4 Days Historic Xi'an & Mt. Hua Experience

As your flight touches down in Xi'an, your expert guide will meet you outside the baggage claim area of the airport and take you downtown. If you arrive in Xi’an by train, your guide will pick you up at the Railway Station instead.

You will be directly taken to Shaanxi Archaeology Museum, China’s first archaeological museum. It is dedicated to housing treasured cultural relics of various historical periods since the Paleolithic Age, unearthed or yet to be unearthed mainly from this land. If you are ever curious about the evidence of Chinese history, come here to see the 5,000-plus historic artifacts on display, each having its own story to tell. Examine pottery pieces from the Western Zhou Dynasty (1100 BC - 771 BC), bronze tripods and even murals from ancient tombs that have been completely relocated, which are among the ancient heritage that will take you through thousands of years of history into the depths of Shaanxi and even Chinese civilization.

Note: The Museum will be closed on every Wednesday, so we advise you to avoid arriving in Xi’an at this time. But if it’s Wednesday today, what to do today is entirely up to you - why not explore local life around your conveniently-located hotel?

After the visit, your guide will escort you back to your hotel. Check in and have a good time for the rest of your day.

► Dinner Suggestion:
If you are looking forward to tasting some local dishes for dinner, go to the Zui Mei Chang’an · Shaanxi Cuisine (Great Tang All Day Mall branch), which is only 20 minutes’ drive from your hotel. Although the restaurant has only been open for about five years, it has become one of the top recommendations of most locals due to the authentic local flavors it offers. Besides the local specialty Gourd-shaped Chicken, the distinctive Mao Bi Su (a fried dessert made in the shape of a Chinese brush) is also worth a try - eat the tapered tip after dipping it in sauce just like in ink. Interestingly, every time someone comes for a meal, you will hear the waiter at the door shouting in words such as “San Yang Kai Tai”, “Si Ji Ping An”, etc., auspicious Chinese idioms with numbers, which are used by the restaurant to welcome the corresponding number of queuing guests. The average cost here is about CNY 70 / USD 10 per person.

This morning, we will take a trip to the Terracotta Army Museum, the world-famous mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, founder of the Qin Empire (221 - 206 BC) and the imperial history of China that lasted some 2,000 years. You will visit his burial pits, in which his funeral objects of lifelike terracotta warriors and horses as well as elaborately-made bronze weapons and chariots, stately arranged to form a grand battle array, suggests the formidable military power and advanced manufacturing techniques during that time. The soil partition walls may also grab your attention. In ancient times, they were mainly designed to protect the clay figures from external impacts, just as the load-bearing wall of modern houses, and now they serve as a barrier to keep the terracotta warriors from weathering. After exploring the pits, let’s head to a newly-launched lasting exhibition where you will get an up-close look at 230 most quintessential artifacts unearthed over the past 50 years through glass. It is also surprising to know that about a third of them are on their debuts. From warriors with purple sleeves or green face to bronze waterfowls, and to detailed animals made of gold or silver… Everything is a wonder for us to imagine the artisanal talent of Chinese ancestors. The exhibition also provides dioramas and digital interactions to facilitate your “dialogue” with these cultural relics. 

As for lunch, we will leave it to you to explore around the Museum. There are many restaurants aside from Mcdonald's and Subway, and it is of course suggested that you taste some local foods, maybe in a restaurant recommended by your guide.

★  What Makes Us Different
1. Home Visit to the Discoverer of Terracotta Army
How was such a "vast army" found? Incredibly, the first pieces were found in 1974, not by archaeologists, but by a local farmer named Yang Zhifa while digging a well. Visit Yang’s home to gain insights into the early stages of the excavation from the old man or his family and see the tools he used. Before Mr. Yang, some villagers may have also encountered fragments of the terracotta figures, but they had reburied them or put them in the pigsty, as a traditional belief says that it would cause damage to property or risk their lives if the buried objects were taken home.
2. DIY: Make a Mini Warrior and Support Local Crafts
Ever wondered how the terracotta figures were made 2,000 years ago? You will be invited to a local workshop, where a few artisans stick to making pottery in the traditional way, to uncover the mystery. Instructed by a master potter, you can mold and carve with your own hands to complete a small clay figure in 40 minutes. Carve your name on it and take it with you. By doing this, we are supporting the sustainability of traditional crafts and local communities. Continue our tour to the Small Wild Goose Pagoda in the Jianfu Temple, one of Xi’an’s three temples for translating sutras that witnessed the prevalence of Buddhism in Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD). Perhaps ring a replica of the Morning Bell, one of the "Top Eight Scenes of Xi’an”, for blessings!

Let’s call it a day’s trip now and go back to the hotel for a good rest.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

Today, we will have a day trip to Mt. Huashan, the Most Precipitous of the Five Sacred Mountains of China sung in folklore and poems. You will immediately understand why it’s called so, as you walk on pathways set between sheer drops or narrow plank paths on the cliffs and stand on peaks overlooking. To save your energy to appreciate the thrilling vistas, you will take a cable car to the steepest West Peak first and then go on a trek while taking in every landscape that is worth your while to North Peak. While at the North Peak, take a cable car down the mountain. Afterwards, your guide and driver will escort you back to your hotel in downtown Xi’an by a private car. 

★ Alternative trip to Qianling Mausoleum & Famen Temple
If you are not interested in Mt. Huashan, we can arrange a visit to Qianling Mausoleum and Famen Temple instead. 

1.5 hours' drive from the city, Qianling Mausoleum belongs to Emperor Wu Zetian (624 - 705 AD) of Tang Dynasty, the only female Emperor that ever existed in the history of China, along with her husband Emperor Gaozong (628 - 683 AD), the third emperor of the dynasty. This royal joint tomb holds some of the biggest mysteries of China’s history yet to be unraveled, like the headless Stone Statues of 61 Foreign Officials and Emperor Wu’s blank Wordless Grave Stele. It’s interesting to note that, a recent archeological excavation has unveiled another Tang tomb to the world with murals adding curious stories to the art tapestry - they depict people with varied poses and would dumbfound you with their “V” hand gesture, whose meaning even puzzles the academic circle - some say it means prayer, while others say it is but a normal way of greetings. The murals themselves are of course spectacular too, implying top-notch artistic talent and important for the research of Tang-era mural art. 

A one-hour ride further away is the Famen Temple. This royal Buddhist temple dating back some 1,700 years ago is world-famous for enshrining Sakyamuni's Finger Bone, presented by India’s greatest King Asoka. Your pilgrimage to the magnificent place will be a unique add-on experience for you. After visit, we will transfer you back to Xi'an.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast