Best and Worst of Xi'an - My Opinionated Guide

Intricate Roofline above the Ming Dynasty City Wall

This article is primarily written to document my own memory of Xi'an. But if you're heading to Xi'an as an independent, budget-conscious, or culinary-focused traveler, I'm happy to share my experience with you. Keep in mind that your own experience with the locals may be different, one way or another, as I traveled through China as a Chinese-speaking foreigner.

In May 2011, we kicked off our overland trip of Northern China with several memorable days in Xi'an. The criteria of our trip included:
- Focus on authentic local culture and food
- Did I mention EXCELLENT LOCAL FOOD?
- Basic but reasonably comfortable accommodation at central location
- Public transportation (best way to familiarize with the city!)
- Budget of RMB 350 (CAD$53) per person per day, including:
- Hotel - RMB 100 (per person in double room with private bathroom)
- Food - RMB 75
- Admission Tickets - RMB 100 per person per day
- Local Transportation - RMB 25 per day
- Other Spending - RMB 50
We actually ended up spending less than RMB 350 per day, but it's always better to allow for a little excess.

An Elegant Siheyuan Courtyard at Bei Yuan Men 144

READY-TO-USE ITINERARY

We had the luxury of spending three full days in Xi'an, but most travelers seem to plan for less. My recommendation in terms of itinerary, for 1-Day, 2-Days or 3-Days in the city are as follows:

ONE DAY
Day 1: Bell Tower - Muslim Quarter (brunch)
- Bus You7/You8/609/610/611/201/251 - Train Station
- Bus You5 - Museum of Terracotta Warriors - Bus You5
- Train Station - Bus 14 - Stele Forest - Walk to Wenchangmen
- City Wall - Walk to Nanmen - Bus 302/600
- Muslim Quarter (dinner)

Making an Ink Rubbing at the Stele Forest

TWO DAYS
Day 1: Same as above
Day 2: Bell Tower - Muslim Quarter (brunch) - Great Mosque
- Bus You7 - Small Wild Goose Pagoda - Bus You8
- Shaanxi History Museum - Walk - Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
- Bus You8 - Bell Tower - Muslim Quarter (dinner)

Raising the Red Lanterns at Bei Yuan Men 144

THREE OR MORE DAYS
Same as above, with the addition of one or more of:
- Bei Yuan Men 144 (a.k.a. Gao Family Courtyard)
- Drum Tower and Bell Tower
- Huashan mountain (take Bus You1 from Train Station)
- Hanyangling Museum (take train to Xianyang Station; transfer to local bus #5)
- sidetrip to Luoyang (2 hours on high speed train)

Face-to-Face with the Terracotta Warriors

ARRIVAL

Forget taxi in general, especially if you're arriving by air or high speed train. A taxi ride from Xianyang Airport to central Xi'an should cost upwards of RMB 200 as of 2011, and won't get you there much faster than shuttle buses in Xi'an's constant traffic jams.

If you're flying into Xi'an's Xianyang Airport like we did, the easy and comfortable way to get to central Xi'an is via Airport Shuttle Bus Routes A (Bell Tower) or B (Train Station), located at the curbside just outside the departure level. Tickets are sold at the makeshift counter beside the bus. Route A cost us RMB 26 in 2011, and took roughly an hour to reach the Bell Tower. Route A operates roughly every 20 minutes or so and is said to run from the first plane arrival until the last.

If you're arriving by a high speed train, the new Metro Line 2 connects the North Railway Station to the Bell Tower. If you're arriving by a conventional train at the old Xi'an Train Station, you can take Bus You7/You8/609/610/611 etc to the Bell Tower outside of rush hour. Bringing large baggages onto rush hour buses is not recommended, and a taxi would likely cost no more than RMB 20.

Illumination of the Drum Tower After Nightfall

GETTING AROUND

Xi'an Metro Lines 1 and 2 were clearly designed with commuters in mind and don't seem to specifically stop at any major tourist sights aside from the Bell Tower. Though it is possible to walk to the Small Wild Goose Pagoda from Nanshaomen, and to the Shaanxi History Museum from Xiaozhai, at the time of writing the bus system is still a hassel-free way of connecting between various sights. I hate to say it, but Xi'an hasn't been China's most important city for the past 1,100 years, and the extent of its metro system coverage simply can't be compared to Beijing's.

