My Xi’an Weekend Free & Easy Itinerary — A Running Log
My first time writing a travelogue like this — I’m not much of a writer so it’ll just be a stream-of-consciousness log, but everything is 100% real experience and honest summary. It might not be polished, but bear with me, and I hope it can be helpful.
Maybe because I’m crowd-phobic, wherever I run into a packed place my instinct is to escape. That’s why over the years I’ve hardly traveled during holidays, and if I did, I wouldn’t go to the so-called must-visit tourist spots. Having not left my home city for three years, the urge to get out for the sake of getting out counted for only about 20%. More than that — about 30% — was because Xi’an has been on my travel list for a decade, and I couldn’t let another ten years slip by. But the biggest reason was my kid. For a child, I think Xi’an is a must. Travel, learning, soaking in that profound historical culture — it’s all so good. And so, this off-peak trip, avoiding the May Day holiday, came to be.
I planned ahead: route, scenic spot info, maps, accommodation location, hotel vibe, and everything else I could think of down on paper. I originally thought traveling alone with a child would be tiring, so being thorough meant preparedness. Lucky for me, the family of my kid’s classmate was also interested, and it turned into a happy little group of six, with safety in numbers — sense of security at max!
Apart from the detailed plan, there were a few things to do before departure that were super important.
One, book the flight tickets early. From about 15 days out, I checked ticket prices daily, and one day when I saw prices had dropped enough, I had to act fast, because you’ll find the low price vanishes in minutes. Booking flights also involves online check-in, which lets you choose seats in advance. If you’re traveling with a child, this matters. Some airlines don’t allow children to check in online, some do, so check specifics. For online check-in, use the airline’s app or website; the “Umetrip” app should also work — we used it for the return trip.
Two, pre-book airport transfer. Depends on how tight your schedule is. Xi’an’s metro is super convenient. If your itinerary is loose, you can easily take the metro from Xianyang Airport to the city center. If it’s tight, like ours, booking a 7-seat business van on Ctrip for pickup was such a treat.
Three, book the hotel. This also depends on your itinerary. Points to consider: the main area of activity; the final spot of each day should be as close to the hotel as possible — you can’t imagine how tired you’ll be, but your feet sure will know. Also, the distance from the hotel to the metro. This time, since most sights we visited were around the Big Wild Goose Pagoda area, I booked the Xana Hotelle. Price was moderate, location was right, hotel atmosphere moderate, and the breakfast was surprisingly good. All in all, a pretty successful booking.
Four, book attraction tickets in advance. Xi’an’s scenic spots are all super popular, and even outside the May Day peak, tickets are hard to get. So make sure to look up ahead where to book — is it a WeChat Official Account, an app, or a mini-program? What time to book, and other tips. Otherwise you might not snag a ticket. I’m not exaggerating, please trust me on this.
Five, set up a Xi’an transport card in advance. Like I said, the metro is super handy, so in your WeChat Wallet find “Xi’an Metro Ride Code” and add it to your transport cards — then getting around is a breeze. Alipay seems to work too; I haven’t tried it, but you can test it out.
Those are the pre-trip to-dos. For what to pack, just go by your own needs. One thing to stress: sun protection! Sun protection! Sun protection! Xi’an is really too sunny! Though it’s cool once you’re in the shade, there’s still quite a bit of area without shade. My personal feel is that the “feels like” temperature in Xi’an is definitely 3–5 degrees higher than the weather forecast. Oh, and keep your ID card on you — most attractions require scanning it to enter.
Okay, now on to the itinerary.
On day one, we landed in Xi’an around noon. After check-in, we walked from the hotel to the Shaanxi History Museum. To save time, we ate on the way, and unexpectedly stumbled upon a fantastic noodle shop. Big bowls of noodles, generous toppings, amazing flavor, and reasonable price — a perfect first impression of Xi’an. At the museum, we showed the booking info on our phones to get in, then queued to hire a guide. You absolutely must get a guide at the Shaanxi History Museum, otherwise you won’t understand a thing. A guide costs 300 yuan for up to 10 people. There were six of us, and we were about to just go with that, but then two people came over asking to share a group, and it ended up exactly 10. We split the cost — very nice. After we came out of the exhibition halls, we were pooped. It was already after 4 pm by then. If you want to go to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, you’d have to head out right away or else the temple would close. If getting into the Ci’en Temple (where the pagoda sits) isn’t urgent, I suggest going back to the hotel for an hour-plus rest, then heading to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda area. Even if you can’t enter the temple, the surrounding area is beautiful. We had no experience that day, so we just sat on the benches under the museum colonnade for an hour, then walked to the North Square of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.
