When to go to Xi'an?
→ The detailed month-by-month page, with real weather records
Best time: April to May and September to October
At a glance
Why go to Xi'an?
Xi'an was once called Chang'an and served as capital to thirteen dynasties, from the Zhou to the Tang, for more than a thousand years in all. In the 8th century the city had around a million inhabitants and was reputedly the most populous in the world, laid out on a grid of 108 wards that were locked at night. None of that Tang plan survives above ground, yet everything else flows from it: the Silk Road began here, and Sogdian, Persian and Arab merchants kept their warehouses in the city.
The Terracotta Army remains the main reason to come, and it lives up to the hype. Discovered by chance in 1974, it guards the burial mound of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor to unify China, who died in 210 BC. Some 8,000 soldiers, each with a distinct face and a readable hairstyle and rank, stand in battle formation across three pits. The tomb itself, described by the historian Sima Qian as an underground palace with rivers of mercury, has never been opened.
The rest of the city can be explored on foot and by bike, which is rare in China. The Ming walls form a closed 13.74 km circuit that you ride along the top, 12 metres above the avenues. The Hui quarter, Muslim since the Tang, lines up its hand-pulled noodle canteens, its flatbread ovens and its great mosque with neither dome nor minaret. And the high-speed train puts Mount Hua and its plank walkways thirty minutes from the centre.
Map of Xi'an: what is where?
The map shows the 6 places covered in this guide, to picture the distances and plan your route.
- Terracotta Army
- Xi'an City Wall
- Muslim Quarter
- Shaanxi History Museum
- Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
- Mount Hua
How much does a trip to Xi'an cost?
Xi'an is cheaper than Beijing or Shanghai for accommodation and food, but its site entry fees are among the highest in China: €16 for the terracotta pits, €21 for Mount Hua before the cable car. Set aside a separate line for tickets.
| Style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | €35-60/day | Hostel inside the walls, public buses, noodle canteens, two major sites a day |
| Comfort | €90-140/day | Central hotel, taxis and fast trains, a guide for one day, all the sites in the centre |
| Premium | €280+/day | Grand hotel on Renmin Square, private driver, visit to the pits before opening, regional restaurants |
As in the rest of China, WeChat Pay and Alipay linked to a Visa or Mastercard cover almost every expense, street stalls included. Still, carry 300 to 500 yuan in cash for the local buses to Lintong and the small counters of the Muslim Quarter. Bank of China cash machines accept European cards.
Is Xi'an safe?
Xi'an is a safe city where you can get around without worry, including late at night in the Muslim Quarter or around the walls. The problems reported are mostly scams: fake bus ticket counters for the Terracotta Army outside the station, drivers offering a tour that includes jade shops, and worthless skip-the-line tickets. Always buy at the site's official ticket office or on its WeChat mini-program. Air quality deteriorates markedly from November to February, with days when an FFP2 mask is justified. In the mountains, Mount Hua has its own rules: grippy shoes, no bulky bags on the walkways, and turn back at once if rain hits the granite steps. Finally, as everywhere in China, payment goes through WeChat Pay or Alipay linked to a foreign card, to be set up before you leave.
What to see and do in Xi'an
- Terracotta Army
- Xi'an Ming City Wall
- Great Mosque of Xi'an
- Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
- Forest of Stone Steles
- Bell Tower
- Mount Hua
- Han Yangling Mausoleum
Terracotta Army
Three pits excavated since 1974, 35 km east of the centre in Lintong district. Pit 1 measures 230 metres by 62 and holds nearly 6,000 infantrymen and chariots drawn up in battle order beneath a hall the size of an aircraft hangar. Pit 2 shows the archers and cavalry, Pit 3 the command post. A separate pavilion displays two half-scale bronze chariots found near the burial mound. Allow three hours, plus a shuttle from Xi'an station.
Xi'an Ming City Wall
A closed rectangle of 13.74 km, the only complete city wall left in China, finished in 1378. Twelve metres high, up to 18 metres thick at the base, with a paved roadway wide enough to cycle two abreast. Ninety-eight bastions are spaced every 120 metres. The full loop by bike takes an hour and a half without stopping, longer if you linger at the four fortified gates. After dark, red lanterns light up the whole circuit.
Muslim Quarter and Great Mosque
The Hui community has lived here since the Tang era, when Central Asian merchants settled at the end of the Silk Road. On Beiyuanmen and Xiyangshi streets they grill cumin lamb skewers, hand-pull biangbiang noodles and bake flatbread in clay ovens. At the end of a merchants' alley, the Great Mosque, founded in 742, unfolds across four courtyards with a pagoda-shaped minaret and not a single element of Arab architecture.
Shaanxi History Museum
Opened in 1991 in a Tang-style building, it holds more than 370,000 pieces covering a million years of settlement in the Wei valley. Zhou ritual bronzes, Qin terracotta warriors, gold and silverwork from the Hejiacun hoard found in 1970, frescoes lifted from Tang princely tombs: it is the best possible prelude to the Lintong pits. Daily entries are capped and online bookings need to be made several days ahead.
Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
Built in 652 to house the sutras the monk Xuanzang brought back from India, rebuilt in 704, it rises 64 metres over seven brick storeys. The wooden staircase inside leads to a platform overlooking the Qujiang district and the grid of avenues south of the city. The surrounding Da Ci'en Temple keeps its Tang stelae and working prayer halls. The big north square, redone in the 2000s, hosts fountains every evening and crowds of families out for a stroll.
Mount Hua
A sacred Taoist mountain 120 km to the east, with five granite peaks, the highest reaching 2,154 metres. Trails cut into the rock, lined with chains worn smooth by hands, climb almost vertically in places. The South Peak plank walk, thirty centimetres wide above several hundred metres of drop, is done roped up and for an extra fee. The high-speed train from Xi'an North takes thirty minutes to Huashan North.
