Visiting Xian China walled city and the Museum of Terracotta Warriors & Horses was a dream come true for me.
Xian Walled City
The city wall of Xian is the most complete and intact city wall in China.
I don’t recall when I first learned of the ancient city of Xian, capital of Shaanxi province in China, but I had wanted to travel there for years.
The opportunity arose when I was studying international business at Austin Community College (ACC) and I heard about the study abroad programs offered by the college.
Group travel and tours have never appealed to me but I was willing to try something new in order to fulfill my desire to visit China. All of the planning, scheduling, and booking completed by somebody else saved me a lot of time. And a negative, I didn’t get to choose anything for myself. I’m pretty good at planning solo travel but I can’t imagine trying to book airfare and hotels for a whole group.
The 10-day tour of China started in the capital city of Beijing and we traveled to Xian via an overnight train. I enjoy train travel and our overnight trip was more enjoyable than taking a tour bus everywhere as we had done in Beijing. I prefer to travel with the local people in order to experience more of the culture. Interacting with locals is a big part of the travel experience for me.
Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses
We had an excellent tour guide in Xian named Ms Zhou who taught us much about the history of Xian and took us on our tour of the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses. The site contains more than 8,000 terracotta soldiers, each unique in appearance, and dozens of chariots and horses.
The Mausoleum of Emperor Qin, discovered in 1974 by local farmers, is an astounding treasure and unique archaeological site.
The warriors with their chariots and horses were buried with Emperor Qin in 210 BCE to protect the emperor in the afterlife.
Great Mosque and Muslim Quarter in Xian
The Great Mosque of Xian is the largest mosque in China. It is located in the Muslim Quarter which is walking distance from the Drum Tower near the center of the walled city.
On our second day we enjoyed an afternoon to wander around on our own in central Xian. This was a welcome break from the planned events and much more my style of travel. I walked to the nearby Muslim quarter to visit the Great Mosque then walked around exploring the area.
I bought some mandarin oranges from a street vendor and she didn’t speak any English but she held out her hand to signal the price. I knew she was saying 8 yuan because we had learned the hand signals for the numbers 1 through 10 while visiting Beijing.
Her face lit up with a big smile when she realized I understood her hand signal and gave her the correct amount of currency.
Pleased that I remembered the sign and I enjoyed a delicious orange as a snack. Later I tried some fresh squeezed pomegranate juice, reminding me of my visit to Cappadocia region in Türkiye.
Things to do in Xian
For evening entertainment in Xian attend a theatrical show by the Tang Dynasty Song and Dance Troupe.
There was also a dumpling banquet dinner and it was delicious! This was one of my favorite meals in China. We enjoyed a variety of fillings in the dumplings which were formed into various shapes.
Tour the artisan galleries in Xian with visits to the rug showroom and a ceramic and lacquer factory.
I would love to revisit Xian in order to spend more time exploring this fascinating city on my own. I hope you enjoyed my highlights of Xian China and the Terracotta Warriors.
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What a wonderful place to visit, – everything quite magnificent, but I was most interested in the weaving of the beautiful silk rug.
Hildred, it takes months to weave some of these magnificent rugs – they are gorgeous to see and touch! I have a client here in Austin that imports rugs from all over the world – some of them take 9 months or more to create.
I’ve always been curious about this place so maybe I’ll add it to my bucket list.
Leslie
Leslie, Xi’an is such a wonderful city – I hope you do get a chance to visit and enjoy it as much as I did! I plan to go back :)
You make an impressive warrior
ROG
Thank you! I look fierce don’t I? :)
Great post with wonderful pics! Loved it:)
Thank you Amit! It’s a great pleasure to reminisce about my travels.
China is such an interesting country! It’s on my bucket list. A friend once sent me a photo he took of the Terracotta Army.
Hazel – thanks for stopping by! I hope you do travel to China – it is extraordinary!
I didn’t realise the Terracotta Warriors were life size, fascinating reading and what a fantastic trip.. I was totally glued to this and was drooling at the sight of the dumplings, great stuff,
di.x
Diane, yes they are actually super-size life size as they are all at least 6 foot tall – much taller than Emperor Qin’s actual soldiers! i was going to go into more detail about the Terracotta army but quickly realized that I need to devote a whole post to the subject – I shall get to work on it soon!
I saw a documentary about the Terracotta Army once and ever since then, have wanted to see it. Your post contains all the elements of great travel writing; culture, art, history, beauty and a sense of connection which communicates itself to the mind and heart of the reader. Thank you.
Thank you for your kind words Nana Jo! Hope you get to Xi’an to see the Terracotta Army – it is an exceptional place. Of the places I have been to in China so far Xi’an is by far my favorite!
Such a nice post. China & particularly Xian is in my to travel list and I hope to do it sometime
Have been really intrigued by Xi’an since my parents went to China – they went to a lot of the main cities but were adamant that xi’an was by far the best. I love this little overview of your time their, I’m even more keen to visit now!
Thank you Catherine! Xi’an was my favorite as well, although I still have plenty more travel to do in China. I plan to visit Xi’an again and spend more time there. I hope you get to Xi’an soon!
Happy travels :)
Hi I’m thirteen and am in Foley Middle School. We are learning about China and would like to know if you have ever made a mini terra cotta warrior.
Hi Jazlyn, I have not made a mini terracotta warrior but that would be a cool project! In Xi’an China I did see artisans making some miniature terracotta warriors – I found the photo and added it to this blog post for you. I hope you enjoy learning about China at Foley Middle School – thanks for visiting my blog!
Cheers,
Susan
China is absolutely stunning and you did an amazing job capturing its beauty!
Looks like an amazing trip! Would love to hear more details about where you stayed in china and the tour guides you used.
My trip to China was all arranged by Austin Community College for their Study Abroad program but they don’t do the trip to China anymore. You could contact colleges and universities and ask for recommendations for tour guides. We stayed in budget hotels and it was in 2011, there are many more choices now.