2 Days in Xi'an: A Day-by-Day Itinerary from the Terracotta Army to the City Wall

Two days in Xi'an (西安, Xī'ān) works best as one day east of the city and one day inside it. Day 1 is the Terracotta Army in Lintong, about an hour out of town: be at the gate when it opens, add Huaqing Palace next door if you still have energy, then either stay for the evening show there or head back for dinner. Day 2 is the city itself: a museum in the morning, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, a bike ride on the City Wall, the Bell and Drum Towers, and dinner in the Muslim Quarter. The part you have to sort out before you arrive is the bookings. Terracotta Army tickets are sold only online, in your own name, through the museum's official website and WeChat accounts, and the free Shaanxi History Museum releases its tickets just five days ahead at 17:00. Book those two first and the rest of the trip is easy to arrange.

How the two days fit together, and what to book before you go

The plan follows three simple rules. First, the Terracotta Army goes first thing on Day 1. The museum hands out tickets in timed slots and asks you to arrive half an hour before yours, and the halls are at their quietest in the first hour, before tour groups arrive. Second, Day 1 stays in Lintong (临潼, Líntóng), the district east of the city where the Terracotta Army and Huaqing Palace are. Huaqing Palace's own visitor advice is to combine the two on the same day, because they sit on the same tourist route. Third, Day 2 is built around whether you managed to book the Shaanxi History Museum. If you did, you start the day there in the south of the city and work north. If you did not, you start inside the walls at the Forest of Stone Steles Museum and work south. Both versions are laid out below.

For two nights, the easiest base is inside the City Wall near the Bell Tower or the South Gate. Metro Line 2 runs north to south through Xi'an North Railway Station, the Bell Tower, Yongningmen (the South Gate) and Xiaozhai, with no change needed from the high-speed station to the Bell Tower. That puts the Muslim Quarter within walking distance and the Day 1 metro run to Lintong two changes away (Line 2, then Line 1, then Line 9). You can compare hotels around the Bell Tower and South Gate on Booking.com; pick one that says it accepts foreign passports.

Here is what to book, in the order it comes up:

• As soon as you have dates: train tickets, if you are arriving or leaving by rail. Train tickets go on sale up to 15 days ahead, counting the travel day, and each station sets its own release time. The English version of 12306, China Railway's booking site, accepts foreign passports. Look closely at the station name: Xi'an East Station opened on 30 June 2026 and now takes many trains heading south and west, while Xi'an North handles the main lines north and east. Our guide on how to book train tickets walks through the account setup.
• As soon as your Terracotta day is fixed: the Terracotta Army. The official name is Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum (秦始皇帝陵博物院). Every visitor, foreign passport holders included, books online in their real name on the museum's website bmy.com.cn or through its WeChat accounts "秦始皇帝陵博物院" and "兵马俑票务在线" (Terracotta Ticketing Online); you book with your passport details and show the same passport at the gate. The museum does not publish how far ahead tickets open, so look up your date on bmy.com.cn as soon as your plans are fixed and book the moment it shows tickets; if it does not yet, try again each day. The site takes up to 65,000 visitors a day and stops selling once it is full, and unused tickets can be cancelled before entry. Choose the earliest slot.
• Five days before your Day 2, at 17:00: the Shaanxi History Museum. The museum is free, but it only takes real-name bookings through its own WeChat account, and tickets for a given day are released five days earlier at 17:00 (Beijing time). You can fill in the date, time slot and visitors in advance, then tap "book" when the release opens. The card below has the full rules. Morning slots go first, so be online at 17:00 sharp.
• Up to seven days ahead: the City Wall. Wall tickets are real-name, one per ID per day, and sold in the "西安城墙景区" (Xi'an City Wall Scenic Area) WeChat mini-program or on authorised travel platforms; current listings say they go on sale seven days ahead and there are no ticket windows on site any more. If the mini-program will not take your passport, book through an authorised travel platform such as Trip.com instead.
• Up to three days ahead: the Bell and Drum Towers. They sell real-name tickets online three days ahead on Ctrip (携程, the Chinese app of Trip.com); foreign visitors enter their passport details. If the Chinese app is a problem, try Trip.com, or ask your hotel's front desk to book for you.
• A day or two ahead: the Everlasting Regret show, if you want it. Tickets are real-name and cannot be refunded or changed once bought. The Huaqing Palace ticket page has the show times and seat prices in English.
• Book on the day or not at all: Huaqing Palace sells tickets one per ID per day, and the ticket stays valid for two days. Da Ci'en Temple, the temple around the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, currently runs real-name, capped-number entry; you show a booking code or your ID at the gate and pay to climb the pagoda on site. The Muslim Quarter is an open neighbourhood with no ticket, and Datang Everbright City is an open street, currently listed as open 24 hours.

