Xi'an In-Depth: Terracotta Warriors, Mount Hua & Tang Dynasty Highlights – 4-Day Private Tour

DAY 1 Xi'an 24-Hour Private Car Pickup from Airport/Station — Transfer to Hotel — Free Activities All Day Please Plan Accordingly

Free Activity

Recommendation: Dayang Furong Garden or Recommendation: Daming Palace National Heritage Park or Recommendation: Xi'an City Wall or Recommendation: Shaanxi History Museum

Recommended itinerary: You can go to the Datang Furong Garden and the Daming Palace Ruins Park on your own. Purchase tickets for "Chang'an Twelve Hours" in advance, and watch "Dream of Chang'an" or light shows at the South Gate of the Ming City Wall to experience the brilliant nights of Xi'an.

The Shaanxi History Museum is closed every Monday. You can log in to the official platform to book free basic admission tickets, or purchase tickets for the Treasure Gallery along with the basic tickets. Please make your reservation three days in advance.

Event Duration: Approximately 4 hours

DAY 2 Qin Wind and Tang Rhythm | Hotel pickup—Tang Huaqing Palace (free earphones included with commentary)—Qin Terracotta Army Museum (free earphones included with commentary)—Overnight stay at Huashan with staggered mountain climbing

Huaqing Palace (Huaqing Pool • Lishan) Scenic Area is located 30 kilometers east of Xi'an City, adjacent to the Terracotta Warriors. Due to its timeless hot spring resources and numerous historical events, it is famous both at home and abroad, becoming a landmark scenic area for Tang dynasty cultural tourism in China.

Scenery Inside the Palace:

Huaqing Palace has a long history, with various emperors from the Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang dynasties building their imperial retreats and gardens here. The palace area is home to cultural zones such as the Tang Dynasty Hot Spring Ruins Museum, the site of the Xi'an Incident - the Wujian Hall, and scenic spots like Jiulong Lake and Furong Lake, as well as the Tang Liyuan Ruins Museum. It also features iconic architectural complexes such as Feishuang Hall, Wanshou Hall, Changsheng Hall, Huanyuan, and Yuwang Hall.

Lishan Hot Spring, known for its early development and favored by emperors throughout history, enjoys the reputation of being "the first royal spring in the world." As early as 6000 years ago during the Yangshao culture period, the ancestors of Jiangzhai began to utilize Lishan Hot Spring. The long-standing Lishan Hot Spring embodies rich cultural connotations and is an indispensable important component of the historical culture of the Chinese nation.

Drive to the Terracotta Warriors after lunch

The Qin Terracotta Army Museum, also known as the Terracotta Warriors and Horses, is a burial pit associated with the tomb of Qin Shi Huang. It, along with the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, forms the: Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum Museum.

The Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang is known as the Eighth Wonder of the World. The over one thousand soldier figurines unearthed here vary in appearance and exhibit vivid expressions, making it a shining gem in the history of ancient Chinese sculpture art, and it is hailed as "one of the greatest discoveries in archaeological history of the 20th century."

The museum ticket allows visitors to explore three pits of Terracotta Warriors, including Pit 1, as well as the exhibited artifacts, the bronze chariot exhibition hall, and the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. The Terracotta Warriors unearthed here can be categorized into general figures, warrior figures, and charioteer figures based on their attire, expressions, and hairstyles. Each clay figure has a unique face shape, hairstyle, posture, and expression. Originally, the clay figures and horses were painted, but due to later fires and soaking, most of the paint has peeled off or changed color.

Drive to a hotel near Mount Hua after dinner

DAY3 Five Mountain Sword Discussion | Hotel Pickup—Explore Huashan + Hanfu Night Tour of the Tang Dynasty Ever-Night City—Gather to return to the hotel. If you wish to continue touring, inform the tour guide, self-paid return to the hotel—Stay in Xi'an

After breakfast, drive to Huashan. If you set off early, you can inform the hotel front desk a day in advance to request a packed breakfast.