A Corner of the Vanishing Old Xi'an, Near the Southern Gate

Some of our favorite bus lines connecting between:
- Bell Tower and Xi'an Train Station: You7/You8/609/610/611/201/251
- Bell Tower and Stele Forest: 221/222
- Bell Tower and Nanmen (Southern Gate): 302/600
- Bell Tower and Xianyang Airport: Airport Shuttle Route A
- Bell Tower and Small Wild Goose Pagoda: You7
- Bell Tower and Giant Wild Goose Pagoda/Shaanxi History Museum: You8
- Train Station and Stele Forest: 14
- Train Station and Xianyang Airport: Airport Shuttle Route B
- Small Wild Goose Pagoda and Giant Wild Goose Pagoda: You8

Modern Towers Dwarfing the Once-Imposing Ming Dynasty City Wall

HONEST OPINION ON MAJOR SIGHTS

Everyone goes to Xi'an for the ancient Terracotta Warriors, but not everyone knows about Xi'an's rich heritage of Tang, Ming and Qing Dynasty sights. Here's my opinionated list of what to see, but more importantly, what to skip.

Cascading Roof Tiles at Bei Yuan Men 144

Bei Yuan Men 144 - Informally known as Gao Family Courtyard or Gao Jia Da Yuan, this Ming Dynasty residence is one of the lesser-known sights of Xi'an and my personal favorite. Its well-preserved architectural details are so photogenic that I've chosen a few pics for this article. But that's not the best part ... for only RMB 30 (CAD$4.5) you'll get the chance to see one of China's dying folk art forms, the leather shadow puppetry.

The puppet theater was performed in a little hall by two artists in their 60's, with one person playing both percussion and an Erhu-like instrument and the other controlling several marionettes simultaneously. Both were involved in the voice acting, which could be performed in Chinese or English depending on the audience. Only three spectators -- the two of us plus one local -- were in attendance and we were presented with the Chinese version of San Da Bai Gu Jing, a somewhat humorous short play derived from the Journey to the West.

An oasis of tranquility amidst the raucous Muslim Quarter, Bei Yuan Men 144 is also one of the rare sights remaining open at night (the signage advertised an extremely late closing time of 23:00). Don't miss it after an authentic Xi'an dinner at the neighboring Jia San or Hong Hong -- the dimly lit lanterns only makes the place so much more romantic at night.


City Wall - So many things to do and love. Climb up and down the stairs to the watch towers. Watch the locals practice Taichi fist in the morning. Rent a bicycle and circumnavigate the wall. See old Xi'an's unrestored ghettos from above. This is the best place to be on a sunny afternoon.

The 1,300-Year-Old Landmark of Xi'an - Giant Wild Goose Pagoda

Muslim Quarter - More important than the Terracotta Warriors on my itinerary. In fact we picked our hotel based on its proximity to the Muslim Quarter in order to have brunch and dinner here everyday. See my other three articles and you'll agree that it was the right choice.


Museum of Terracotta Warriors - A UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of China's most popular attractions. Getting to the museum can be a minor adventure in itself, as the square in front of Xi'an Train Station is infiltrated with all kinds of fake buses waiting to lure the uninformed tourist into their specialized Terracotta Warriors tours, complete with grossly overpriced lunchstops and mandatory souvenir shopping. The real official bus, numbered "You5" or "306," was somewhat hidden at the eastern side of the square. After getting to the Museum ticket counter, spend a few extra RMB to have the golf cart whisk you across the ginormous compound to the actual museum. The golf cart goes only one way, as the intention is to have visitors leave the compound from the back exit, through a long street of souvenir shops selling anything from clay warriors to wolf skin. The excavation sites and the museum are worth the trip though, and my favorite was the incredibly detailed bronze horses and chariot. Bring your good camera -- you'll need high ISO settings for the indoor excavation pits.


Small Wild Goose Pagoda (Xiaoyanta) - An 8th Century skyscraper dating from Xi'an's golden era as the most advanced city in the world. Constructed in an archaic style that appears more Indian than Chinese, this 13-level pagoda is so well-preserved, despite numerous earthquakes, that visitors can still safely climb 45m up its wooden staircase for a panoramic view of southern Xi'an. If you're choosing between the two Goose Pagodas to climb like we were, the Small Wild Goose is less restored, cheaper to enter (free to enter compound; RMB 30 to climb as of 2011), and much quieter compared to the bustling tourist town surrounding the Great Wild Goose.

Great Wild Goose Pagoda (Dayanta) - Xi'an's most famous landmark has suffered the same fate that plagues many of China's historical monuments -- the development of its surroundings into an amusement park atmosphere. Not quite as enchanting as the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, though the water fountain at its north square is probably the best place in Xi'an to people-watch.

