Planning a visit to the beautiful city of Xi’an? Here’s our 3 day Xi’an itinerary filled with rich history, amazing atmosphere and a tonne of great food.
Xi’an is located in the Shaanxi province of China, in the heart of the country. It’s only a 4 hour speed train from Beijing, so it’s popular to visit on a week trip! We spent 3 weeks in China and we’re so glad we spent 3 days in Xi’an! The city is so underrated!
Most importantly Xi’an is known for the incredible Terracotta Warriors a little outside of the city centre. It’s definitely worth a visit and we’ll show you exactly how to get there and what to see!
But, Xi’An is so much more than a base to visit the Terracotta Warriors. We loved exploring the atmospheric Muslim quarter, cycling on top of the impressive city wall and simply wandering the old Chinese streets.
We originally wanted to visit Hua Shan Mountain on our Xi’an itinerary, but after a turn in the weather, we decided not to visit. Luckily we found many things to do in Xi’an to keep us busy!
Here’s our 3 day Xi’an itinerary and travel guide with many tips on where to stay, how to get around and our favourite foodie spots.

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Quick Tips for 3 days in Xi’an
- Currency – Chinese Yuan CN¥ (compare your own currency here)
- Language – Mandarin
- Cuisine – Chinese (hand-pulled noodles, Chinese burgers, dumplings & more)
- Apps – Trip.com, Alipay, WeChat, Didi (similar to Uber), Baidu Maps or Amaps
- Power Voltage – Plugs A & C (220 V)
Where to stay in Xi’an? City Convenient Hotel or Tiny Spot Hostel!
Need a sim? Get an Airalo E-sim for your Xi’an trip!
The Best 3 Day Xi’an Itinerary
Jumping right into our 3 day Xi’an itinerary, we spent 2 days in the city and one half-day trip to see the Terracotta Warriors. It’s a very relaxed itinerary, which was needed after a busy 4 days in Beijing.
Day 1 – Small Pagoda, Bell Tower, Noodles & Night Shows
Try to arrive in Xi’an before the afternoon so that you can follow this Xi’an itinerary! We arrived around midday and just about had enough time to complete our list of things to do!
See the Small Wild Goose Pagoda
First up on our 3 days in Xi’an is a visit to the Small Wild Goose Pagoda complex, which is free to enter and enjoy! It was the most relaxed way to start our day and you’ll only need 1 hour there.
Built in the early 8th century during the Tang Dynasty, the Small Wild Goose Pagoda has stood in Xi’an for well over a thousand years. Originally standing at 15 storeys high, after years of weathering it is now only 13 storeys, which you can see from its crumbling top.
Previously named the ‘Jianfu Temple Pagoda’, it was later renamed See Small Wild Goose Pagoda after the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda (more on this later) due to its close resemblance in appearance and building style.
The grounds are beautifully kept, and be sure to give the giant bell a ‘ring’ while you’re visiting here. You’ll also find the Xi’an Museum within the Small Wild Goose Pagoda grounds! A great place to learn about some of Xi’an’s rich history and see some relics.


Wander through Shuyuanmen Street
Head to the south gate of the city’s walls and you’ll come across Shuyuanmen Street. This is the perfect spot to start exploring Xi’an!
Shuyuanmen Street is one of the main streets inside the city walls filled with souvenir stalls, street food and lots of fruit snacks. Browse through here to get further inside the city!
Admire the Bell Tower of Xi’an
As you wander through the middle of Xi’an’s walled city you might just stumble across the mighty Bell Tower of Xi’an. Over 600 years old, Xi’an’s bell tower is one of the grandest and best preserved in all of China. There’s a reason it’s the city’s symbol!
Bell and Drum towers used to be a way of keeping track of time for the entire city, a bell would sound in the morning to indicate the start of the workday, and the drums would beat in the evening to end the workday. This would be the case all over China, they were a vital part of Chinese society.
The Bell Tower sits in the middle of a busy roundabout in the heart of the city, if you would like to go inside the entrance can be accessed using the underground passageway beneath the road.

