Xi'an Heritages: Terracotta Army and Imperial Palaces
£187.00
Terracotta Army, Huaqing Palace & the Muslim Quarter
Highlights
The Terracotta Army
Authentic Xi'an Street Food
Tang Dynasty Love Story
Tang Dynasty Love Story
Authentic Xi'an Street Food
Tang Dynasty Love Story
Authentic Xi'an Street Food
Authentic Xi'an Street Food
Authentic Xi'an Street Food
Itinerary
Terracotta Warriors & Horses Museum : The Eighth Wonder of the World
Stand face-to-face with one of history's greatest secrets. Buried for over 2,200 years and discovered by chance in 1974 by farmers digging a well, the Terracotta Army is a sight that consistently leaves visitors speechless. Your expert guide will lead you through Pit One — the largest and most dramatic — followed by Pit Three, the mysterious command headquarters, and the Bronze Chariots Hall, home to some of the most intricate metalwork in the ancient world. Beyond the spectacle, your guide will bring the story to life: why no two warriors share the same face, how the discovery transformed our understanding of Qin Dynasty China, and what remains buried and unexcavated beneath your feet to this day.
Local Shaanxi Lunch: Taste the Real Northwest
Before heading to Huaqing Palace, sit down for a proper Shaanxi lunch near the Lintong area. Think biangbiang noodles — thick, belt-wide, tossed with chilli oil and vinegar — or a bowl of yangrou paomo, the iconic mutton and bread soup that has warmed Xi'an winters for centuries. Your guide will recommend a trusted local restaurant and help you order like a local.
Lunch is not included, but we'll recommend a great local restaurant based on your preferences. Lunch is at your own expense.
Huaqing Palace: Where Empire and Heartbreak Meet
Just a short drive from the Terracotta Warriors lies Huaqing Palace, a site layered with more than 3,000 years of imperial history. Most visitors know it for its famous hot spring pools — the same geothermal baths where Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty spent his winters with his beloved concubine Yang Guifei, one of the most celebrated love stories in Chinese literature.
The palace is also the site of the 1936 Xi'an Incident, where Chiang Kai-shek was kidnapped by his own generals and forced to forge a united front against Japan — you can still see the bullet holes in the walls of the Five-Room Hall where he sheltered.
The Great Mosque of Xi'an: A Thousand Years of Silk Road Faith
Tucked down a quiet alley just steps from the bustle of the Muslim Quarter, the Great Mosque of Xi'an is one of China's oldest and best-preserved Islamic places of worship, first established in 742 AD during the Tang Dynasty.
What makes it unlike any mosque you've seen before is its architecture: five serene courtyards, pavilions, and prayer halls built entirely in the classical Chinese style, yet oriented towards Mecca and decorated throughout with Arabic calligraphy.
It is a physical record of what happens when two great civilisations meet at a crossroads — and Xi'an was exactly that crossroads for over a thousand years.
The Muslim Quarter: The Last Stop on the Silk Road
Step out of the mosque and directly into one of China's most atmospheric streets. The Muslim Quarter — known locally as Huifang — has been home to Xi'an's Hui Muslim community for over a thousand years, a living legacy of the merchants and travellers who made the journey from Central Asia and the Middle East along the ancient trade routes.
With your guide, step off the main drag and into the quieter lanes behind, where the real food is: hand-pulled noodles, skewers of cumin lamb, roujiamo stuffed with slow-braised beef, and fried persimmon cakes dusted with sesame. A fitting final chapter to a city that has spent 3,000 years at the crossroads of civilisations.