Summer Vacation After the Pandemic Lockdown: Taking My Child to Xi’an to Experience History

2020 was a special year. After being cooped up at home for over half a year, I was still a bit hesitant about whether I could take my daughter on a trip during the summer vacation. As the summer was almost over, I finally made up my mind to take my daughter to Xi’an on my own. I booked a 4-day, 3-night independent trip to Xi’an on Ctrip at the last minute, put together a simple itinerary, and off we went, mother and daughter.

Since it was just the two of us, with no porter to help, I planned the itinerary to minimize effort. We stayed at the Novotel Xi'an Bell Tower, just a 5-minute walk from the Line 2 Zhonglou subway station and about 10 minutes’ walk to Huimin Street, so it was super convenient. As soon as we arrived in Xi’an on the first day, I went to the hotel to check in. Though it was before noon, the front desk kindly gave us our room early and told us there was free afternoon tea every day — too bad we were always out in the afternoons and never got to enjoy it.

Airport transfers: Both were booked in advance via Ctrip, and the drivers were waiting ahead of time — very worry-free and easy.

Getting to sights: I had read online that in Xi’an you should take the subway instead of taxis whenever possible. I experienced this firsthand — the traffic jams are terrible. Although you need to scan a health code and buy tickets to enter subway stations (my daughter’s phone just wouldn’t set up the transit code, luckily buying tickets at the station was easy), the subway won’t get stuck in traffic. Most downtown attractions are reachable by subway.

Noodles: from oil-splashed noodles to biangbiang noodles to belt noodles, they were all delicious, even from tiny roadside eateries. It looked like they were covered in chili flakes, but they weren’t spicy at all. My daughter, who normally doesn’t eat any spicy food, ended up fighting me for noodles. Before leaving, we polished off another big bowl at the airport — so good we could never get enough.

Roujiamo (Chinese meat sandwich): I only tried it once and found it too dry. Not my thing. I read online that if the gravy drips onto the bun it won’t be dry, but after that one try, I never wanted to order it again.

Yangrou paomo (crumbled flatbread in mutton soup): We were too tired from sightseeing to try the laborious DIY bread-crumbling, so we ordered a pre-crumbled version. I didn’t find it especially greasy or unpalatable, nor especially tasty — just so-so. What stood out was the sweet pickled garlic that came with it, which was really nice.

Sour soup dumplings: On those hot days, the tangy broth was wonderfully appetizing. Delicious.

Spiced sheep blood soup: Drizzled with minced garlic, it had no gamey taste and was really good.

Shan Shisan: Touted as the Häagen-Dazs of Xi’an. I didn’t have the courage to try the chili oil flavor, so I just had the standard flavors — excellent. The chocolate tiger tally biscuit was also tasty.

Calabash chicken: A bit greasy, the taste was okay, but not really my thing. My daughter and I only managed to eat half, which felt wasteful. Ordering dishes for two people is a bit awkward.

I sampled pretty much all the local treats mentioned online, but nothing else left a strong impression. I also want to rant about the homemade drinks at all the tourist spots — they were incredibly, overwhelmingly sweet. As someone born and bred in Shanghai with a serious sweet tooth, I still found those drinks cloyingly undrinkable. Tried several places, always the same. I eventually gave up and switched to bottled drinks. In comparison, cola felt so refreshingly crisp.

On the first afternoon in Xi’an, we headed to the highlight: the Shaanxi History Museum. Admission is free, but tickets are required and must be reserved in advance via their WeChat official account. I tried for days, but every day it showed ‘full’, so I gave up. Instead, I paid online for a half-day guided tour of the museum, which included ticket booking. At the entrance, we just picked up our tickets by showing ID (children’s tickets can be collected by manually entering the ID number).

After leaving the museum, we went to Huimin Street. It was packed with people. Going once is enough just for the experience. The street is right behind the Drum Tower, so we also caught a nighttime view of the tower.

Day two, we booked a day tour to the Terracotta Army and Huaqing Palace. Terracotta Army: A must-see in Xi’an, but wandering around on your own won’t leave much of an impression. Hiring a guide to hear the stories is a must. My admiration for Qin Shi Huang flowed endlessly like a mighty river… Huaqing Palace: The ruins of a few ancient bathhouses — not much to see, really. Xi’an Incident: At the tour guide’s persuasion, we added the ‘Xi’an Incident’ stage show. It was fantastic. Even though the dialogue was hard to make out, the immersive experience was stunning.

Day three: City Wall + Small Wild Goose Pagoda + Giant Wild Goose Pagoda + Great Tang All Day Mall. City Wall: We got up early and went to the South Gate section. Not too many people, but it was already hot and sunny. We walked just a short stretch, snapped a few touristy photos, and called it done. Small Wild Goose Pagoda: It was closed for repairs — cry. Giant Wild Goose Pagoda: Maybe because of the heat, it didn’t seem all that special. You can get a clear view from the Joy City viewing deck anyway. All Day Mall (Great Tang Everbright City): It felt like just a commercial street. Grabbed some snacks, nothing exceptional. Music fountain: Everyone says the fountain show after dark is nicer, but we couldn’t wait up that late, so we caught the 7pm show. We didn’t stake out a good spot early, but we could still mostly see — and it was awesome.

Originally I hadn’t planned to visit Tang Paradise (Datang Furong Garden), but many friends strongly recommended it. Too bad when I finally decided to go, all reservations were full. I’ll leave that as a regret to remedy next time.

Day four: Chiang Kai-shek’s Summer Palace. The day before it was so hot that my daughter had zero interest in sightseeing, so I searched online for a less crowded, shady spot. I found the Chiang Kai-shek Summer Palace. It’s a bit far from downtown — take Line 2 to the end of the line, then a taxi ride. But it perfectly fit my needs: cool, leafy, and practically empty. When my daughter and I passed through a cave tunnel, we were a bit spooked, but once out we found it pretty fun. Overall, I really loved this place.

The four days flew by. To be honest, I was a bit anxious about this trip because I had a headache the day before we left and was terrified I might develop a fever and be stopped at some temperature checkpoint. Thankfully, everything went smoothly.