https://us.trip.com/blog/xian-itinerary-two-days

[Xi'an Free Travel] How to enjoy a 2-day and 1-night Xi'an tour, a comprehensive itinerary planning guide!

Travellers Magicians
Travellers Magicians
Sep 18, 2025

Contents

  • Trip Planner
  • Xi'an itinerary planning overview
  • Xi'an Day 1
    • Tang Paradise
    • Theme Street of The Longest Day in Chang'an
    • The Tang Dynasty City That Never Sleeps
    • Big Wild Goose Pagoda
  • Xi'an Day 2
    • Xi'an Bell Tower
    • Xi'an Drum Tower
    • Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum Museum (Terracotta Warriors)
    • Performance of Song of Everlasting Regret
  • Show more

[Planning a new trip but don't know where to start? Let Trip.com's AI Itinerary Assistant generate custom itineraries with one click!]

✅ Copy a travel blog link to generate the same itinerary with one click

✅ Featured popular itineraries for the most authentic experience

✅ Import your favorite destinations and automatically arrange the best itinerary

✅ Check opening hours and recommended visit durations at attractions to ensure that every stop meets your expectations

Click to customize my exclusive itinerary

This guide carefully plans a perfect 2-day and 1-night trip to Xi'an for you. Covering local attractions, authentic food and popular shopping areas, you can easily travel around Xi'an and enjoy a worry-free holiday. Whether it is an in-depth exploration of history and culture or a fashionable check-in in a modern metropolis, this guide can meet your needs. Come and start your wonderful trip to Xi'an!





Travel back in time to the affluent Tang Dynasty by donning Hanfu, taking pictures of the vibrant costumes in Furong Garden, sampling mutton in the water basin at twelve o'clock, watching the City That Never Sleeps' parade of floats, and listening to the melodic fountain at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

The Terracotta Warriors converse with the Qin Army, the Bell and Drum Tower commands a view of the entire old city, and "Song of Everlasting Regret" shows the starry sky of Mount Li. From dawn until dusk, Chang'an's story is captivating.


date journey
Day 1 Tang Paradise->Twelve Hours in Chang'an Theme Street->Tang Dynasty City That Never Sleeps->Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Day 2 Xi'an Bell Tower->Xi'an Drum Tower->Qin Shi Huangdi Mausoleum Museum (Terracotta Warriors)->"Song of Everlasting Regret" performance


Situated in Qujiang New District, south of Xi'an, and facing the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in the distance, is the Tang Paradise, a national 5A scenic location. It has a total size of 998 acres, which includes 440 acres of green space, 300 acres of water, and almost 100,000 square meters of construction space. Chinese Academy of Engineering academician Mr. Zhang Jinqiu developed and master-planned the park's buildings, while Japanese garden expert Mr. Akiyama Hiroshi created the landscape.It is a large-scale cultural theme heritage park that fully displays the style of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Since it was officially opened to the public on April 11, 2005 (the third day of the third lunar month), it has been committed to building a high-quality, high-standard brand tourist attraction.


Tang Paradise

A "garden of history, soul, nature, humanity, and art" is what the Tang Paradise seeks to create. To re-examine and sort the historical and cultural content of the Tang Paradise, as well as to re-plan and reposition the landscape of the entire garden, a team of experts was specially invited. This team included more than ten experts in Tang history, poetry, painting, and architecture from the Chinese Society of Tang Dynasty Literature, as well as doctoral supervisors, researchers, and tourism experts. In order to fully recreate the magnificent civilization of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, fourteen landscape cultural areas were separated into the following categories: the imperial culture area, the female culture area, the poetry culture area, the imperial examination culture area, the tea culture area, the song and dance culture area, the food culture area, the folk culture area, the diplomatic culture area, the Buddhist culture area, the Taoist culture area, the children's play area, the gate landscape culture area, and the water show performance area. Ziyun Tower, Ladies' Pavilion, Lu Yu Tea House, Apricot Garden, Caixia Corridor, Qujiang Flowing Drinks, Beauty Walk, Tang Poetry Gorge, and Dogwood Terrace are just a few of the more than 20 picturesque locations in the garden, which also include pavilions, towers, carved corridors, and painted buildings. They display the Tang Dynasty's great and unmatched culture and art, as well as its glorious spirit. The phrase "shocks the Chinese and surprises the globe" describes this tourism site.

Along with high-quality cultural tourism activity brands and projects like the Spring Festival Grand Tide Fair, Shangsi Festival, and Qujiang Flower and Moon Banquet, the park's theme performances include a large-scale water dance and light show called "Dreaming of the Tang Dynasty," which transports visitors to a dreamlike setting; the grandiose super-dimensional situational dance drama called "Dreaming of the Tang Dynasty" is magnificent and dreamy; and the Tang Dynasty court music, "Drum," interprets the Dongcang drum music, an intangible cultural heritage of mankind. The multiple free performances at scenic spots every day are a cordial invitation from the Tang Dynasty royal family to tourists, allowing them to experience the sacredness and grandeur of royal culture in a shocking way.