The musical fountain show at the North Square starts at 7 pm. But honestly, having seen better, this one didn’t really win me over — by comparison, the musical fountain in Hunnan, Shenyang, is more spectacular; this one felt a bit small. Past the fountain is Ci’en Temple, which had already closed, but tons of people were taking photos outside the wall, because that red wall paired with Hanfu outfits is really gorgeous. Gotta say, in Xi’an, people in Hanfu are everywhere — don’t ever think you’ve time-traveled. Ha! Along both sides of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda walking zone, there are stalls selling all kinds of things: souvenirs, Hanfu, snacks, you name it. Past the South Square of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda is the pedestrian street of Datang Everbright City. From about 7 pm on, there are performances happening one after another all the way down. The street is thoughtfully designed, showcasing Xi’an’s ancient capital character — the glorious Tang, Xuanzang, sculptures of Tang-dynasty poets, and more. The night view is beautiful, the daytime, just so-so. From the Big Wild Goose Pagoda to Datang Everbright City, walking and strolling back and forth, it was already 9:30 pm. We still walked back to the hotel, grabbing a bite on the way. Because that lunch noodle was so filling, we weren’t hungry at night and just had a little liangpi (cold skin noodles). On the streets of Xi’an, any random little eatery seems to boast a history of decades or even a century — pretty interesting.
Day two’s destination was far, the Terracotta Warriors, so the night before we bought some snacks at a convenience store to keep the kids from getting hungry. We had breakfast at 7 am, set off at 7:30, took a metro—and then another—to Huaqing Palace, then from Huaqing Palace took Tourist Bus 613 to the Terracotta Warriors Museum. This transfer point was the most unpleasant part of my trip. While waiting for the 613 at Huaqing Palace, a staff member organized the queue; we stood in the second spot. The staff collected the fare in advance, 5 yuan per person — all good for efficiency. The bus interval was about 10 minutes, which was acceptable. Who knew, when the bus arrived, something utterly annoying happened. Because the stop served more than just this one route, aside from our long orderly queue, there were other people waiting nearby for other buses, and nobody paid much attention. When the 613 pulled up, a group next to us suddenly rushed in to cut the line, squeezing right to the front, most of them middle-aged or elderly. The staff person told the driver not to open the doors and demanded everyone queue properly, but those people completely ignored that, pushing and shoving relentlessly. In the end, it was only by the shouting and persistence of those of us at the front, plus the staff’s cooperation, that we managed to get on the bus — really, really maddening. After we departed, a staff member gave a short talk with tips for the museum — originally a nice touch I appreciated, but who knew it was another trap. Just before getting off, the staffer said: if you’ve already booked a guide, head straight to the entrance; if you haven’t, follow her to get one. Since she was from the bus and in uniform, we followed to queue for a guide. But when it was time to pay, I realized the price was different from what I’d seen on the official website — more expensive. So I asked. The person hemmed and hawed, dodging the question. Whatever, I understood: they were basically intercepting visitors before the official guides, and tourists wouldn’t know, so they made an extra buck. So we canceled and went to the main gate to hire an official guide. However, if you’re alone or just two people, a small group, then going with the bus guide works out cheaper — they charge per person, 20 yuan each. If you have more people, I suggest the official guide at the gate: 90 yuan for up to 6 people.
Pit No. 1 at the Terracotta Warriors was incredibly crowded. Our guide was experienced, so the whole tour was manageable, and she picked good spots. At the end, on her suggestion, we bought tickets for a VR movie at 68 yuan per person — a virtual reality telling of Qin dynasty history, about half an hour, split into two parts upstairs and downstairs. How to put it… for adults, it’s a bit meh. But kids might get more out of it — at least it’s more interesting to them than staring at piles of dirt.
