Terracotta Army & Huaqing Palace Tour with Lunch Xi'an

The Terracotta Army and Pit 1

In 1974 farmers digging a well east of Xi'an struck fragments of clay figures, and archaeologists uncovered one of the greatest finds of the twentieth century: an underground army made more than 2,200 years ago to guard the First Emperor's tomb. Pit 1, covered by a huge arched hall, is the largest, about 230 metres long. Here the infantry stand in battle formation, row after row, facing east, with archers at the front and chariot positions between the columns.

Every warrior has an individual face, hairstyle and uniform, and many once carried real bronze weapons. Traces of the original paint survive on some figures. Is the Terracotta Army worth visiting? It is the reason many travellers come to Xi'an at all, and with our guide explaining how the pits were built, burned and rebuilt, the scene becomes far more than a photograph. Expect about an hour in Pit 1 alone.

Pits 2 and 3 and the Bronze Chariots

Pit 2, smaller and L-shaped, holds a mixed force: kneeling and standing archers, cavalry with their saddled horses, and war chariots. Many figures here are displayed in glass cases at eye level, including the famous kneeling archer, so you can study the details of armour, shoes and hands. Pit 3, the smallest, is believed to be the command post, with officers facing each other in a U-shaped formation.

The museum's exhibition hall displays the two bronze chariots found near the burial mound, each pulled by four bronze horses at about half life size, with silver and gold fittings and a fine canopy. The museum lies about 40 kilometres east of Xi'an, roughly an hour by road. A Terracotta Army tour from Xi'an with a guide saves you the ticket queues and the confusion of a large site; plan about two and a half hours here.

The First Emperor's Tomb Area

The warriors are only one part of a vast funerary complex. The burial mound of the First Emperor, who unified China in 221 BC, rises as a forested hill about 1.5 kilometres west of the pits. It has never been excavated, and ancient texts describe rivers of mercury inside, a story supported by modern soil tests. Around it, archaeologists have found pits of stone armour, acrobats and bronze waterbirds.

Our guide explains how the whole site fits together: the city of the dead laid out like a capital, the army facing east towards old enemies, and the workshops that produced the figures in moulds before finishing each by hand. This context makes the visit far richer, and it is one of the main reasons travellers prefer a guided day rather than a ticket alone.

Huaqing Palace and the Hot Springs

Huaqing Palace lies at the northern foot of Mount Li, a few kilometres from the warriors. Hot springs have flowed here for thousands of years, and rulers of many dynasties built retreats around them; the most splendid palace was raised in the Tang dynasty. Today you walk through gardens, a lake ringed by pavilions and the excavated bathing pools, shaped like lotus flowers and crabapple blossoms, where the Tang court once bathed.

The site also holds the Five-Room Hall, linked to the Xi'an Incident of 1936, a turning point in modern Chinese history, and bullet marks are still shown on its windows. Plan about one and a half hours. Huaqing Palace opening hours are long, usually from morning to early evening, and spring, when the gardens bloom, is the best time to visit; on winter days the steam rising from the springs is lovely too.

Shaanxi Lunch and the Bell Tower

Between the two sites you stop for lunch and choose one of three Shaanxi favourites: a set meal with a stuffed flatbread and cold noodles, wide hand-pulled biangbiang noodles with sauce, or a plate of dumplings. Soft drinks come with the set meal. Xi'an has a long Hui Muslim heritage and many halal (qingzhen) restaurants; if you eat only halal food, tell us when you book so we can advise on the lunch, and enjoy dinner in the Muslim Quarter later.

The tour ends at the Bell Tower, the landmark at the exact centre of the walled city, built in the Ming dynasty. From here the Drum Tower, the Muslim Quarter and the Great Mosque of Xi'an are a short stroll away, and the City Wall's South Gate lies straight down South Street, so you can continue your evening on your own.