If the Shaanxi History Museum is fully booked, you still have two good options. The Tang Dynasty Mural Treasures exhibition inside the museum is a paid show with its own ticket, and visitors who buy that ticket online do not need the free booking to enter the museum. Current listings put the adult price at 270 yuan, so check the price on the museum's booking page before paying. The other option is the museum's Qin-Han Gallery, a separate branch opened in May 2024 out towards the airport, which needs no booking at all. Or swap the museum for the Forest of Stone Steles, which is Route B of Day 2 below.

For every city sight's price, hours and closing day in one table, plus the full metro and airport card, see our Xi'an complete guide. The days below follow those sights in route order.

Day 1: Terracotta Army at opening, Huaqing Palace, then the show or back to town

Early morning: getting to Lintong

The museum's own recommended route is Metro Line 9 to Huaqingchi station (华清池, Huáqīngchí; the station sign says Huaqing Pool), out of exit C, then a walk of about 200 m to the Huaqingchi bus stop. From there take Lintong bus 613 to "Qinyongcun" (秦俑村, Terracotta Village) or Lintong bus 602 to "Qin Bingmayong" (秦兵马俑, Terracotta Army). From the Bell Tower area, take Line 2 one stop north to North Avenue (北大街, Běidàjiē), change to Line 1 east to Fangzhicheng (纺织城, Fǎngzhīchéng), and change there to Line 9. That is three metro lines and a local bus, so leave your hotel by about 7:00 if you want to be at the gate for the 8:30 opening.

The old advice to catch Tourist Bus 5 from Xi'an Railway Station is out of date. Since 29 August 2026, Tourist Bus 5 (游5, also numbered 306) has run from Xi'an East Station to the Terracotta Army, through the Fangzhicheng bus hub, Huaqingchi and Lintong, from 7:00 to 19:00; you pay a conductor on board rather than tapping a card, and it no longer goes to Xi'an Railway Station. The fare is not published, so have Alipay or a little cash ready and check the price with the conductor. For the way out, Line 9 plus the 613 or 602 is simpler. Tourist Bus 5 is most useful later in the day for the short hop between the Terracotta Army and Huaqing Palace.

Morning: the Terracotta Army (8:30 to about 13:00)

The Terracotta Army (兵马俑, Bīngmǎyǒng) is the army of life-size clay soldiers and horses buried to guard the tomb of the first emperor of China. From 16 March to 15 November, gates open for ticket checks at 8:30, the last entry is 17:00 and the site closes at 18:30; from 16 November to 15 March, the last entry is 16:30 and closing is 18:00. There is no weekly closing day, though hours over major holidays follow the museum's latest notice.

The adult ticket is 120 yuan, the same price all year. It covers two sites on the same day: the Terracotta Army museum with the pits, and Lishan Garden (丽山园, Lìshān Yuán), the archaeological park around the emperor's tomb mound. The North Gate is the only entrance to the pit museum, and the route through it is one-way. At opening, go straight to Pit 1, the huge hangar-like hall with the rows of standing soldiers. It is the one everyone comes for, and by mid-morning the front railing is several people deep. Then see Pits 2 and 3 and the exhibition halls. Signs explain very little, so a guide or an audio guide adds a lot. For the museum's own guides, call the guide booking line on +86 29 8139 9047.

The bronze chariots are not next to Pit 1. The two large painted bronze chariots with horses are shown in the Bronze Chariots and Horses Exhibition Hall inside Lishan Garden. After the pits, walk out to the Terracotta Army car park and take the free shuttle bus to Lishan Garden; the same ticket gets you in. Do not confuse the shuttle with the electric carts inside the sites: those cost extra, 5 yuan per person inside the pit museum's first gate and 15 yuan inside Lishan Garden. Allow about three hours for the pits and another hour for Lishan Garden and the chariots. Lunch around the exit is tourist-priced but quick, and it saves time before the afternoon.

If you would rather not deal with buses and bookings yourself, a guided day tour with transport is the alternative, and you can compare them on GetYourGuide. Before you pay, ask whether the entry ticket is included and booked in your name, because the museum checks your passport against the ticket at the gate.

