Full Day Tour of Xian

Your guide will meet you in the lobby of your hotel at 09:00 am to start the day.

First today is a visit to the Terracotta Warriors. In 1974, while digging a well in the vast countryside outside of Xi’an, a group of farmers made a legendary discovery. They struck a chamber containing 8,000 soldiers belonging to China’s fearsome first emperor, a terracotta army buried beneath the earth to guard his tomb for eternity. Less than an hour outside the city, you’ll spend two hours coming face-to-face with row upon row of these ancient guardians, an experience no trip to China is complete without.

Ascending to an imperious height of 12 meters, the only way in or out of downtown Xi’an is to pass through cavernous openings in the oldest, largest, and best-preserved city wall in China. Without a doubt, the best way to experience the fortifications is by walking on top of them. Keep your head on a swivel while making the circuit, taking full advantage of the commanding views of the ancient city within and the modern metropolis outside.


The The Great Mosque was the sign that Islam first entered China more than a thousand years ago via the Silk Road, flourishing around the Great Mosque in the heart of the Xi’an’s thriving Muslim Quarter. Entering the elegant grounds at sunset, you might mistake the undulating roofs and colonnaded halls for a Chinese temple until the evening call to prayer confirms that this is instead a potent fusion of Chinese and Islamic culture.

As Islam flowed along the Silk Road into China 1,300 years ago, its faithful followers, both locals and foreigners alike, settled in a busy commercial area of the capital, Chang’an. After centuries of prosperity, the very same Muslim Quarter is still one of the most bustling areas of modern-day Xi’an, and a sensory feast of neon signs, exotic spices, and mouthwatering barbecued fare.

Your guide will return you to your hotel at the end of the day (around 5:00 pm).