There is a small entrance fee to enter the Bell Tower, you can book tickets on Trip in advance and skip the queues!
Be sure to bring your passport along, as many attractions in China use real name verification. In most cases, your passport is your ticket!
A great spot to get a free aerial view is from one of the upper levels in the Kaiyuan Shopping Mall on the southeast side of the roundabout.
Check out the Drum Tower
Nearby to the Bell Tower and Xi’an’s Muslim quarter stands the impressive Drum Tower. Built around the same time as the Bell Tower, these 2 towers go hand in hand with telling the time to the city during older times.
No longer in use, you can now pay to go inside and experience Xi’an’s Drum Tower in person! Book tickets here on Trip for quick access. Bring your passport along, as many attractions in China use real name verification.
➤ You can buy a cheaper combined ticket for the Drum & Bell Tower if you want to visit both!


Come back at night to see the Bell and Drum towers come alive!
Explore the markets at Huimin Street
Get a taste of the Muslim Quarter by wandering down Humin Street! It feels like a night market all day long and is full of street food, souvenirs and snacks to eat. We found some delicious mochi balls off a side street!
There’s also lots of bread which isn’t common to see on the streets in China!

Eat Biang Biang Noodles in Xi’an
First of all, did you know that the symbol for ‘Biang’ is one of the most complex Chinese characters in the entire language? In traditional Chinese, it contains around 58 strokes! And that’s the name ‘Biang Biang’ actually comes from the sound the dough makes as it slaps the work surface, being worked into thick, long, chewy noodles!
They are SO delicious, they come served with crispy chilli, garlic and soy sauce and finally topped with sizzling hot oil to fuse all of the flavours.
To try some of the best Biang Biang noodles on offer in Xi’an, head over to Shangzhai Leizhali Noodle Restaurant and grab yourself one of the biggest bowls of noodles you’ll ever eat. No kidding, this bowl is bigger than a mixing bowl!
What’s even better is that they are extremely affordable, the kitchen is open so you can watch them prepare everything and the noodles are hand-pulled in-house!


Tip for veggies: Tell the server on translate that you are vegetarian/vegan and they will remove the pork. Everything else in the dish is naturally vegan.
Experience Datang Everbright City
One of the best things to do in Xi’an is to spend the evening along Xintangren Street, leading up to the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. It’s named Datang Everbright City and it’s the strip just below the Pagoda so you can’t miss it!
It’s a popular attraction, so the area can get pretty busy but the atmosphere is totally awesome. We found a water fountain that is controlled by sound, so we experienced hundreds of people just standing around shouting to trigger the water feature.
You can also enjoy live music and cultural Chinese performances along this chaotic street, as well as high street shops and restaurants. There’s a bit of something for everyone here!
Entrance is free and very accessible, it’s a short walk from Xi’an’s metro system or can be reached by Didi. You can also visit the paid Tang Paradise for a beautiful show – book tickets here!


➤ Spending more time in China? Here’s our in-depth Beijing itinerary!
Day 2 – Muslim Quarter, Parks & The Terracotta Warriors
On to day 2 of our 3 day Xi’an itinerary! China’s cities have a lot to offer, so the days can get long and tiring, but rest assured it’s worth it! Let’s take a look at what day 2 entails! We recommend booking your Terracotta Warriors tickets on Trip so you can walk straight in, you can often get a better price too.
Explore Xi’an’s Muslim Quarter
Start your morning by exploring the energetic Muslim Quarter. The bustling street markets and motorbikes zooming around keeps you on your toes, there is so much to see and take in.
We really enjoyed exploring Xi’an’s Muslim Quarter, the busy streets felt very authentic and chaotic, we actually visited twice! Come and experience it for yourself, there is plenty to enjoy here!