Afternoon: Huaqing Palace, or not (about 14:00 to 17:00)

Huaqing Palace (华清宫, Huáqīng Gōng) is a former imperial hot-spring retreat at the foot of Mount Li (骊山, Lí Shān), with restored bathing pools, gardens and paths up the hill. To get there from the Terracotta Army, take Tourist Bus 5 back to its Huaqingchi stop, or a 613 or 602 bus back to the Huaqingchi stop where you changed in the morning. From Huaqingchi metro station, exits B and C are a 3–5 minute walk from the palace's west gate.

The palace is currently open 7:30 to 17:30, and ticket sales and entry both stop at 17:00; hours can change with the season, so check the palace's latest notice. The full-price ticket is 120 yuan, foreign children 1.2 m or shorter or aged 6 or under go free, and the ticket is valid for two days with re-entry. The palace's own advice is to allow 2–3 hours for Mount Li on top of the palace grounds. After a morning at the Terracotta Army, an afternoon is usually only enough for the palace grounds and pools, so either skip Mount Li or walk just the first short stretch up the hill.

Should you add it? If you like gardens, history or a quiet walk, yes; the pools and the hillside are a nice change after the crowds at the pits. If you are tired after the Terracotta Army, or it is very hot, skip it and head back to the city by mid-afternoon. It is better to skip Huaqing Palace than to rush through it. And if you plan to see the evening show, you can visit the palace grounds on one day and use the two-day ticket to come back, or skip the grounds altogether: the show has its own ticket and does not need a palace ticket.

Evening, option 1: The Everlasting Regret show at Huaqing Palace

The Song of Everlasting Regret (长恨歌, Chánghèn Gē, also called The Song of Everlasting Sorrow) is a large outdoor dance drama about the Tang emperor Xuanzong and his consort Yang Guifei, staged on the lake at Huaqing Palace with Mount Li as the backdrop. There are four shows a night, at 18:30, 19:55, 21:20 and 22:45, each about 65 minutes; the show is suspended from 1 to 24 December and resumes on 25 December, and because it is outdoors, check the palace's notice on the day. Seats are priced by section and show time: VIP seats run from 588 to 988 yuan and regular seats from about 249 to 409 yuan, with the first show the most expensive. Promotional prices from 179 yuan appear for some shows, so check the ticket page for the night you want.

On the day, from 15:00 you exchange your booking for a seat ticket with your passport at the designated window of the east gate ticket office, or scan for an electronic seat voucher. Queuing and security start an hour before each show; the first show enters through the west gate and the later shows through the east gate. One adult can bring one child under 1.3 m free on their lap.

We recommend the 18:30 show. You can eat in Lintong after Huaqing Palace, the show ends around 19:35, and you are back on Line 9 from Huaqingchi station a few minutes later. With the 19:55 show you get back to the city late; check the last trains on our Xi'an last metro trains page before you buy, or plan on a taxi.

Evening, option 2: back to town

If you skip the show, take Line 9 back to Fangzhicheng and Line 1 to the centre. Have dinner near the Bell Tower or in the Muslim Quarter, and keep the evening light: Day 2 has a lot of walking.

For tickets, opening hours and how to get there, see Terracotta Army.

Day 2: museum, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, City Wall, Bell and Drum Towers, Muslim Quarter

Day 2 stays in the city and follows one line on the map: the museum and the pagoda in the south, the City Wall and the old centre in the north. Route A goes south to north and suits you if you have a Shaanxi History Museum booking. Route B works without one: it starts inside the walls and ends at the pagoda in the south.

Route A (with a museum booking): south to north

8:30 – Shaanxi History Museum (陕西历史博物馆). This is the best place in Xi'an to see what the city was like under the Han and Tang dynasties. It is about 778 m from Xiaozhai station on Lines 2 and 3, and about 834 m from Dayanta station on Lines 3 and 4. Until 14 November the main museum opens 8:30 to 19:00, with last entry at 18:00, and there is no closing day in that period; last winter it switched to 9:00 to 17:30 and closed on Mondays again, so check the museum's notice for the winter schedule. Bring the passport you booked with: your ticket is only valid for your time slot on that day, and staff check your face against your ID at the door. Two to three hours is enough for the main galleries.

About 11:30 – Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Da Ci'en Temple (大雁塔 / 大慈恩寺). The pagoda is a short walk east of the museum, next to Dayanta station. Entry to the temple is currently 10 yuan, climbing the pagoda costs another 25 yuan paid on site, and visitors 65 and over enter free with ID; check at the gate whether a foreign passport counts. The temple opens 8:30 to 18:00 until 14 October and 9:00 to 17:30 from 15 October to the end of February. Check the price at the gate, as listings have changed recently. The free musical fountain on the pagoda's north square currently has midday and evening shows of about 10 minutes, and the 21:00 show, with the lights, is the best; there are no midday shows on Tuesdays, and shows can be cancelled for weather or events. Have lunch nearby.

