from July to early September and Chinese holidays, we may need to substitute another activity or attraction in place of the museum; our friendly travel consultants will advise you at the time of your booking.

After visiting the museum, you can have the rest of the day free until we escort you to the airport or train station for your departing flight or train from Xian.

Accommodation: None