From there, the Terracotta Warriors part was basically done. We had a quick snack, took a taxi to the metro station, then transferred and headed to Yongning Gate. It was already 3 pm. At Yongning Gate, we chose a Shaanxi cuisine restaurant. It was tucked in an alley; walking there, we enjoyed the local residents’ lively vibe and passed through a bar street that’s great for photos. The restaurant, Zui Chang’an, was decorated in antique style with a real ancient capital feel. They start serving at 4 pm, and by the time we arrived there was already a queue. We ordered very typical Shaanxi dishes, plus local beer and sour plum drink. The food was delicious — I recommend this place. After that, we went back to Yongning Gate to climb the city wall. Again, the night view is prettier, but I suggest going up around 5–6 pm; the daytime has its own beauty, and at that hour you can catch both the day and evening scenes — very nice. Bicycle rental isn’t right at the Yongning Gate tower; once you’re on the wall, you have to walk some distance to the rental spot. A project we were looking forward to ultimately didn’t pan out, because kids under 12 are not allowed to ride. This rule was honestly a bit too rigid, so we had no choice but to skip it. We walked on the wall for about an hour and a half, then came down and took a taxi to Sajin Bridge Food Street. It’s like a night market back home, but it’s all food. Just follow the alley all the way to the end.
At the end of the food street, turn left and head straight for the Drum Tower and Bell Tower. We walked the whole way. That day we clocked over 30,000 steps — my all-time personal record. The night view of the Bell and Drum Towers is lovely, and photos turn out great.
Day three: since our flight was around 4 pm, we only had half a day. The original plan was to visit Tang Paradise, which was nearby, but it was closed due to the China–Central Asia Summit taking place in Xi’an. So we switched to Ci’en Temple, since we hadn’t gone inside on day one, and it was, after all, an important spot. On the way to Ci’en Temple, to the right of the North Square, there’s a row of small shops; one is called “Xi’an Impression,” with a sign for free visit. Go in and there are some Xi’an cultural and creative designs — nice for photos — and a free guide. The commentary wasn’t great, but it was okay to listen to. But when she leads you upstairs, don’t go. Upstairs is all for selling stuff. The only thing I thought was genuinely good was a paper-cutting; the rest, just skip. You’ll have to walk quite a way to exit.
Ci’en Temple was really wonderful — beautifully restored, and every corner can yield a great photo. Trees, flowers, courtyards, all carefully arranged. Inside, there’s an exhibition of Xuanzang’s scriptures, the history of his epic 25,000-kilometer westward journeys, murals, and more. There were magnolias in the garden; when we went, a few were still in bloom and very beautiful. We lingered a bit too long, so we decided to take the metro back to the hotel. At the metro stop we found a lamb paomo (flatbread in mutton soup) restaurant; the kids loved it. We adults bought some roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) next door — generous with meat, pretty good. The original plan was to take the metro to the airport, but after eating and checking out, it was almost 2 pm and we just couldn’t make it in time. We hastily called a taxi and it got a bit chaotic, so I strongly suggest pre-booking your car. In an emergency, hailing a regular taxi wasn’t realistic; in the end, it was a ride-hailing car that saved the day. Fifty minutes to the airport.
We had checked in online, but for the child, we still had to go to the airline counter at the airport to get a boarding pass — so note that. Adults can use the kiosks. Xianyang Airport has special security lanes for children, but because there were many kids, the speed wasn’t noticeably faster. After landing, we had again booked a Ctrip pickup and got home safe.
This three-day trip had its flaws, but it met and even exceeded expectations. I’m still very satisfied, and I really love Xi’an. The street greenery is wonderful — I adore that feeling of towering trees and deep shade. I’ll come back to Xi’an again and make up for the places I missed.
Total cost for two adults and one child: 7,000 yuan. Of that, transport was about 4,800 yuan; two nights’ accommodation 700 yuan; meals 600 yuan; the rest — guides, souvenirs, and odds and ends — 900 yuan.
Since I had to be with my kid the whole time, I didn’t take many photos, and what I took isn’t great, so please understand — you have to go with the child’s pace. Xi’an is stunning. Any lady who’s good at photography, put on Hanfu there, and in a few snaps you’ll be right in a period blockbuster.