Visit the Great Mosque of Xi’an – A Blend of Islamic and Chinese Culture
The Great Mosque of Xi’an is one of China’s oldest mosques, and you can certainly feel it as you step through its ancient gates. Nestled into the alleyways of the Muslim Quarter, it’s packed with over 1300 years of history!
It’s not your typical Islamic mosque with domes or minarets as you might experience in Istanbul or Marrakech, it’s built in the traditional Chinese style looking similar to a temple.
Entrance during high season (Mar – Nov) – 25CNY / low season (Dec – Feb) – 15CNY. Tickets can be bought at the entrance, cash only. No need to pre-book.


Stroll around Lianhu Park
We fancied a break from the hustle and bustle of the city during our 3 day Xi’an itinerary, so we wandered north within the city walls and found a nice green space to take a breather.
Lianhu Park has flowers and a large pond with ducks and paddle boats to rent. It’s a tranquil place to rest and reflect on your morning in Xi’an! Stroll around the water carefree and recharge.

Discover the Terracotta Warriors
You might be wondering, why didn’t we put the Terracotta Warriors visit at the beginning of the day. Well, we did a little research and found out huge hoards of tour groups get to the Terracotta Warriors nice and early, and keep arriving all morning and into the early afternoon.
If your schedule allows it, we recommend getting to the Terracotta Warriors mid to late afternoon, around 3 pm – 4 pm. This way, you can take advantage of smaller crowds and give yourself more space to enjoy this 8th wonder of the world.
The Terracotta Warriors are actually just a small (yet very large) part of Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum. A brief bit of history, Emperor Qinshihuang was China’s first emperor, and he was also a big believer in the afterlife. His grand mausoleum is essentially a huge underground city where he would spend his afterlife, and the Terracotta Warriors are there to protect it.
The Terracotta Army is around 8,000 warriors strong, consisting of archers, horses and high-ranking officers.
Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum is large, and also quite far out of the city, so it’s a good idea to set aside the rest of the day.
Book your tickets ahead using Trip! Super convenient and straightforward. As with other large attractions in China, real name authentication will be used, so be sure to carry your passport! Tickets should cost around £13 (depending on your currency and conversion).

How to get to the Terracotta Warriors from Xi’an during your 3 day Xi’an itinerary. You have a few options to get here from the city of Xi’an.
- Take the tourist shuttle bus from the centre (around 1hr 30 travel time). This can be caught from Zhonglou North Bus Station, opposite exit B of Xi’an Bell Tower metro station.
- Take metro line 6, and change to metro line 9 to Huaqing metro station, then change to a local bus or Didi.
- Take a Didi directly from Xi’an (around 1 hour travel time). Approx cost 60 – 100CNY.
We booked our tickets in advance on Trip but you only need a day or two in advance! Book your tickets for the Terracotta Warriors on Trip here, it’s the best way to do it!


➤ Visiting more of China? Here’s our 4 day Shanghai travel guide.
Day 3 – Pagoda, Food & Cycling the City Wall
On the last day of this 3 day Xi’an itinerary, we’ll show you another impressive pagoda in the southeast corner of Xi’an and how to cycle the beautiful city wall! You can also walk it, but it will take a long time.
Visit the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda is outside of the city’s walls in the southeast corner of Xi’an! If you’ve been following our Xi’an itinerary, you will have already visited the area for the Datang Everbright City. Now you can explore in the daytime!
The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda is an ancient building built during the Tang Dynasty standing five stories tall about 64 meters. There is a cost to enter the park and a separate cost to go inside the pagoda but it’s super affordable. You can’t buy tickets on Trip, so you’ll have to queue on arrival, but it wasn’t too bad.
The views from above are amazing! The park itself isn’t too big, but you can find a temple, gardens and more beautiful buildings around.


Try Vegetarian Buddhist Food at Daxingshan Temple Restaurant
We definitely don’t hide our love for food and as vegans, we’re always so impressed by the vegetarian Buddhist food all around China! Xi’an is no different and we encourage you to try a temple meal! You’ll find tasty vegetables, dumplings, tofu and mock meats.
You can find veggie restaurants at most temples in Xi’an, but our favourite has to be Daxingshan Temple Restaurant. Try the walnut bao for dessert, you won’t regret it! Also, the spicy pepper noodles are good!