Tang Paradise, a theme park of exceptional quality, rich personality, and cultural connotation, serves as a cultural gateway for the world to comprehend China and a window for Xi'an to showcase Chang'an's ancient historical heritage and the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.


Address: No. 99, Furong West Road, Qujiang New District, Xi'an

Opening hours: 09:00-22:00 (ticket sales stop at 21:00)

evaluate:

One of the must-see attractions in Xi'an. The park is very large. It is best to go there in the evening so that you can see what it looks like during the day and the night view. There are also the Tang Dynasty City That Never Sleeps and Big Wild Goose Pagoda nearby. The transportation is also very convenient, with direct access to the subway, which is very good.



The online drama "The Twelve Hours in Chang'an" serves as the theme and immersive experience at the heart of the Twelve Hours in Chang'an themed block, which is based on Tang Dynasty market culture. In the areas of building, soft furnishings, coinage, characters, dress, language, music, and storytelling, it employs a complete Tang Dynasty packaging. In order to create a comprehensive Tang Dynasty market culture experience, it surrounds the deeply immersive story experience with supporting catering, cultural and creative, performing arts, and other business content. This includes full Tang Dynasty space play, Tang-style market experience, themed immersive interaction, Tang music and dance performances, cultural and social leisure, etc.


Address: F1, Mandy Plaza, No. 9, Yannan 1st Road, Yanta District, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province

Business hours: Open from 10:00 to 21:30 tomorrow (ticket sales stop at 20:30; admission stops at 21:00)

evaluate:

This is my fifth time here, and it is always a fun experience. The performances of the actors are professional and wonderful, the NPCs are very interesting, and the Tang Dynasty culture is very rich. In short, every time I come to Xi'an, I must go to the Twelve Hours, it's very fun! Highly recommended 👍



The Tang Dynasty City That Never Sleeps' principal axis landscape avenue is a pedestrian street with sculptures that stretches roughly 1,500 meters from north to south. Nine sets of themed sculptures, featuring historical personalities, epic tales, and wealthy rulers, adorn it. They depict the Tang Empire's standing in three dimensions in terms of religion, literature, art, science, and technology, and they exhibit the mannerisms of a superpower.

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda served as the model for the Tang Dynasty City That Never Sleeps. It begins in the north at Xuanzang Square, terminates in the south at Tang City Wall Ruins Park, begins in the east at Ci'en East Road, and ends in the west at Ci'en West Road. Xuanzang Square, Zhenguan Cultural Square, and Kaiyuan Celebration Square are the three theme squares it passes through. The Xi'an Concert Hall, Xi'an Grand Theater, Qujiang Cinema, and Shaanxi Artists Gallery are its four main cultural structures, and it features six blocks of the Tang style. When the Tang Dynasty City That Never Sleeps is illuminated at night, the historic structures in the shadow and light are glistening and gorgeous, giving the impression that the Tang Dynasty's glory days are resurfacing.

The games of online celebrities is gathered here, with an emphasis on showcasing vibrant, surreal, and technical sensations. Large-scale scene installations are used to create a stylish and lively interactive experience hall, making it a popular spot for young, trendy people to take pictures. Scene presentations and on-site hands-on activities in the parent-child technology area stimulate children's curiosity and creativity. It's a terrific venue for parent-child play since it combines games with experience and skill development.


Address: No. 46, Ci'en Road, Yanta District, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province

Opening hours: 24 hours a day, all year round

evaluate:

The beautiful scenery of the Tang Dynasty City That Never Sleeps is truly unforgettable! When night falls, the entire scenic area seems to have traveled back to the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, with brilliant lights and dazzling brilliance. Walking on the street, the ancient buildings on both sides are illuminated by the lights and look quaint, as if every step is taking place in the vein of history. Each of those exquisite sculptures and decorations reveals a strong cultural heritage and artistic atmosphere. Especially the performances and light shows, which vividly displayed the prosperity and glory of the Tang Dynasty, making people feel as if they were in that prosperous era, feeling the unique charm and flavor.



In the southern section of the city, at Da Ci'en Temple, is the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. During the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an City was home to the exquisite Da Ci'en shrine, a royal shrine. It was constructed by Crown Prince Li Zhi during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang as a memorial to his mother, Empress Wende, and the "first abbot" was Master Xuanzang, who had returned from a trip to the West in search of Buddhist texts. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda's construction was overseen by the master during this time.

With the founding of the "Appearance-Only School" of Buddhism and 11 years of translating Buddhist texts, Master Xuanzang established the Da Ci'en Temple as the ancestral temple of the Consciousness-Only School (also called the "Dharma-Appearance School"). The Big Wild Goose Pagoda was built during this time under the direct supervision of the master in order to house the Buddhist texts, statues, and artifacts that had been returned from India.

Most of the current halls are Qing Dynasty structures, whereas the current Da Ci'en Temple was constructed during the Ming Dynasty based on the old "West Pagoda Courtyard" temple. The Xuanzang Tripitaka Courtyard, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the Dharma Hall, and the Main Hall are the principal structures on the temple's center axis. The "treasures of the temple" of the Da Ci'en Temple include the Buddha's relics housed in the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the skull of Master Xuanzang housed in the Xuanzang Sanzang Temple.