Shaanxi History Museum - This has become one of Xi'an's main tourists attractions for several reasons: its proximity to the Great Wild Goose Pagoda (just two blocks away), its free entrance policy, and the fact that it is an excellent museum focusing on Xi'an's glorious past as China's ancient capital. The hour-long lineup for the free tickets was definite the WORST lineup we encountered anywhere in China, and only upon getting close to the counter did we realized that it's possible to skip the lineup by purchasing a Special Exhibits entrance ticket at another counter window ...

An Anonymous Pavilion at the Stele Forest

Stele Forest - Officially known as the Beilin Museum, this is not only an excellent place to see some of the best Chinese calligraphy, but also a great place to buy some ink rubbings for the living room. Don't buy the overpriced items inside the museum though -- head to the little street to the east of the museum for a larger selection of paintings and calligraphy at better prices.

Great Mosque - Unfortunately closed during our stay in Xi'an and thus became one of my major regrets, Xi'an's Great Mosque is one of those rare monuments documenting the fusion of cultures at this ancient crossroad. How many other places can you name that has a Chinese pagoda serving as a Minaret?

Hanyangling - A friend of ours rated this mausoleum to be more interesting than the Terracotta Warriors, but we just couldn't fit it into our itinerary. A state-of-the-art museum built to protect and showcase the on-going excavation of Emperor Jingdi's tomb, this relatively new attraction is best known for its smaller Terracotta figurines. It is located in the vicinity of Xianyang, and requires more than a half-day for independent travelers based in Xi'an.

Huashan Mountain - One of the most famous mountains in Chinese folklore, Huashan is best known within China for two things -- its ancient title as the most precarious mountain under heaven, and its new-found popularity as the fictional site of a showdown in Jinyong's popular martial arts novels. We considered spending a night at one of the basic guesthouses at the top for the famed sunrise, but it would have been quite a detour off our eventual route towards Pingyao. We chose to pass through Dangjiacun instead with no regrets.

Famen Temple (Famensi) - Skipped with no reservations. No sense in traveling a couple hours from Xi'an just to see a recent reconstruction of the ancient temple, no matter how famous in history it used to be.

Tang Paradise (Da Tang Fu Rong Yuan) - What you expect us to waste our time at some cheezy theme park?



ACCOMMODATION

If you're a serious foodie like we are, do your taste buds a big favor and book your hotel as close as possible to the Muslim Quarter. If you still need further convincing, see my Gourmet Guide to Xi'an here, here and here.

Super 8 Xidajie Hotel Where We Stayed

We narrowed our list down to two -- 2 star Super 8 Xidajie, and 3 star Shanxi Wenyuan Hotel. Wenyuan was closest to the Muslim Quarter, but we crossed it off since its cheapest rooms (RMB 250) were located in the basement with no windows. Super 8 on the other hand was hidden in a quiet side street off the main throughfare of Xidajie, and still within 5 minutes of walking distance to the Muslim Quarter. Double rooms cost a very reasonable RMB 183 (CAD$28) in 2011 ... but only if you apply for a free membership at Super 8 China and book from the Chinese site. Booking thru the international site cost RMB 218, still cheaper than Wenyuan.

No-nonsense Double Room at Super 8 Xidajie

The room was reasonably clean and decent-sized, with a simple bathroom, cable TV (mostly Chinese channels, except CCTV English). No fridge though -- we kept our beer cool under cold running water in the wash basin.

Spending an Evening at Bei Yuan Men 144

FOOD

Xi'an occupies a unique position in the world of Chinese cuisine. As the endpoint of the ancient Silk Road, Xi'an imported the spices and cooking methods of the Middle East and originated its own remarkable fusion of flavors here. For more than a thousand years, a sizable Chinese-Muslim community has settled here and developed its own secret recipes and dishes, many of them passed down in unassuming, 100-plus-year-old hole-in-the-wall eateries.

A taste of authentic Xi'an fusion cuisine, and not the Terracotta Warriors, was the real focus of our trip. There was so much I wanted to share with fellow foodies that I made it into a series of articles in Part 3, Part 2 and Part 1.

Xi'an remains underrated as a tourist destination, and tour buses tend to spend no more than a day and see very little beyond the Terracotta Warriors. But if you're an independent traveler, slow down and climb its ancient pagodas, bicycle its medieval city walls, and wander down the Muslim Quarter's narrow alleys for some exotic treats ... before more of the world discovers its charm.