China3 days
Beijing to Xi'an: Terracotta Warriors, City Wall & Muslim Quarter — 3 Days
Six hours by bullet train to wander 2,000-year-old clay soldiers, a 13-kilometer city wall, and the Great Mosque.
This three-day journey moves from Beijing to Xi'an by high-speed rail, anchoring on three distinct historical layers. The Great Mosque — constructed during the Ming dynasty on foundations laid in the Tang — sits at the centre of the Muslim Quarter, where narrow streets still hold sesame-oil factories, halal butchers, and small restaurants. The Terracotta Warriors, discovered by farmers in 1976 after two millennia underground, number roughly 6,000 across three open pits; each figure was individually sculpted with distinct costume, height, and facial expression. The Ancient City Wall, 13 kilometers in circumference, remains the most significant and best-preserved example in China. The itinerary includes private ground transport, a local English-speaking guide, and return passage to Beijing by bullet train.
Highlights
- Great Mosque: Ming dynasty structure blending Chinese and Islamic architecture, standing on religious foundations from the Tang dynasty
- Muslim Quarter streets: narrow lanes lined with sesame-oil factories, halal butchers, small mosques, and markets
- Terracotta Warriors: approximately 6,000 individually sculpted clay figures in battle formation, discovered in 1976
- Big Wild Goose Pagoda: former repository of Buddhist relics and texts brought from India by the Tang dynasty monk Xuanzang; musical fountain show at north square
- Ancient City Wall: 13-kilometer perimeter, best-preserved city wall in China; can be traversed by bicycle in approximately 2 hours
Day by day
1Beijing to Xi'an: Great Mosque and Muslim QuarterBeijing to Xi'an · Great Mosque · Muslim Quarter · Beijing hotel lobby
Your guide meets you in your Beijing hotel lobby before dawn to reach the train station for a six-hour journey south on the high-speed rail to Xi'an. On arrival, you settle into your accommodation, then begin with the Great Mosque, the most significant mosque in China. The structure dates to the Hongwu period of the Ming dynasty, with subsequent additions during the Qing; earlier religious complexes occupied this same ground as far back as the Tang dynasty, creating a palimpsest of architectural intent. The building fuses Chinese and Islamic elements throughout. Afterward, a walk through the Muslim Quarter introduces the narrow streets where the Hui Muslim community has lived for centuries. Sesame-oil factories, halal butchers, small neighbourhood mosques, market stalls, and restaurants line the passageways, creating a self-contained commercial and cultural enclave distinct from the surrounding city.
2Terracotta Warriors and Big Wild Goose PagodaTerracotta Warriors · Big Wild Goose Pagoda · local village restaurant · Big Wild Goose Pagoda, north square
The morning is devoted to the Terracotta Warriors, the clay army discovered in 1976 when local farmers dug a well and broke through a buried vault. Of the estimated 6,000 warriors created for the emperor's afterlife, just under 2,000 stand visible across three main excavated pits. Each figure was hand-sculpted from clay with individual costume, height, and facial expression — a staggering exercise in repetition and variation carried out over two millennia ago. After examining the site, lunch takes place in a local village restaurant. Your private transport then carries you to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, a seven-story structure that once held Buddhist relics and classical texts brought westward from India by the Tang monk Xuanzang. If timing allows, the musical fountain performance at the temple's north square provides a contemporary counterpoint to the ancient site.
3Ancient City Wall and Return to BeijingAncient City Wall · Xi'an to Beijing West Railway Station
The final morning visits Xi'an's Ancient City Wall on foot or by bicycle. The wall extends 13 kilometers in circumference and ranks as China's most significant and best-preserved example of its type, running the perimeter of the historic centre. A bicycle circuit takes roughly two hours. By afternoon, you depart Xi'an on a six-hour northbound high-speed rail journey, arriving at Beijing West Railway Station in late afternoon where the tour concludes.
Where you go
- 1Muslim Quarter
- 2Terracotta Warriors
- 3Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Included
- Included:
- 2 nights hotel accommodation based on twin share
- Local English speaking guide service
- Private transfers as specified
- Sightseeing tours with entrance fee as specified
- 2 breakfasts and 2 lunches
- Regular class fast train Beijing/Xi'an/Beijing
Not included
- Do Not Include:
- Hotel accommodation in Beijing
- Gratitutes for driver and guide