The Pagoda Garden is located east of the temple's primary axis. The relics of nine distinguished monks from the temple's history, dating back to the Qing Dynasty, are housed in nine stupas within the garden. Da Ci'en Temple has squares on both its north and south faces. Additionally, there are picturesque locations nearby, like Tang Paradise and the Shaanxi Museum.


Big Wild Goose Pagoda


Address: No. 3, Guangchang East Road, Dayanta Street, Yanta District, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province

Business hours: Open from 08:30-18:00 tomorrow (ticket sales stop at 17:00; admission stops at 17:00)

evaluate:

Since I went during the Labor Day holiday, the place was huge and pretty crowded. We were not aware that the show schedule in the area changed during the holidays so we did not see any of the nighttime performances. I haven't been to the pagoda, but I heard the stairs are very steep.


One of China's more complete bell towers is the one in Xi'an. Its history spans more than 600 years, beginning with its initial construction during the Ming Dynasty under Zhu Yuanzhang. The Bell Tower, situated in the heart of Xi'an, is one of the old city's landmarks. From it, four streets radiate outward: the east, south, west, and north streets. These streets are connected to the Xi'an city wall's east, south, west, and north gates, respectively. The bell tower has a square base at the bottom, dark green glazed tiles on top, and actual gold wrapping around the peak. Under the lights at night, the entire bell tower is dazzling and breathtakingly beautiful.

Address: Opposite to Exit C of Bell Tower Station, Xi'an Metro Line 2, at the intersection of Xi'an Si Tiao Street, Xincheng District, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province

Business hours: Open from 08:30 to 21:30 tomorrow (ticket sales stop at 21:00; admission stops at 21:30)

evaluate:

Very nice, downtown. The viewing experience is good. The Xi'an Bell Tower is located in the center of Xi'an, at the intersection of four main streets within the Ming City Wall. It is the largest and best-preserved existing bell tower in China. .


Built in the 13th year of Hongwu during the Ming Dynasty, this Drum Tower in the heart of Xi'an is over 600 years old. Originally used as a timepiece, this edifice is today one among the historic city's many iconic structures. "A Place of Great Prosperity for Civil and Military Affairs" is written on a plaque south of the Drum Tower. They are referred regarded as the "Two Plaques of China" along with the "The Only Pass in the World" plaque at Shanhaiguan. Climbing up the Drum Tower, you can see a 1.8-meter-high drum and 24 red drums engraved with the 24 solar terms, which is quite impressive. To the north of the Drum Tower is the bustling Muslim Street, a paradise for foodies.

Address: No. 74 Beiyuanmen, Lianhu District, Xi'an

Business hours: Open from 08:30 to 21:30 tomorrow (ticket sales stop at 21:00; admission stops at 21:30)

evaluate:

The weather has been very hot recently, so it's suitable for night outings. Renting bicycles and riding around the city wall has a great view. There weren't many tourists in mid-May, and it was noon when we went there. It's too sunny. There are many young ladies in Warring States robes on it. It's a beautiful sight.



The Qin Shihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, also called the Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses, is a burial pit of the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum and is situated roughly 1.5 kilometers east of the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang. Here, almost a thousand figures of terracotta warriors were discovered, each with a unique pose and expression. You can sense the incredible force of Emperor Qin Shihuang, who overthrew the six kingdoms and brought the globe together two millennia ago, as you stand in front of the massive underground military formation. Qin Shi Huang Ying Zheng began to build his own mausoleum when he ascended the throne at the age of 13. It was a huge project that required nearly 720,000 manpower and took 38 years to build.


Address: Qinling North Road, Lintong District, Xi'an

Business hours: Open from 08:30 to 18:30 tomorrow (no admission at 17:00)

evaluate:

Hassle free booking service, had to visit everything in one day, just had to show my passport on arrival, you don't really save anything but it is a time saver. Needless to say, the visit was well worth it, as was the free bus to the soldiers and cemeteries. Make sure to go up the hill from the palace, either by foot, by ride or by ropeway.


The historical dance drama "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" is based on a lengthy poem by Bai Juyi, a well-known poet from China's Tang Dynasty. The drama tells the tale of the romance between Tang Dynasty Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Guifei, his concubine. The show was held inside Xi'an's well-known tourist destination, Huaqing Palace. The performance's backdrop was the well-known Mount Li. The stunning stage design, stunning lighting, stunning scenery, and the amazing performances of hundreds of professional actors gave the audience the startling impression that they were traveling through time.

Address: No. 38 Huaqing Road, Lintong District, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province

Opening hours: 20:10–01:35 (next day)

evaluate:

This is a famous performance that you must see when you come to Xi'an. The performance is first-class and the on-site price comparison is shocking. Whether you know the history or not, you can come and see it. Buy tickets in advance, play in Huaqing Palace, have dinner, and then it's time to watch the show. It's very convenient.



Contact Center <br>of the year 2025
Contact Center
of the year 2025
trip.com group
SkyscannerTrip
Trip.com is part of Trip.com Group Limited, one of the world's leading providers of travel services.