Admire the South Gate
Next up on this Xi’an 3 day itinerary is an impressive visit to Xi’an’s city wall built in the Ming dynasty! Head to the South Gate, also known as Yongning Gate to see just how large the wall really is. This is also a great entry point!
The city wall in Xi’an is truly one of the best-fortified city walls in all of China and there are four gates surrounding the wall. The South Gate is the oldest of all four!
Cycle the top of the City Wall
One of our favourite activities to do while we were in Xi’an was to rent bikes on top of the ancient city wall! It’s not until you’re on top of the wall that you realise it’s HUGE!
The cobbled wall spans 14km long and you can cycle all the way around, except for the section around the south gate, this is a pedestrian-only zone where bikes have to be dropped off and picked up again.


Bikes cost 45CNY per person, plus a refundable deposit. Or you can opt for a tandem bike which costs 90CNY. You can find bike rentals near any of the 4 wall entrances, and the beauty of it is you can pick up/drop off at any of the gates!
We chose to enter the wall at the south gate, walk around to the west gate by foot to rent bikes, and then cycle to the east gate. It’s good fun and it’s a great way to see Xi’an from a different perspective.
Try to get on top of the wall for late afternoon, so you can spend a few hours exploring during golden hour and sunset! The perfect time for taking great photos.
Extra info: The Wall is wide so there is plenty of space for all riders. There are toilet blocks on the wall. The Wall is cobbled, so don’t expect a smooth ride, but it’s not too bad. Some of the rental bikes are old and heavily used (as you can imagine).
There is an entrance fee to walk along the city wall whether you cycle or not. Book your tickets to enter the City Wall here! Trip is a lifesaver in Xi’an, so you don’t have to queue for a physical ticket.

It can take over 3 hours to walk the entire wall, so that’s why we recommend cycling!
Explore Yongxingfang
End your evening by browsing the beautiful streets of Xi’an. We made sure to check out Yongxingfang just after we finished cycling on the wall.
It was getting dark at this point so all the lights started to glow and made everything feel a little more magical.


➤ Get an Airalo e-sim for your 3 days in Xi’an, so you can stay connected!
More things to do in Xi’an
That’s the end of our 3 day Xi’an itinerary! Still wondering what to do in Xi’an? Here’s a few more options if you want alternative ideas or have more time.
- Daming Palace National Heritage Park – find tickets here!
- Guangren Temple
- Visit Hua Qing Palace – find out more here.
- Day trip to Hua Shan Mountain
- Tang Paradise – book your tickets on Trip here!
- Shaanxi History Museum
- Beilin Museum – get tickets here!
- The Romantic Show of Xi’An – book tickets here!
- Dinner and Show of Tang Dynasty Palace in Xi’an – find your tickets here.
3 Day Xi’an Itinerary Breakdown
Day 1 – Small Pagoda, Bell Tower, Noodles & Night Shows / Day 2 – Muslim Quarter, Parks & The Terracotta Warriors / Day 3 – Pagoda, Food & Cycling the City Wall
Where to stay in Xi’an, China
The things to do in Xi’an are quite spread out, so you might be wondering which area to stay! We highly recommend the Centre of the City Walls near the Muslim Quarter or anywhere south of the city wall close to the pagoda areas. We stayed right next to Small Goose Pagoda at Tiny Spot Hostel and it was a great location for us!
Tiny Spot Hostel – We stayed here for 4 nights in Xi’an as it’s so affordable! The location was great, everything was clean and there were good amenities. We had to stay in separate dorms though – Find it on Trip.com here!
City Convenient Hotel – Right in the heart of the city, you can stay in private rooms in a lovely hotel. There’s an optional buffet breakfast and gym – Find it on Trip.com here!
King Town No.1 Hotel – A little more upscale but still affordable, King Town has lovely hotel rooms that make you feel at home – Find it on Trip.com here!
➤ Find more hotels to stay in Xi’an!
Best places to eat in Xi’an (vegan)
- Shangzhai Leizhali Noodle Restaurant – an amazing spot for noodles (and a vegan-friendly option upon request, check Happy Cow)!
- Shangdao – great veggie food near a temple with tasty dumplings!
- Daxingshan Temple Restaurant – our favourite place in Xi’An with incredible food!
- Sunmanxiang – a great affordable veggie buffet! another one of our favourites!