About 14:00 – City Wall from the South Gate (城墙, Chéngqiáng). Take Line 3 one stop west from Dayanta to Xiaozhai, then Line 2 north to Yongningmen (永宁门, Yǒngníngmén), the South Gate. The wall ticket is 54 yuan for adults; visitors 65 and over and children 6 or under (or 1.2 m or under) are free. If you are 65 or over, bring your passport and ask at the entrance whether it qualifies, but budget for the full ticket. The South Gate entrances are currently open 8:00 to 22:00, while the North, East and West gates close at 20:00.

The best way to see the wall is by bike. Current listings put rental at 45 yuan for a single bike and 90 yuan for a tandem, plus a 100 yuan deposit, and late return is charged by the 10 minutes; confirm the time limit when you rent. The wall is 13.74 km around, and one lap takes about two hours at an easy pace; there are rental points at all four main gates, and after 20:00 bikes go back to the South Gate. The brick surface is uneven in places and slippery after rain, so take it slowly. If you don't want to ride the full lap, walk the stretch from the South Gate towards the east and come back down the same way.

About 17:00 – Bell Tower and Drum Tower (钟楼 / 鼓楼). From the South Gate, walk north along South Street or take Line 2 one stop to Bell Tower station. Each tower costs 30 yuan, or 50 yuan for both on a combined ticket. In the main season, from April to early October, they open 8:30 to 21:30, with combined-ticket sales ending at 20:00 and last entry at 21:00. Off-season hours are shorter, so check the hours on the booking page before you plan a late visit. Seeing one tower from inside and the other from the street is plenty for most people; the Drum Tower is the one to go up if you only pick one, since the Muslim Quarter starts right behind it.

About 18:30 – dinner in the Muslim Quarter (回民街, Huímín Jiē). The Muslim Quarter is not a single street but a neighbourhood of lanes, including Beiyuanmen, Xiyangshi and Dapiyuan, just west of the Bell Tower and next to the Drum Tower. The Beiyuanmen food street runs about 500 m north from the Drum Tower, which you can walk straight through. The main lane is crowded and aimed at visitors. The side lanes are calmer: Dapiyuan has long-running restaurants for lamb paomo (bread soaked in soup), biangbiang noodles and soup dumplings. Our Xi'an food guide covers what to order and how.

After dinner: if you still have energy, go back up the City Wall at the South Gate, which stays open until 22:00, for the lit-up gate towers. Or take the metro south to Datang Everbright City (see Route B).

Route B (no museum booking): north to south

8:30 – Forest of Stone Steles Museum (碑林, Bēilín). This museum holds a huge collection of carved stone tablets, many of them famous works of Chinese calligraphy, in and around a former Confucian temple, plus a new north building that opened in May 2025. It opens every day 8:30 to 19:00 (ticket sales and entry stop at 17:30), and the full ticket is 85 yuan; booking is real-name and opens five days ahead on the museum's WeChat service account, Alipay mini-program and website. If the online booking will not accept your passport, bring your passport to the entrance and ask staff to book you in. Free entry for seniors and young children is listed for Chinese citizens only, so plan on full price. The museum is just inside the South Gate, about 795 m from exit D2 of Yongningmen station on Line 2. If you would like a guide, the museum's English tour is 65 yuan per person for 90 minutes.

About 10:30 – City Wall from the South Gate. Same as Route A, only earlier, which is better in summer: the wall has no shade.

About 13:00 – Bell Tower, Drum Tower and lunch in the Muslim Quarter. Ride or walk back to the South Gate, return the bike, and walk north to the towers, then eat in the Muslim Quarter.

About 15:30 – Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Take Line 2 south from Bell Tower to Xiaozhai and change to Line 3 for one stop to Dayanta. You have time for the temple before it closes, and for an afternoon fountain show if it is not a Tuesday.

Evening – Datang Everbright City (大唐不夜城, Dàtáng Bùyèchéng). This is a pedestrian street of Tang-style buildings starting at the foot of the pagoda, about 2,100 m long. It is lit up at night and full of costumed street performances. The best-known is the "tumbler girl" (不倒翁, bùdǎowēng), which currently has several shows most evenings, with changes on holidays. Stay for the 21:00 fountain show at the north end of the pagoda square, then take Line 3 or 4 back from Dayanta station.

