Overview
Two days in China's oldest capital: an unhurried morning with the Terracotta Army, a bicycle circuit of the Ming city wall, and the street food of the Muslim Quarter after dark.
Xi'an was the eastern terminus of the Silk Road and the capital of eleven dynasties. Two days is enough to feel the weight of that without racing through it. Day one covers the Great Wild Goose Pagoda, the Bell Tower and the Muslim Quarter, where Hui Muslim families have cooked on the same lanes for centuries and where dinner is the best street food in northern China.
Day two goes east to the Terracotta Army. Discovered in 1974 by farmers digging a well, the mausoleum guard of Qin Shi Huang numbers more than 8,000 figures across three excavated pits, every face different. We give it the full morning because it deserves one, then return for the city wall — 13.7 kilometres, the only complete Ming city wall still standing in China — which you cycle along at your own pace.
The hotel is inside the wall, the group is capped at sixteen, and there are no shopping stops.
- Terracotta Army skip-the-line
- Cycle the Ming city wall
- Small group, maximum 16 travellers
- English-speaking local guide
Itinerary
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1 Terracotta Army & Muslim Quarter
Arrive and transfer to the hotel, then visit the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum. Evening free to explore the lantern-lit Muslim Quarter and its street food.
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2 City Wall & Departure
Morning bike or walk along the Ming Dynasty city wall, visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, then transfer to the airport or station for departure.
Gallery
What's included
- 1 night handpicked hotel (4-star)
- Daily breakfast
- English-speaking local guide
- Private transport
- All listed entrance fees
- Airport or station transfers
Not included
- International and domestic flights
- Lunches and dinners
- Travel insurance
- Tips for guide and driver
- Personal expenses