Huashan, known as "Xiyue" in ancient times, is one of the famous Five Mountains of China, located in Huayin City, Shaanxi Province. Huashan is also elegantly referred to as "Taihua Mountain" and is a birthplace of Chinese civilization; the "Hua" in "Zhonghua" and "Huaxia" originates from Huashan. The phrase "strange and perilous" encapsulates the essence of Huashan's scenery. The saying "since ancient times there has been but one path up Huashan" describes its steepness. The scenic area features many thrilling sights such as the Longkong Plank Road, the Huanzi Tumble, and the perilously carved Thousand-foot Tall Pagoda, Hundred-foot Gorge, and Laojun Plow Ditch along vertical cliffs, leaving all who visit in awe.

Mount Hua Scenic Area is vast, including the Main Peak Scenic Area, West Peak Temple Scenic Area, and Fairy Valley Scenic Area, among others. The Main Peak Scenic Area is the core area of Mount Hua, featuring the "Hua Shan Trail" and the five major peaks of the southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest. For most people, when they think of Mount Hua, they are referring to the Main Peak Scenic Area.

Spent this noon on the mountain, bringing your own food, as prices on the mountain are relatively high, making choices according to your preferences.

After challenging Huashan, take a car back to Xi'an. Watch the Eternal Love show.

The Xi'an Eternal Love Scenic Area is a destination that transcends time and defies imagination, co-created by the Xi'an World Garden Group and Songcheng Performing Arts.

Inside the scenic area, attractions such as Jiannian Avenue, Sky City, Wanghu Pavilion, Chang'an Gate, Songcheng Tower, Songcheng Gate, Haunted House, Fiery Volcano, Chang'an Square, Performance Square, and Songcheng Square present breathtaking views at every step, as if one has traveled back to the prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty. Walking along the River Street and Misty Cloud Street in the scenic area, strolling on the tree-lined path by the lake, the Silver Sand Beach, Beautiful Lake, and Chang'an Tower reflect each other, creating an indescribable beauty, reminding us to cherish the moment as life is a journey. It is a place where both young and old can enjoy themselves, suitable for all weather, and a popular spot that integrates performance, tourism, and vacationing.

The grand musical "Eternal Love of Xi'an" centers around the story of a Chinese girl returning to her homeland to trace her roots, embarking on a journey to seek national memory. It is like a magical time machine, fully and vividly showcasing the grand chapters of the Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties.

Here is the vast and ancient light of Banpo, here is the romantic poetry of the weeping willows by the Ba River, here is the grandeur and spirit of the great Qin Dynasty, here are the legends of the Silk Road amid the endless sands, and here are the glorious chapters of the prosperous Tang Dynasty in Chang'an... Ten thousand sets of machinery and equipment are in operation throughout the venue, three thousand tons of torrential water cascade down, and hundreds of cubic meters of yellow sand rush towards you, using a combination of reality and illusion to break the boundaries between the stage and the audience area, allowing for an immersive journey through time.

After the performance, you can go to the popular check-in spot, the Chang'an Night City, and after enjoying the view, proceed to check in at the hotel.

DAY4 Featured Chang'an | Great Mercy Temple (Giant Wild Goose Pagoda) — North Square of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda — Xi'an Museum (Admission + Guide) (Closed on Tuesdays, normal schedule on holidays) — Choice between visiting Yongxingfang or Muslim Street — Private vehicle to airport/station — Return trip

Is it possible to truly unlock the secrets of a thousand-year-old ancient temple just by taking a quick walk, snapping photos at trendy walls, and having a "free activity"? Tang Seng spent decades here promoting the teachings and translating scriptures. How can you say you've been to Chang'an without entering this grand ancestral home of the Dharma Character Sect and the royal temple of the Tang Dynasty to understand it?