How many days, and which itinerary?
Two full days are enough for the Terracotta Army, the walls and the Muslim Quarter, which explains the short format most travellers choose. Three days let you add the history museum and the Wild Goose Pagoda without rushing, and four leave a whole day for Mount Hua.
🗺️ Day-by-day itinerary · 📓 Free printable Xi'an guide (PDF) · 🌍 All of China
The essentials (2 days)
Day 1: an early start for Lintong and the Terracotta Army as soon as it opens at 8.30am, back in town by mid-afternoon, then the Muslim Quarter and a dinner of skewers and pulled noodles. Day 2: the Shaanxi History Museum in the morning, booked in advance, the Bell Tower at midday, then up onto the walls for a bike loop at sunset. This is the format most travellers follow between Beijing and Chengdu.
Xi'an in full (4 days)
The same core at a gentler pace, plus the Forest of Stone Steles against the south wall, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda and its Da Ci'en Temple, the underground Han Yangling Mausoleum near the airport, and a full day on Mount Hua, leaving at 6.30am on the high-speed train. In April, add a morning in the blossoming orchards of Lintong, a few kilometres from the pits. Book the Shaanxi History Museum as soon as the quota is released, a week ahead, or you will have to give it a miss.
Silk Road (2 weeks)
Xi'an is the historical and logistical starting point. Three days here, then a night train or flight to Lanzhou, the Bingling caves and Labrang Monastery. Next comes Zhangye and its colourful Danxia hills, Jiayuguan and the fort that closes off the Great Wall to the west, and finally Dunhuang, the Mogao Caves and the Mingsha dunes. It all runs on high-speed trains booked a week ahead on the 12306 app.
Getting there and getting around
The metro has several lines serving the station, the two central towers and the Wild Goose Pagoda, for 2 to 7 yuan. Stations are bilingual and bags are screened at every entrance, so allow five extra minutes per journey.
For the Terracotta Army, bus 5 (route 306) leaves from the east square of Xi'an station and takes an hour for 8 yuan. Watch out for touts selling fake bus tickets outside the station: the real departure point is official and signposted in English.
The high-speed train links Xi'an North with Beijing in 4h30, Chengdu in 3h and Huashan North in 30 minutes. Tickets are bought on the 12306 app with your passport number, one to two weeks ahead for weekend departures.
In town, shared bikes unlock by QR code for a few cents. The historic centre fits inside the rectangle of the walls, 3.5 km by 2.5, which makes walking and cycling more efficient than taxis at rush hour.
Where to stay in Xi'an?
Hostels inside the walls, near the South Gate or the Muslim Quarter: €18-35 a night, dorms and small doubles, with a shared kitchen and bike hire. It is the most common choice for a two-night stay.
Mid-range hotels around the Bell Tower and Renmin Square: €55-100, comfortable rooms with Chinese breakfast included. The location puts the Muslim Quarter and the walls ten minutes' walk away.
Aparthotels and serviced apartments in the centre: €60-90, with kitchen and washing machine, handy for longer stays or families. Rates drop noticeably from Sunday to Thursday outside Chinese holidays.
Grand hotels on Renmin Square and in the Qujiang district: €150-260, in restored 1950s buildings or new towers with a spa. High season covers April, May, October and the first week of the National Day holiday.
Our places to stay, stop by stop, at three budgets →
What to eat in Xi'an?
Roujiamo, a sandwich of oven-baked flatbread stuffed with pork slow-braised in spices, sells for 8 to 15 yuan at stalls in the Muslim Quarter. The halal beef version is the most common on Beiyuanmen street.
Biangbiang noodles, as wide as a belt and hand-pulled in front of you, come with chilli, vinegar and smoking-hot oil poured over the pile. The character for their name has 58 strokes and appears on no standard keyboard.
For yangrou paomo you crumble two flatbreads into a bowl yourself, which the kitchen then fills with mutton broth and vermicelli. Allow twenty minutes of crumbling and 35 to 50 yuan a bowl, more a winter dish than a summer one.
The night markets of Huimin Jie and Yongxingfang grill cumin lamb skewers, fry persimmon cakes and press Lintong pomegranate juice. A standing dinner there costs 40 to 70 yuan per person.
Entry requirements
Until 31 December 2026, UK, Canadian, Australian and most EU passports (not Czech or Lithuanian) enter visa-free for up to 30 days. US citizens need a visa, unless they qualify for the 240-hour visa-free transit with a confirmed onward ticket to a third country.
Rules change: check your own government's travel advice before you go.
Frequently asked questions about Xi'an
How long should I stay in Xi'an?
Two full days are enough for the Terracotta Army, the walls, the Muslim Quarter and the history museum. Three days give you breathing room and let you add the Wild Goose Pagoda and the Forest of Stone Steles. Plan a fourth full day if you want to climb Mount Hua, which takes from sunrise to sunset.
How do I get to the Terracotta Army?
Public bus 5, route 306, leaves from the east square of Xi'an station, takes an hour and costs 8 yuan. A taxi costs 150 to 200 yuan one way. Buy the museum ticket online the day before, as the daily quota fills up fast in spring. Ignore the touts selling fake bus tickets outside the station.
Can you do Mount Hua without mountain experience?
Yes for the five peaks, linked by staircases and cable cars that skip the hardest part. The South Peak plank walk, on the other hand, is a paid, roped-up option for those with a head for heights. Allow six to eight hours on site and grippy shoes, as the granite steps turn slippery in the rain.
When is the best time to go?
April, May, September and October, with dry air and temperatures between 18 and 26°C. The Lintong orchards blossom in early April. Avoid July and August, hot and muggy, and the first week of October, when the national holidays swamp the pits and the walls.
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