The starting point of the Silk Road, Xi’an, aka Chang’an in ancient times, is one of the most significant birthplaces of Chinese civilization. Once the capital of 13 dynasties successively, Xi’an has accumulated a wealth of heritage value for thousands of years, which promotes numerous visitors to plan a Xi’an tour. You may wonder…

If you’re interested in antique collections and cultural relics, exploring Baxian’an Antique Market is one of the best things to do in Xian, aside from visiting those museums. Background of Baxian’an Antique Market During the Ming and Qing dynasties, there was a temple for God of Fire at the south end of an alley…

Qinqiang Opera (also called Shaanxi Opera, or Qin Opera) is traditional opera in northwest China, and is one of the national intangible cultural heritages. Mr. Jia Pingwa, a famous Chinese writer, said in his novel Abandoned Capital, “eight hundred li of Qinchuan land, 30 million people roar Qinqiang.” He also mentioned that Qinqiang Opera…

Muslim Quarter refers to the place where Muslim people gather in Xian. Xian natives call it “Hui Fang” or “Fang Shang”. Many of the tourists take for Beiyuanmen Street as Muslim street generally. The fact is that in addition to Beiyuanmen, “Hui Fang” also includes a large area such as Big Learning lane, North…

Xian is not only an ancient capital, but also a dynamic modern city. Local young people incline to revel in the leisure and comfort of several bar streets, as one of the must-do things after busy day life. Defu Lane: With a total length of less than one kilometer, Defu Lane is an ancient…

Around 6 am, the city begins to wake up and a new day starts. Most people are busy with work or study, but you will see there are some people especially the elders embracing the day in a different way. If you want to have a glimpse of their morning hours, City Ring Park…

Xi’an, a millenarian ancient capital, is always the location of the soul of Chinese culture. When traveling to Xi’an, experiencing intangible cultural heritages such as the representative shadow puppet and Chinese calligraphy are top things to do in Xi’an. Shadow Puppets: The Oldest “Movie” in the World Shadow puppet is one of China’s earliest theatrical forms,…

To make the City Wall sightseeing more interesting and easier, the scenic area offers bike rental service to tourists. Riding a bike to visit city wall is a most welcomed and cool way to visit City Wall. And some other visitors usually take a battery cart to visit City Wall.

Huaqing Hot Spring had being used as the royal hot spring bathing spot for tens of centuries. In Chinese history many famous achieved Emperors bathed in Huaqing Hot Spring. The best known one should be Emperor Xuanzong due to his moving love story with Lady Yang. The late Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi recorded…

It is hard to add anything new to the reviews of this site. We were impressed by the artifacts themselves, and by the care being taken by the archaeologist in the excavations and display. We made a journey from Beijing to Xi’an to see this site, and would recommend a stay in the …

We cycled the entire wall on rented bikes, and would recommend it highly although it was hard to maintain the bike saddles at the appropriate height (the clamps were a bit loose). If you can only look over the wall from one side, the inner city on the south side is the most inter…

This is a very good museum to view prior to seeing the Terra Cotta Warriors. The museum takes you through Chinese history from Paleolithic times up to the Terra Cotta Warriors’ period and the Han Dynasty. It is interesting to see that other Emperor’s also had Terracotta Warriors,…

Like a mini version of The Terracotta Warriors…all the warriors and animals here are in miniature and made by molds, not individually as the Qin warriors are. A fairly impressive (air conditioned) under ground facility with glass floors so you basically walk over the top of the a…

Popped to see the show it starts at 9 but I would get there thirty mins earlier if you want a front row seat cos passing there at 8.15 it was crowded already. We had a chilled out wander about whilst watching and was fantastic thing to see !

Our guide with China Odyssey Tours arranged for the bicycle rental near the west gate. What a neat way for the family to ride along the wall. We were able to stop and look at the displays. We also stopped to look at a fruit and veg market next to the wall and got…

You have to jostle for a position to make viewing these worthwhile. Once you are up close they are hard to photograph because of their glass enclosures. I expected them to be full sized, but they are in fact half sized. Not as inspiring as the Terracotta warriors next door. The r…

This was a nice place to visit. To be honest, it wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be, I though it would be a replica of a Tang Palace, giving you a real historic feel like you’ve gone back in time, but it really wasn’t quite like this. Sure they have a big…

The Xian Grand Mosque in the Muslim Quarters is truly a gem in the city. Set in a garden style with traditional Chinese Architecture (including the rare hanging or cantilever canopy construction which is fast disappearing in China), the mosque welcomes everyone to see how Islam a…

The pagoda itself and the area around it is awesome, especially at night when it’s lit up and they do a fountain show. And the building is very historic and exotic. As crazy as this may sound, check out the mall next door. We found a restaurant on the top floor, I believe it’s…

I went t the Bell Tour late in the afternoon and paid to to to the top. It is a steep walk along a very small set of stairs with pedestrians going up and down. The views from the top are a photographers delight. The following evening, we drove passed and I wished that…