Getting around: Lintong, the city lines, last trains and paying

To Lintong. Line 9 to Huaqingchi, then Lintong bus 613 or 602, is the museum's recommended route, and the museum's official directions page shows it with a map. If you arrive at Xi'an North on Day 1, the same route works: Line 2 to North Avenue, Line 1 to Fangzhicheng, then Line 9. From Xi'an Railway Station, take Line 4 to Wulukou, then Line 1 and Line 9. There is also a "Terracotta Army direct bus" (兵马俑景区直通车) from the Qinfeng bus depot, about 310 m from exit D of Tonghuamen station on Line 3; the museum does not publish its fare or timetable, so check at the depot. Tourist Bus 5 runs from Xi'an East Station and is best used for the hop between the Terracotta Army and Huaqing Palace.

In the city. Line 2 is the north–south spine (Xi'an North, Bell Tower, Yongningmen, Xiaozhai), and Line 4 runs through Dayanta and on to the Tang Paradise park. Line 3 links Xiaozhai and Dayanta, and Line 9 goes east to Lintong. Fares go by distance: 2 yuan for up to 6 km, then 1 yuan more for each step up. Each adult can take two children 1.3 m or under, or aged 6 or under, free. For routes and journey times between any two stations, use our Xi'an metro map and route planner. the WaysChina app

Last trains. The two evenings in this plan (the late show in Lintong, the City Wall or Datang Everbright City after dark) are the times you might miss the last metro. Each line and direction has its own last train, so check the times on our Xi'an last trains page before you commit to a late show.

Paying for the metro. The simplest way is a ride QR code in Alipay or WeChat, with your foreign card linked to the app. Ticket machines and service counters also take cash, Alipay and WeChat for single tickets. You cannot tap a foreign bank card at the gates. Foreign Visa, Mastercard and other cards are accepted only on the card machines at the service centres of 13 stations, including Bell Tower, Yongningmen, Xiaozhai, Dayanta, Huaqingchi, Xi'an North and Xi'an Railway Station, where staff sell you a ticket. Our guide to using Alipay with a foreign card covers the setup. Bus–metro transfer discounts do not apply to Tourist Bus 5.

Arriving and leaving. From Xi'an North, Line 2 goes straight to the Bell Tower without a change. If your train uses the new Xi'an East Station, Metro Line 5 is about a five-minute walk from the exit. From Xianyang airport, all international flights use Terminal 5. Metro Line 14 runs from the T5 station and the T1–T3 station to Xi'an North in about 35 minutes for about 7 yuan, and you change there to Line 2 or 4; on the timetable in use since 15 April 2026, the last train towards the city leaves the T1–T3 station at 22:20 and T5 at 22:24, so plan on a taxi if you land late. Airport buses to the Bell Tower cost 25 yuan according to current listings, and a night line runs after 22:00. If you are coming in on the 240-hour visa-free transit, Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is Shaanxi's entry port under that scheme; our visa-free transit guide explains who qualifies.

If you have a third day

A third day lets you add one of three things. Our Xi'an day trips guide has the full details for each.

Mount Hua (华山, Huà Shān), if you like mountains and can start early. High-speed trains from Xi'an North to Huashan North are frequent; on a sample day there were 56, taking 28–41 minutes, with second-class seats mostly 54–60 yuan, so check the fares for your date when you book. From Huashan North, free Huayin buses 1 and 2 go to the visitor centre in about 30 minutes; current listings say they run until about 19:00, so check the last bus. Mount Hua entry is real-name and timed, there is no regular ticket window at the gate, and the entry ticket, cable car and park shuttle bus are separate tickets. The adult entry ticket is 160 yuan in the main season and 100 yuan from December to February. The West Peak cable car is 140 yuan one way in the main season, after a 40 yuan shuttle bus; the North Peak cable car is currently listed at 80 yuan one way, after a 20 yuan shuttle bus. Under the summer-autumn schedule, the last cable car up from the visitor centre was 16:00 and the last one down 19:00; check the current timetable for your date. It is a long day, with an early train, a cable car up, the ridge walk between peaks, and a cable car down, and storms or high winds can close the cable cars and trails. Only choose it if you are fit and the forecast is clear.

