3 Days Private Xi'an Highlights Tour

►  Listen to the fascinating history stories behind the Terracotta Army.
►  Get a taste of Xi’an’s most popular traditional snacks at Muslim Quarter.
►  Enjoy calmness and serenity when visiting the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.
►  Opt to have a special biking experience on the 600-year-old City Wall.

Hereunder please find a sample itinerary. Our travel experts will be happy to customize a tour for you to meet your interests and needs.

When your flight arrives, you will find your guide waiting for you outside the baggage claim area of Xi'an Airport, holding a welcome sign on which your name is written. After a warm greeting, a private transfer will take you to visit the Han Yang Ling Mausoleum, which is on the way to the downtown area. The Mausoleum was built for the Western Han Emperor Liu Qi in 153 BC and lasted 28 years. With the detailed explanations of your guide, you will have a deep understanding of the profound history and culture of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24AD). The warriors unearthed here are quite different with those in the well-known Terracotta Warriors Museum. They have different styles and different scales. The former is about one third of a real person and the latter is life-size. Join us to find more differences while travelling.

After breakfast, we will drive for around one hour to the amazing Terracotta Army Museum, the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century which is honored as the World's Eighth Great Wonder. Here you will see the clay soldiers and horses with distinct facial expressions arranged orderly in battle formations, the famous Bronze Chariots and Horses, as well as many delicate bronze weapons, all of which present a real scene of the war in ancient China.

After that, you will have a special chance to visit Mr. Yang Zhifa’s home. Mr. Yang is considered the first man who discovered the terracotta warriors in 1974. Have a short meeting with his family and meet him in person if he is available taking account of his old age.

 Make your own miniature clay warriors:
When you marvel at the heritage, you may wonder how they were made in the ancient times. Let’s meet a local artisan at a cave dwelling and see him showing us the exquisite techniques used 2,200 years ago to make terracotta warriors. Then a special opportunity will be provided for you to make your own miniature clay warriors with the help of the local artisan. Although the process of making warriors is different from that thousands of years ago, the clay used is the same, which is local red mud taken from 7-9 meters underground. The molds used are specially customized and are made of lime, which is absorbent. In simple terms, you will get a clay warrior when you fill the mold with mud, press it, and open it up again. While it’s not completed. Next you need to remove the excess mud and carve the details to make it more elaborate, which is not easy and needs more patience. You can keep what you make and take it home.We leave the lunch today on your own. There are many restaurants around the museum, you can taste different kinds of local foods with the advice of your guide. In the afternoon, you will come to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The 64.5-meter-high (211.6 feet) pagoda was built in the Tang Dynasty (about 1,300 years ago) to store the Buddhist scriptures and statues brought back from India. It is also the most famous landmark of Xian nowadays, as its surrounding areas have been developed into a large tourism zone.★ Terracotta Warriors Once Had Colors! Urgent Appeal for Protecting Cultural Relics
One thing that might surprise you is that the Terracotta Warriors were originally not earthy-gray as you see today. When the statues were first unearthed in 1974, they were all colorful, but why can’t we see their colors today? Without underground isolation and high humidity, the colors of the terracotta figures began to disappear within 15 seconds after being unearthed, all dried and peeled off within minutes. The unexpected change left the archaeologists no time to react. We had permanently lost the colors of the Terracotta Warriors.

If the lack of archaeological experience and technology in the past was a helpless pity, then what about the cultural relic conservation now in the Museum of Terracotta Warriors? Our travel experts found that before 10:00 in the morning, and between 17:00 and 18:00 in the afternoon, strong sunlight pours directly onto the terracotta warriors through the side windows, especially in the Pit 1 (see picture above), the largest with the most terracotta figures. As we know, light and oxygen are the biggest threats to the preservation of cultural relics, so professional museums all over the world are indoor, with strict control over lighting, temperature, humidity, etc. We are very anxious and heartbroken to see such precious relics exposed to the sun for nearly 50 years, and have been reporting to the authorities about the design defects of the museum. If this goes on, in 100 years, our descendants will not even be able to see the shape of the terracotta warriors, let alone the colorful ones. What a pity that would be! We sincerely appeal to you to join us to see the current state of the Terracotta Warriors and speak out for the protection of the precious cultural heritage of mankind!

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

Today we will first visit the City Wall Remains Museum, which is located on the foot of the City Wall. Here you can see the ruins of the City Wall in Tang Dynasty. This area was also used to be a customs station for western merchants to enter the city in Tang Dynasty. Then visit the City Wall, which was rebuilt as the military defense system during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) over 600 years ago. Ascending the wall, you could appreciate the magnificent ancient constructions, admire the surrounding urban landscape and watch the local people's leisure life at its foot, the City Wall Park. You can rent a bike to ride on the wall if you like. But it’s not a must. You may have heard of something like riding a bike on the city wall is a unique and fascinating experience. But some travelers may be not good at cycling or have least interests on it. So we leave it on your choice when you are there. Please don’t forget that it is truly amazing to just stand on the wall, witnessing the traditional architectures within the wall, the modern buildings outside the wall, the ancient moat and the residents’ everyday life.

Continue to visit the Great Mosque, which features a gorgeous Chinese architecture style. Actually, when you see the pagoda-like minarets, gardens, glazed-tile Chinese-style roofs, you may think you are in a traditional Chinese Buddhist temple rather than an Islamic Mosque. It is a perfect blend of Chinese and Islamic culture. For local Muslims, it is a haven of pilgrimage and peace in the bustling city. Walking out of the Mosque, you will come to the Muslim Quarter, where you can taste many traditional local foods and explore various featured shops.

 Special local flavor lunch:
For lunch, we will enjoy the delicious and authentic Xi’an food, cold noodle (Liang Pi) and Chinese hamburger (Rou Jia Mo). With a history of more than 2000 years, cold noodle is the most popular food in Shaanxi province. It was highly rated for its amazing flavor by Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who was the owner of the Terracotta Army. Chinese hamburger is filled with braised pork belly which is cooked with more than 20 spices. While beef stuffing is available in halal restaurants. Usually local senior people can make cold noodle and Chinese hamburger by themselves at home. The procedure is very complicated and time-consuming. While few young people can do it nowadays.

After that, your guide and driver will transfer you to the airport for your departure flight, and your Xi'an 3 days tour will end here. Thank you for traveling with us!

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, local flavor lunch