Therefore, this itinerary takes you to a thousand-year-old ancient temple, unravels the cultural backbone of the Ci'en Tower, and traces the legendary life of Master Xuanzang... The itinerary includes the first entrance ticket to the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda scenic area, but does not include the fee for climbing the pagoda. If you wish to climb the pagoda, please cover the cost yourself.

Da Ci'en Temple, located in the Jinchangfang of Chang'an City during the Tang Dynasty (now in the southern part of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China), is the ancestral home of one of the "Eight Schools of Buddhism" in China, known as the "Consciousness-Only School" (also called the Dharma Character School, Abhidharma School, or Ci'en School). It is one of the three major translation sites of Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty and has a history of over 1350 years. Da Ci'en Temple is a well-known and grand Buddhist temple within the Tang Chang'an City, built under the command of the Li Tang royal family. In the 22nd year of the Zhen Guan era (648 AD), Crown Prince Li Zhi established the Ci'en Temple in memory of his mother, Empress Dowager Wende. Xuanzang presided over the temple's affairs and managed the Buddhist scripture translation site, founding one of the eight major sects of Chinese Buddhism, the Consciousness-Only School, which became the ancestral home of this sect. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Da Ci'en Temple was personally supervised by Xuanzang, making the temple a significant site in the history of Chinese Buddhism, and it has always been valued by the Buddhist community both domestically and internationally.

The Xi'an Museum is located within the Jianfu Temple. Through the themed exhibition "Ancient Capital Xi'an," you can learn about the thousand-year history of Xi'an as a capital and the development of its city. There are also "city models" of Xi'an from various dynasties, ranging from the Zhou to the Ming and Qing, which showcase the scale, layout, and living conditions of the capital through the ages.

The museum also houses numerous cultural relics from various eras in the Xi'an region. Some of these relics were unearthed from important dynasties in Chinese history, such as the Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties, among which are exquisite artifacts, such as the Tang dynasty "Sancai Horse," which features a saddle-less and bridle-less design, reflecting the free-spirited social ethos of the Tang dynasty; the Tang dynasty "Sancai Lotus Petal Base," which has a lotus petal pattern and is paired with a pagoda-shaped lid, carries significant Buddhist meaning; and the Western Han relic "Garlic-head Pot," which is a representative vessel of Qin culture, originating in the Guanzhong area and later spreading to various regions with Qin's unification wars, but had largely disappeared by the mid-Western Han period.

In addition, the museum also has special exhibitions, such as: Buddhist sculpture art, ancient calligraphy and painting, jade artifacts, and seals themed "Ke Li Da Qian," among others. The museum is located in the same courtyard as the Small Wild Goose Pagoda.

The World Cultural Heritage "Giant Wild Goose Pagoda" is the Buddhist pagoda of the famous royal temple Jianfu Temple in the Tang capital of Chang'an, with a history of over 1300 years. It is the only Tang dynasty building in the Xi'an area that has retained its original appearance from the time of its construction. The temple was originally named "Xianfu Temple" and was renamed to its current name in the first year of Wu Zetian's reign. The "Morning Bell of the Wild Goose Pagoda," which is struck daily, is honored as one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Chang'an.

Yongxingfang is one of the 108 courtyards in the Tang dynasty Chang'an City, located at the northwest corner inside the Xiaodong Gate, adjacent to the city wall. During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, this place was the residence of Chancellor Wei Zheng. Today, it has become one of the emerging popular check-in spots within Xi'an City.

Yongxingfang is divided into Guanzhong Street, Shanbei Street, and Shannan Street. Here, you can taste the different regional cuisines of Shaanxi. It is also a street dedicated to the intangible cultural heritage of Shaanxi's food culture, and the famous Xi'an smashed bowl wine was born in Yongxingfang.

You can taste Shaanxi local delicacies at Yongxingfang or Huimin Street.

The trip ends around 14:00. A dedicated car will be arranged to take you to the airport/station based on your return method and time, concluding your journey pleasantly.