Xi'an Citywalk
£227.00
Terracotta Army, Huaqing Palace & the Muslim Quarter
Highlights
Shaanxi History Museum
Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
Xi'an Ancient Wall
Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
Xi'an Ancient Wall
Itinerary
Shaanxi History Museum: Treasures of Thirteen Dynasties
Begin your day at one of China's greatest museums, home to over 1.7 million artefacts spanning more than a million years of history. Xi'an served as the capital of thirteen dynasties — including the Qin, Han, and Tang — and the Shaanxi History Museum holds the accumulated treasures of them all.
Your guide will lead you through the highlights: the legendary Agate Cup in the Shape of an Animal Head, crafted in Tang Dynasty gold and considered one of the finest pieces of ancient Chinese goldsmithing; the Tang Tri-coloured glazed pottery; and the remarkable Han Dynasty jade burial suits. More than a collection, this is a timeline of Chinese civilisation told through the objects left behind by the people who shaped it.
Giant Wild Goose Pagoda & Da Ci'en Temple: A Monk's Journey from India to Chang'an
A short walk from the museum stands one of Xi'an's most recognisable landmarks — a seven-storey brick pagoda rising 64 metres above the Da Ci'en Temple complex. Built in 652 AD under the direction of the Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang to preserve the Buddhist scriptures and statues he brought back from India, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014 as a key site along the ancient Silk Road.
Xuanzang defied imperial orders to make a 17-year journey across Central Asia to India, returned with 657 sacred texts, and spent the rest of his life translating them here.
Shuyuanmen Ancient Cultural Street: China's Calligraphy Street
Step through a traditional archway into one of Xi'an's most quietly captivating streets. Shuyuanmen — meaning Academy Gate — takes its name from the Guanzhong Academy, once the most prestigious seat of classical learning in northwest China. Today the bluestone-paved lane is lined with over 200 shops selling the Four Treasures of the Study — brush, ink, paper and inkstone — alongside handmade seals, shadow puppets, stone rubbings, and works by resident calligraphers and painters. A place to wander, not rush.
Xi'an Ancient City Wall: Six Hundred Years of Stone and Mortar
Built during the early Ming Dynasty and encircling the entire old city for 13.7 kilometres, Xi'an's city wall is the most complete ancient city wall in China. Enter through the elegant Wenchang Gate — just steps from Shuyuanmen — and walk along the broad ramparts as the afternoon light falls across the rooftops below. From up here, the geometry of the ancient city reveals itself: straight boulevards radiating outward from the centre, the Bell Tower in the distance, the old streets laid out exactly as Tang Dynasty Chang'an once was.