Riding a Bike on Xi’an City Wall
Xi’an Ancient City Wall is beyond doubt a must-see site during Xian tours. Since the total length of the City Wall is 13.74 kilometers, which requires lots of energy if one intends to cover the whole City Wall – it will take 5 hours if walking at normal speed.
To make the City Wall sightseeing more interesting and easier, the scenic area offers the bike rental service to tourists. Riding a bike on Xi’an City Wall is the coolest way to visit the ancient City Wall and the best things to do in Xian.
How to Bike on the City Wall in Xi’an
Xi’an City Wall Cycling is a lot of fun and quite popular among tourists. In this way, you can have a general sightseeing of the ancient city from a different perspective. It is not allowed to take your own bicycle onto the wall, but there is rental service available.
Xi’an City Wall Cycling Route:
- South Gate -West Gate – North Gate – East Gate – South Gate (clockwise route)
- South Gate -East Gate – North Gate – West Gate – South Gate (counterclockwise route)
The reason for choosing South Gate (Yongning Gate) as the starting and ending point of Xi’an City Wall bike journey is that cycling is prohibited in this section of Yongning Gate. As the most well preserved city gate in the entire Xi’an City Wall, South Gate is also the most spectacular and worth visiting carefully.
Riding a bike on Xi’an City Wall offers you a unique leisure experience for Xian travel. You can freely adjust the pace and enjoy cycling, while overlooking the beautiful city scenery. If you feel tired, you can stop, have a rest and take photos at any time. Not only are there the Ring Park and the Moat, but you can also see the Bell Tower, Stele Forest, Academy Gate, Guangren Temple, Xi’an Railway Station along the way… The four main gates and four corner towers of Xi’an City Wall are also perfect shooting places. You can also capture the beautiful sunset on a Xi’an City Wall bike ride when weather permits. At night, the bright lights add a unique flavor, as if traveling back to ancient times.
Xi’an City Wall Bike Rental
Bike rental service is available all year round on Xi’an City Wall. And the cost is RMB 45/3 hours for single-people bikes and RMB 90/3 hours for double-people bikes. A round bike ride on the Xi’an City Wall requires around 2-3 hours. While the RMB 100 deposit is required when you rent the bike. Please keep the rental note well because it is needed when returning the bike and refunding the deposit.
Xi’an City Wall currently has a total of 5 bike rental points, respectively in the east side of the South Gate, the west side of the South Gate, the West Gate, the North Gate, and the East Gate. Before 20:00 visitors can rent or return bikes at any one rental point. But after 20:00 they have to go to the east or west side of the South Gate to return the bike.
And overtime costs will be charged according to how long time exceeded. For every 10 minutes of overtime, RMB 5 will be charged for a single-people bike, and RMB 10 will be charged for a double-people bike.
Tips on Xi’an City Wall Bike Ride
- Children under 12 years old and seniors over 65 years old cannot ride bicycles.
- The height of the rented bike seat cannot be adjusted, so it is necessary to try several more to find the right height for you.
- Dressing advice: You’d better not to wear long skirts when riding a bike on Xi’an City Wall, choosing to wear pants and sneakers ismore appropriate.
- The city wall top is wide (12 – 14 meters)and magnificent, with complete service facilities. There are numerous shops and stalls along the way, and there are restrooms at Protruding Ramparts (马面), making it convenient for tourists to use.
- In winter, it’s very cold outdoors in Xi’an. When riding a bike on Xi’an City Wall, be sure to wear gloves, and keep warm. Howeverin summer, it’s hot and there are nearly no shades on the wall top, so it is recommended to bike on Xi’an City Wall in early morning, late afternoon or evening to avoid the midday heat.
- Warm reminder: The road surface is uneven, and the brick road can be a little bumpy to bicycle, so riding a bike on Xi’an City Wall may make your ass uncomfortable.
Besides, some other visitors usually take a battery cart to visit City Wall. And the cost for a battery cart is RMB20/from one gate to the next gate, there are four main gates of the City Wall, so a tourist will spend RMB80 per person if cover the whole City Wall with the battery cart. Please note that the battery cart service may not be available sometimes.
- Xi’an City Wall Opening Time: 08:00 – 22:00
- Ticket Price: RMB 54 per adult
