Private Terracotta Army & Xi'an Highlights Day Tour

The Terracotta Army on a Private Day Tour

The day begins in Lintong, about an hour east of the city, at the museum built over the pits of the Terracotta Army. Pit 1 holds the main infantry force in long ranks facing east; Pit 2 mixes archers, cavalry and chariots; Pit 3 is the command post. The army was made more than 2,200 years ago to guard the First Emperor's tomb and was found by farmers digging a well in 1974.

On a private Terracotta Army tour your guide adapts the visit to you: more time at the display cases if you love detail, quicker moves if the children are tiring. Expect about 2.5 hours, including the exhibition halls with the bronze chariots. Starting early is the best time to visit the Terracotta Army, and with a private vehicle you can be among the first through the gates.

The Muslim Quarter and the Great Mosque of Xi'an

In the old centre, just behind the Drum Tower, lies the Muslim Quarter, home to Xi'an's Hui community for many centuries. Its lanes are lined with halal (qingzhen) stalls and restaurants serving beef and mutton dishes, flatbreads, persimmon cakes and sweets, and it is the best place in the city for a halal lunch on this tour.

Hidden in a quiet lane is the Great Mosque of Xi'an, traditionally dated to the Tang dynasty, with most of its present buildings from the Ming. It looks like a Chinese temple, with wooden pavilions, stone arches, gardens and a minaret built as a pagoda-style tower, yet it remains an active place of worship. Visitors can walk the courtyards in modest dress; the prayer hall is for worshippers. Allow about 1.5 hours for both.

The City Wall and the Bell and Drum Towers

Xi'an City Wall, built in the 1370s in the early Ming dynasty, is the most complete ancient city wall in China, about 13.7 kilometres around and broad enough on top for a wide promenade. With your guide you climb up near one of the main gates and walk a section between the watchtowers, with views over the old city and the moat below.

At the centre of the walled city stand the Bell Tower, raised in 1384, and the nearby Drum Tower, both richly painted wooden halls on high brick bases. Inside the Drum Tower, large drums are displayed and short drum performances are held at set times during the day. Choose these if you like architecture and city views; allow an hour for the wall and an hour for the towers.

The Big and Small Wild Goose Pagodas

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda, built in 652 to hold Buddhist scriptures brought back from India along the Silk Road, rises about 64 metres inside Da Ci'en Temple and is the symbol of Xi'an. Its courtyards, carved stone tablets and incense halls make a calm contrast to the morning crowds at the warriors, and it is part of the UNESCO-listed Silk Roads network.

The Small Wild Goose Pagoda, completed in the early 8th century, is slimmer and quieter, standing in leafy grounds shared with the Xi'an Museum. Its top storeys were lost in a 16th-century earthquake, giving it a distinctive flat summit. Pagoda lovers can choose both; each needs about an hour, and the Shaanxi History Museum is close to the larger one.

Huaqing Palace and Banpo Museum

If you prefer to stay east of the city, Huaqing Palace is a natural pairing with the warriors. At the foot of Mount Li, its natural hot springs were enjoyed by rulers for centuries and above all by the Tang court, who built pavilions and bathing pools that you can still see among landscaped gardens. In spring and summer the lotus ponds and mountain backdrop are lovely.

Banpo Museum, on the eastern side of Xi'an, protects a Neolithic village of round and square houses about 6,000 years old, discovered in 1953, with burial jars, painted pottery and a covered excavation site. It is a short, rewarding stop for families and for anyone curious about how settled life began along the rivers of northern China.

How to Choose Your Afternoon in Xi'an

Other choices include the Eight Immortals Temple, the largest Taoist temple in Xi'an, with incense-filled courtyards and a busy antiques market nearby. Your guide helps you choose two sights that fit your interests and the traffic of the day, avoiding unnecessary detours: the Muslim Quarter with the Bell and Drum Towers is an easy pair, as are the two pagodas.

Tell us your choice when you book so your guide can reserve the entry tickets with your passport; tickets are paid separately. Lunch is flexible: near the warriors, in the Muslim Quarter for halal food, or wherever suits you. The tour lasts about 8 hours, and our driver returns you to your hotel at the end.