2021 Xi'an Qingming Festival 3-Day Tour: Ultra-Cost-Effective Family Trip Guide
Like many, I'm used to calling it 'Chang'an', feeling that only this name can carry the weight of its 3,000-year history and vicissitudes, match the glory of 13 dynasties that established their capitals here, and evoke the poignant love story of Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Guifei. Whether you've been here or not, there it stands—outwardly majestic, yet inwardly profound. The Terracotta Warriors still narrate history, Huaqing Pool still whispers love, the Bell and Drum Towers still experience time, and the ancient city walls still witness changes. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is infused with new life by the country's largest musical fountain, while the Small Wild Goose Pagoda enjoys a leisurely respite. This is the 'Chang'an' I see, the 'eternal peace of Chang'an' in my eyes.
DAY1 Z19 Beijing West - Xi'an 20:41-08:10
DAY2 Huaqing Pool, Grand Tang Dynasty Ever-Bright City, Tang Paradise, Muslim Street, Bell and Drum Towers; Eat: Muslim Street
DAY3 Shaanxi History Museum, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an Ancient City Wall; Eat: skewers (grilled meat)
DAY4 Small Wild Goose Pagoda (ticket with ID card), G88 Xi'an North - Beijing West 13:18-16:55; Eat: Wei's Liangpi
[About Accommodation]
Meilihao Hotel (Xi'an Xiaozhai Dayanta Grand Tang Dynasty Ever-Bright City branch). It is only 100 meters from the Xi'an Ring Expressway. From Meilihao Hotel (Xi'an Xiaozhai Dayanta Grand Tang Dynasty Ever-Bright City branch), it takes just over 30 minutes via expressway to reach the Terracotta Warriors. This is the best choice I found that allows you to explore the city center and quickly reach the Terracotta Warriors. As a brand under the Meihao Hotel Group, the Meilihao Hotel (Xi'an Qujiang Dayanta Xiaozhai Convention Center branch) doesn't require us to worry about quality or service; instead, it offers unexpected surprises. For example, last time I stayed, I parked my car in their free parking lot, and when I left, I found they had washed and cleaned my car. Another time on a business trip, I stayed at their hotel, and the housekeeper dried and ironed my clothes while cleaning the room, telling me they offer free laundry service. I am now a loyal customer of Meilihao Hotel, so I'll highly recommend it here.
[Address] No.86A Chang'an South Road, Changfeng International Plaza Block A, Xi'an
[Price] around 300-400 yuan per night
[Features] Airport transfer service, free parking, warm service, various complimentary services
[Huaqing Pool, also known as Huaqing Palace, lies south of Mount Li and north of the Wei River. It is a renowned ancient Chinese imperial palace famous for its hot springs. Rulers from the Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang dynasties all regarded this auspicious land as their pleasure retreat, building stone palaces and constructing the Li Mountain Hot Spring or expanding the Hot Spring Palace with surrounding fortifications. The hot springs here were discovered around 3,000 years ago during the Western Zhou era. In the Han Dynasty, imperial palaces and villas for emperors and nobles were built here. In the Tang Dynasty, the magnificent 'Huaqing Palace' was erected, thus giving the name 'Huaqing Pool'.]
[Xi'an Muslim Street is composed of several lanes including Beiguangji Street, Beiyuanmen, Xiyangshi, Dapiyuan, Huajue Alley, and Sajinqiao, located behind the Bell and Drum Towers. With its profound cultural heritage, the street is lined with numerous food stalls and shops, offering nearly 300 varieties of distinctive snacks—a charm that makes people linger and unable to resist!]
After a satisfying meal, it's time for a stroll. Muslim Street is right behind the Drum Tower, so as you walk you'll naturally arrive there. At dusk, the interplay of light and clouds often surprises those of us who love gazing at the sky. Come take a look—I feel the camera could never truly capture the beauty of that moment...
If you see the Drum Tower, it means the Bell Tower isn't far away. At a distance of just a hundred meters, they stand facing each other—one holding many drums, the other hanging an old bell. Thus they simply repeat the passage of time, the cycle of morning bell and evening drum. Life is just like that—no matter how exciting it is, time wears all down; even the hardest days will give way to a new beginning with the deep toll of the bell. Each present moment is what's most real.
[The Shaanxi History Museum building is a Tang-style architectural complex featuring 'a central hall and towering pavilions at the four corners,' with orderly arrangement and varying heights, imposing and solemn. It integrates national tradition, local characteristics, and the spirit of the times. The museum houses over 370,000 artifacts, ranging from simple stone tools used by early humans to various objects from social life before 1840, spanning over a million years. Among them, Shang and Zhou bronzes are exquisitely crafted, pottery figurines from different dynasties display a myriad of poses, gold and silver ware from the Han and Tang dynasties are unparalleled nationwide, and Tang tomb murals are world-remarkable.]
[In the third year of the Yonghui era of the Tang Dynasty (652 AD), the monk Xuanzang, returning from his pilgrimage for Buddhist scriptures, built the Big Wild Goose Pagoda to store the sutras and Buddha statues he brought back from India via the Silk Road to Chang'an. As the earliest and largest existing Tang Dynasty square pavilion-style brick pagoda, it stands as a typical testament to how the stupa, an architectural form of Indian Buddhist temples, was introduced to the Central Plains along with the spread of Buddhism and integrated into Han culture.]
[The four gates of Xi'an—east, west, south, and north—each have three layers of towers: the main tower, the arrow tower, and the gate tower. At each corner of the city wall, there are protruding corner platforms. On these platforms stand corner towers taller than the watchtowers, indicating their strategic importance in warfare. Xi'an's city wall holds great value for the study of feudal urban construction, history, military affairs, and architectural art.]
The Small Wild Goose Pagoda was the final stop on the last day, a place I almost skipped, but luckily, I went. It turned out to be my favorite place of the three days. Although it's free to enter, its fame isn't as great, so there aren't many tourists. Unassuming like a city park, yet everywhere it reveals traces of history's vicissitudes, as if offering a stolen moment of leisure—truly precious. Ancient trees, an ancient pagoda, an ancient bell, their subdued yet undeniable radiance—so I fell in love with this place. No strife, no madness, just time flowing peacefully.
A perfect journey, perhaps, is about seeing beautiful scenery, tasting delicious food, meeting true love, and enjoying life. Then, as the high-speed train draws closer to the starting point, the dream slowly awakens. You find everything back where it began, yet we are no longer the same. Life goes on, and what remains are memories—heartwarming memories. This is the meaning of travel. Dreaming back to the Tang Dynasty, who promises you an eternal Chang'an? Falling in love with a place can be that simple.
