Xi'an Private Day Tour: Terracotta Warriors & City Wall

The Terracotta Army is not a single statue. It's thousands of individual soldiers, each one different.

A private full-day tour of Xi'an with an English-speaking guide, hotel pickup and lunch included. Start at the Terracotta Warriors Museum, where your guide walks you through three excavation pits holding thousands of ancient clay figures and weapons. Then climb or bike the 13.7-kilometer City Wall, the best-preserved wall in China's history, before exploring the Muslim Quarter on foot to taste local snacks and see how Xian residents actually spend their time.

Step-by-step itinerary

Stops and time spent at each

1. Terracotta Warriors Museum3h · entry included
2. South Gate2h · entry included

Explore Xi'an historical sites and local culture

• Visit Terracotta Warriors Museum
• Walk, bike, or golf cart on Ancient City Wall
• Stroll and snack in Muslim Quarter

The experience

Your guide meets you at your hotel and drives you first to the Terracotta Warriors Museum, the most significant excavation of the 20th century. The museum holds three pits where thousands of life-sized clay soldiers, horses and chariots were buried to guard an emperor's tomb. Your guide explains the figurines, the ancient weapons scattered among them, and why this mausoleum was built on such a grand scale. Most visitors spend hours here because the sheer number of soldiers, each one sculpted with individual details, makes the scale of the undertaking real in a way photographs do not.

After the museum, you head to the Ancient City Wall. This is the best-preserved and most complete wall surviving from China's long history: 12 meters high, 12 to 14 meters wide across the top, and 15 to 18 meters thick at the base. The entire circumference is 13.7 kilometers. You choose how to experience it (walk the wall, bike it, or take a golf cart) depending on your pace and how much of it you want to cover. The wall itself is what remains of Xian's old city, and walking or riding it gives you a sense of the city's ancient layout that you cannot get from street level.

From the wall, you walk into the Muslim Quarter, a neighborhood that has been a center for food and local life for over a thousand years. Your guide takes you through the streets (Beiyuanmen, Daxuexi, Xiyangshi and the surrounding areas locals call "Fangshang"), where you taste various snacks and see the folk art vendors. The quarter is a tourism spot, but it is also where Xian residents come for snacks and entertainment, especially in the evenings and summer months. Lunch is included in the tour, and you eat at a local restaurant rather than a tourist setup.

What’s included

• Bottled water.
• round-trip private transfer from and to your centrally-located Xi'an hotel.
• lunch at a local restaurant.
• professional English-speaking guide for the full day.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 09:00

Book up to2h before

AgesAdult (7 to 88 years) · Child (4 to 6 years) · Infant (under 4)

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 16 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Low physical effortWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller-friendlyInfant seats availablePublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Lily's Private Tours

Is this one for you?This is a private tour, so your guide sets the pace and your starting time to match your hotel schedule and preferences. Choose it if you want to avoid the crowds of a group tour and have flexibility in how long you spend at each stop, especially on the City Wall, where you decide whether to walk, bike or ride.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (4 to 6 years); Infant (under 4).

What exactly is inside the Terracotta Warriors Museum?

The museum houses three excavation pits containing thousands of life-sized clay soldiers, horses, chariots and ancient weapons buried to guard an emperor's tomb. Each figurine is individually sculpted with different details, and your guide explains the significance of the mausoleum and the motivation behind its construction.

Can I walk the entire City Wall, or is it too long?

The City Wall's circumference is 13.7 kilometers, so walking all of it would take a very long time. You choose your own approach: walk a section, bike it, or take a golf cart. Your guide can advise on how much you can reasonably cover in the time available.

Is the Muslim Quarter just for tourists, or do locals actually go there?

The Muslim Quarter is both. It is a well-known tourism destination, but locals also come there regularly for snacks and entertainment, especially in the evenings and summer. The neighborhood includes several streets and surrounding areas where you can find authentic local food and folk art alongside the more touristy spots.

How much walking is involved in this tour?

You walk through the Terracotta Warriors Museum and then choose your activity on the City Wall: walking, biking or a golf cart ride. After that, you stroll through the Muslim Quarter on foot. The amount of walking depends on how much of the wall you cover and how long you spend exploring the neighborhood streets.