A museum day, if you missed the Shaanxi History Museum or want a slower day. Try again for the history museum's 17:00 release, and combine it with the Forest of Stone Steles and the Small Wild Goose Pagoda. The Small Wild Goose Pagoda stands in the grounds of the Xi'an Museum (西安博物院), which opens 8:30 to 18:00 with last entry at 17:00. It releases tickets at 18:00 for five days ahead on its WeChat account, website and Ctrip; foreign visitors book normally and then swap the booking for a ticket at the staffed window with their passport. Entry is currently free with a booking; last winter (November to April) it closed on Tuesdays, so check the museum's notices before you go.

Hanyangling, for a half day on your way to the airport. Hanyangling (汉阳陵, Hàn Yánglíng) is a Han dynasty imperial tomb near the airport road, with an underground exhibition hall built over the burial pits. It is open every day: 8:30 to 18:30 with last entry at 17:00 from March to November. Tickets are 70 yuan in the main season and 55 yuan in winter, booked in advance on its WeChat accounts, Ctrip or Meituan. Public transport is limited: a shuttle bus runs on weekends and public holidays from the Administration Center metro station (Lines 2 and 4) at 10:20 and 13:30, returning at 12:30 and 15:40, but check it is running before you rely on it. On weekdays, a taxi is the practical choice. The Shaanxi History Museum's Qin-Han Gallery, which needs no booking, is also out this way, about 666 m from Qingong station on Line 14, the airport line.

Changing the plan: one day, kids, rain or heat, no lamb, and crowds

Only one day

Do the Terracotta Army at opening, skip Huaqing Palace and Lishan Garden if you are short of time, and be back in the city by mid-afternoon. Ride or walk part of the City Wall from the South Gate in the late afternoon, then have dinner in the Muslim Quarter. You miss the museums and the pagoda, but you see the two things most people come for.

With children

Book children with you at the Terracotta Army even when they go free. At the Shaanxi History Museum, children 6 or under, or 1.4 m or under, need no booking and come in with a booked adult, up to two per adult; older children are booked as normal, and children 14 or under cannot be booked alone, so book them with you and go in together. The Lishan Garden electric cart saves small legs some walking, and a tandem bike makes the City Wall fun for a parent and an older child. For the Everlasting Regret show, choose the 18:30 performance. Our guide to traveling with kids in China has more general advice.

Rain or heat

On a rainy day, make Day 2 a museum day: the Shaanxi History Museum or the Forest of Stone Steles in the morning, the Xi'an Museum in the afternoon (closed on Tuesdays in winter; check its notices), and the Muslim Quarter for dinner. Leave the City Wall for a dry evening; the brick gets slippery. The Terracotta Army pits are under cover, so Day 1 works in light rain, but the outdoor show at Huaqing Palace can be cancelled. In summer heat, do the wall right after it opens or after 17:00, never at midday, and spend the hottest hours inside a museum. Our summer travel guide has more on dealing with the heat.

If you don't eat lamb

The Muslim Quarter is a halal area, so there is no pork, and much of the famous food is lamb or beef. You can still eat well there: beef versions of most dishes, cold noodles (liangpi, 凉皮), biangbiang noodles with tomato and egg, sweet persimmon cakes, and fried snacks. Ask for "niúròu" (牛肉, beef) if you want to avoid lamb. Our guide to halal food in China explains how halal restaurants work.

Crowds and timing

At the Terracotta Army, the first hour is the quietest. Tour groups arrive in the mid-morning and fill Pit 1, so go there first. On public holidays and during summer, Huaqing Palace advises arriving before 8:00, and the Terracotta Army can sell out on busy days. The Muslim Quarter is busiest in the evening, so if you prefer to look around rather than eat in a crush, go for lunch. Datang Everbright City is the opposite: it is built for the evening, but on holidays it can get over 300,000 visitors a day, and the advice is to go in the daytime or avoid 19:00–21:00. Weekends are noticeably busier everywhere. If your two days fall in the first week of October or another national holiday, read our Golden Week survival guide first; book everything as early as you can and start each day at opening.

FAQ

Summary

Book the Terracotta Army as soon as your date is fixed, and be online at 17:00 five days before Day 2 for the Shaanxi History Museum. Day 1: Line 9 and a local bus to the Terracotta Army at opening, Pit 1 first, the free shuttle to the bronze chariots, then Huaqing Palace and the 18:30 show or a quiet evening back in town. Day 2: the museum (or the Forest of Stone Steles), the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, a bike lap of the City Wall from the South Gate, the Bell and Drum Towers, and dinner in the Muslim Quarter. Pay for the metro with an Alipay or WeChat QR code, check the last trains before a late night, and use a third day for Mount Hua, a museum day or Hanyangling.

Last updated: October 2026