7 Days in Xian: The First-Timer Itinerary
A full week keeps everything from the 6-day plan (Terracotta Army, City Wall, Muslim Quarter, Mount Huashan, Shaanxi History Museum, Huaqing Palace, Famen Temple) and closes with a seventh day built around Tang Paradise and a final Muslim Quarter food crawl before you fly out. Shorter trip? Drop to 4 , 5 , or 6 days .
Book these before you go
- Terracotta Army entry: guided option on GetYourGuide or direct via official ticketing
- A Bell Tower-area hotel: check rates on Agoda
- Mount Huashan transport and guide: browse tours on Viator
- Famen Temple as an organized day trip: search options on Viator
- A Muslim Quarter food tour: reserve on GetYourGuide
| Day | Focus | Travel time |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Terracotta Army, City Wall bike ride | Terracotta Army: Bus 306, about 1 hour each way |
| Day 2 | Muslim Quarter, Bell/Drum Tower, Big Wild Goose Pagoda | All within the city |
| Day 3 | Mount Huashan | About 2 hours each way by high-speed rail |
| Day 4 | Shaanxi History Museum, night market | All within the city |
| Day 5 | Huaqing Palace | Near Lintong, similar range to the Terracotta Army |
| Day 6 | Famen Temple | About 120km west, full day, thin public transit |
| Day 7 | Tang Paradise, final Muslim Quarter crawl, departure | All within the city |
Day 1: Terracotta Army And The City Wall
- Metro Line 14 from XIY to Xi’an North, transfer toward the Bell Tower, check in
- Book the Terracotta Army ticket online ahead of time, CNY 120 off-peak (up to CNY 150 peak), no walk-up sales exist. Bus 306 from Xi’an Railway Station’s East Square, CNY 7, roughly an hour each way, every 7 minutes or so
- Evening: bike the City Wall, CNY 54 entry, about CNY 45 for a 3-hour rental (CNY 200 deposit). Passport required at the gate for foreign e-ticket holders since July 2026, per the official City Wall site
Day 2: Muslim Quarter And The Pagodas
- Bell Tower and Drum Tower combo ticket, about CNY 50
- Huimin Jie street food: roujiamo, biangbiang noodles, yangrou paomo, liangpi, plus the 742 CE Great Mosque
- Big Wild Goose Pagoda grounds and tower climb, then the free North Square Music Fountain show, saving the full Tang Paradise park for day seven
Day 3: Mount Huashan
- High-speed rail from Xi’an North to Huashan North, about 30 minutes actual ride time, then a shuttle to the gates
- West Peak cable car up, North Peak down, the main peaks in 5-6 hours
- Plank Walk in the Sky: ages 15-55, 2+ hour queues by midday, arrive early or skip
- Budget the full 10-12 hours; the mountain and its queues are where the day actually goes, not the train
Day 4: Shaanxi History Museum And A Night Out
- Timed reservation through ticket.sxhm.com , free admission but no walk-in entry
- Afternoon around the Bell Tower shops, evening at the South Gate night market
Day 5: Huaqing Palace
- East toward Lintong, entry roughly CNY 120, Tang-dynasty hot-spring pools and gardens
- The building where Chiang Kai-shek was detained during the 1936 Xi’an Incident sits on the grounds, a genuinely significant 20th-century site most visitors never learn was here
Day 6: Famen Temple
- Book an organized tour or private car; thin public transit makes DIY a real time cost
- The underground crypt held a relic believed to be a finger bone of the Buddha, found in 1987
- Back to Xi’an for dinner near your hotel
Is a Full Week in Xi’an Actually Too Much?
Not if you use it the way this plan does: five distinct day trips (Terracotta Army, Huashan, Huaqing Palace, Famen Temple) plus two full city days, rather than padding with repeat visits to the same sights. A traveler who only wants the Terracotta Army and City Wall should use the 2-day plan instead; a week only pays off if you actually want all five day trips.
Day 7: Tang Paradise And A Final Food Crawl
- Morning at Tang Paradise, the Tang-dynasty theme park beside the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, entry about CNY 120, worth the full ticket now that you’ve already seen the free fountain show on day two
- Afternoon back in the Muslim Quarter for whatever you missed the first time, whether that’s a second round of biangbiang noodles or finally trying yangrou paomo properly
- Last-minute shopping around the Bell Tower for calligraphy supplies, tea, or Shaanxi-made souvenirs
- Farewell dinner near your hotel before departing from XIY, or Xi’an North if you’re continuing on by high-speed rail
Exchange leftover cash back before you leave the airport, not after; currency counters inside China’s international terminals are far easier to find than ones abroad that handle yuan.