How to get to Xi’an, China
Xi’an is in the centre of China with an airport and great rail connections. We were travelling from Beijing so decided to get the speed train (HSR) and it’s honestly the best way to travel!
By Train – There are three train stations in Xi’an, but we arrived at Xi’an Railway Station (north) and it was easy to hop on a metro to get into the city centre! The journey from Beijing took around 4 hours, but the timings were different for each train.
By Plane – Xi’an Xianyang International Airport is a large airport in China. From Xi’an airport, you can get a metro or shuttle bus which can take 40 minutes – 1h 30. The train stations are slightly more connected if you have an option to travel via train.
➤ You can book your trains on Trip or log in to Railway 12306!
How to get around Xi’an, China
Download Ali Pay or WeChat so you have a digital Transport Card all over China, including Xi’an!
We used Amap for our 3 day Xi’an itinerary and it worked great most of the time, we had to screenshot a lot of Mandarin to translate! Apple Maps or Baidu Maps also work.
- Metro & Bus – The best way to see the main highlights in Xi’an is by metro! The bus is also there the metro doesn’t work out any faster. Amap helped us with that!
- Walking – The things to do in Xi’an are quite spread out, but the city centre within the walls is easily walkable. We walked a lot covering over 25k steps a day!


Best time to visit Xi’an
The best time to visit Xi’an is between April to June and September to November! But avoid the Golden Week at the beginning of October. China is given a week-long public holiday and it’s the most popular time to travel which makes China chaos for anyone including foreigners!
Spring and Autumn are lovely times of year to spend 3 days in Xi’an. If you’re lucky you can see the cherry blossoms in March to April or the orange leaves in October to November.
Winter is a cool time to visit Xi’an if you enjoy the cold and snow! But the short days can make this Xi’an itinerary a little harder to achieve. Summer is a pretty hot time of year in central China and it’s also rainy season! It’s usually quite unpleasant with the humid weather, but it doesn’t rain every single day.
How many days to spend in Xi’an
We recommend spending at least 2 days in Xi’an, but with 3 days in Xi’an, you can really experience the city’s atmosphere, cycle along the wall and take a day trip out of the centre.
As you can see there are quite a few things to do in Xi’an that will keep you busy! You’ll need at least a half day to see the Terracotta Warriors, but if you want to make a day out of it there’s a hot spring to visit before. If you want to visit Hua Shan, you’ll definitely need 3 days in Xi’an.
Is Xi’an expensive?
Xi’an isn’t really expensive. China in general is quite affordable! We found lots of affordable accommodation and chose to stay in a hostel as it was great value (price, location & comfort)!
The Biang Biang noodles were one of our cheapest meals in China. Even the Terracotta Warriors are inexpensive to visit.

Is Xi’an worth visiting?
Yes – we loved Xi’an! Xi’an is definitely worth visiting if you’re planning a 1 week trip to China or a 3 week trip. It’s the perfect city to combine with a visit to Beijing as it’s full of culture and history.
Xi’an has some unique areas that we didn’t find anywhere else in China such as the Muslim Quarter and the impressive city wall. We’re so glad we spent 3 days in Xi’an to fully explore more of the city!
Where to visit after Xi’an
As Xi’an is in the middle of China, it’s likely you’ll be visiting somewhere else. Here’s our recommendations for other places to visit in China from Xi’an:
- Beijing – Visit the capital of China and see the incredible Great Wall, Fand orbidden Palace and explore the ancient Hutong night markets.
- Chengdu – Discover a taste of the Sichuan province in China’s panda wonderland! Drink tea, wander the alleys and see the Giant Buddha.
That’s the end of our 3 day Xi’an Itinerary! Check out our other China travel guides to plan your trip!
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