Xi'an
Xi'an is a must see when you are in China. My wife and I visited here in July of 2007. It is one of the 4 ancient capital cities of China. The history goes back over three thousand years here. Several Chinese dynasties lived here before the dynasties ended in Beijing.
Getting There
There is a major airport here and you can fly from most places in China to Xi'an. I talked to one individual who managed to purchase a ticket for less than US$100 from Shanghai to Xi'an. I could find one way tickets from Beijing to Xi'an for around US$160 a couple months before we arrived, but that was still a bit steep for us.
The option we went with was the train. The only hassle is booking your ticket when you are there. I was at the Beijing Central Train Station, because I had just arrived on the Trans Mongolian earlier in the day. There is a ticket office for foreigners if you want to avoid the long lineups and lack of English. However, we found that they would not book our ticket there, we had to go around to another lineup on the outside of the building and stand in line for around an hour.
The train from Beijing leaves the Beijing West train station. You can get a taxi here for around 20RMB (less than US$3) from the Tiananmen Square area of Beijing.
I paid around 230RMB (less than US$30) for bottom bunk of a "hard sleeper". This is actually pretty nice. This is the bottom bed of a triple bunk bed in one of the cars. There are no doors, but there are two triple bunk bed with small aisle and table inbetween and then a wall to divide it from the next bunk bed (see picture below).
If you are on the bottom bed, keep in mind, this is where people will sit during the day and they might want to use the table so it is not as easy to sleep. However, it is nice to be on ground level as you can store your bags under your bunk and get up easily in the night. The higher the bunk, the cheaper the price.
Chinese Trains - 2nd Class
There were televisions at the top, a bit of food they provide in a basket, and you can purchase food from a vendor that rolls through with a cart occasionally. The air conditioning kept the cars feeling quite nice as well.
Leaving Xi'an, we had a "hard seat" ticket for around 180RMB (US$23) back to Beijing. We booked this from the Xi'an train station when we arrived. We wanted hard sleeper, but we booked for the night train leaving the next day and there were none available.
I will never do hard seat again if I can avoid it. It is the most uncomfortable ride you can have and very hard to get sleep. When you get the train, you will notice that people will be running down the platform and when you get to your seat, there will be someone in it. These are the "standing room" ticket people. They get a seat and hope know purchased a ticket for it. You can kick them out when you get there.
Where We Stayed
We were right close to the train station in a hostel called Lu Dao Hotel It is pretty nice and about a 2 minute walk just south west of the train station. If you have not lined up a hotel before you arrive, head here first. They have employees in the train station looking for tourists to bring there as well.
Their hotel has a tour booking office, internet, laundry, a restaurant, and other services. There are hostel type dorm rooms on the top floors and regular hotel rooms on the bottom floors. Air conditioned as well. The tour office and the front desk spoke excellent English.
One negative however. This hotel is close to the train station, but it is far away from the main street down town. This isn't a big deal, but you won't feel like walking it. That being said, there is a bus station right on the next block and for 1 yuan (13 cents) you can ride it to the downtown (Bus #603).
Getting Around
Taxis, moto-taxis, bicycle taxis, and the public bus are all good choices. If you are at the train station and need to get to the downtown (Drum tower), just take bus #603 from the bus depot across the street (just walk under the city wall).
Make sure to grab a business card for your hotel so you can hand it to the taxi drivers. They almost always have the address in Chinese for them.
Terracotta Warriors
This is the big drawing card for the area. The Terracotta Army is impressive in its size and the mystery behind it. It was built around 250 BC and they estimate it took 40 years and around 700,000 workers and craftsmen. There are over 8,000 figures. They are life like and life size. No two look alike. Apparently, the craftsmen were to do them like various soldiers around China.
You can get there by public bus, but it is easiest to book a tour. I booked one through my hostel for around 250RMB, which did not include lunch. This also included a tour of a Terracotta warrior factory, museum, and hot springs.
There are 4 "pits" available to the public. Pit #1 is the biggest one. Over 6,000 of the figures are in this one alone. They have built a large warehouse type building around it.
Most days, you can find the "discovering farmer" situated in the souvenir shop beside pit #1. It is worth a look to just pop in. He sits at a table with huge, dark glasses on and refuses to have a picture taken. He signs copies of a book that they sell.
Terracotta Warriors Pit 1
Terracotta Warriors Closeup
Drum Tower
Right smack dab in the middle of a big intersection, this is a cool looking building. You can buy tickets and take a look inside. I didn't, so I cannot say much about it.
Xi'an Drum Tower
City Walls
This is interesting. You will see them regardless. You have to go through them to get into the main part of town. The train station is just on the outside of them too. You can get tours of them, but I haven't done it. They look impressive just in themselves though. This isn't just a 10 foot wall. We are talking over 30 feet, so it looks pretty formidable.
Other Stuff
Terracotta Warrior FactoryThis is a tourist trap, really. I did enjoy it though. It was included in my tour to the Terracotta Army. They give a 15 minute little tour on how they make the warriors. Apparently the same way they did the original ones.
At the end of the tour, you are deposited in a big room where you can pay 50RMB to 16,000RMB for various figures. It is still relatively cheap, but as a heads up. I paid 100RMB for a warrior here and when I was at the hot springs I paid 20RMB for one almost twice as big.
Terracotta Warrior Factory
Hot Springs
Hot springs used by the emperor and his many concubines. It is interesting and you can see some neat buildings. I don't know if I would have went on my own, but it was part of my tour so that was good.
The Hot Springs
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