XI'AN · DAY TRIPS
Day trips from Xi'an
Xi'an is surrounded by Shaanxi province's Wei River plains, with mountain ranges to the south and a landscape dotted with royal burial mounds. High-speed rail connects it to Luoyang, Zhengzhou, and the Yellow Mountain area. Road trips into the Qinling Range offer cooler temperatures in summer.
Destinations within reach
Huashan
华山
- How to get there
- HSR to Hua Shan North; cable car from the base; trails for hikers
- What to see
- One of China's Five Sacred Mountains; five peaks connected by knife-ridge paths and chain-linked cliff walks; North Peak cable car is the main access.
- Why go
- The most dramatic mountain hiking near any major Chinese city; the plank road on the South Peak is a challenging scramble.
Luoyang
洛阳
- How to get there
- G trains every 30 minutes from Xi'an North; multiple daily departures
- What to see
- Longmen Grottoes (UNESCO — 100,000 Buddhist carvings); Shaolin Temple nearby; peony park (April–May).
- Why go
- Longmen is a genuine rival to the Terracotta Warriors in scale and artistry; easily paired with Shaolin.
Famen Temple
法门寺
- How to get there
- Coach from Xi'an Chengxi Bus Station; or chartered car
- What to see
- Tang dynasty temple complex housing Buddhist relics including finger bone of Shakyamuni; modern bronze museum building.
- Why go
- An important pilgrimage site with a striking contemporary museum addition.
Hanyangling Museum
汉阳陵
- How to get there
- Metro Line 1 + connecting bus; or taxi from Xi'an
- What to see
- Underground burial pits of Han Emperor Jingdi; small clay figurines (unlike Terracotta Warriors in scale but vivid in detail); excellent indoor museum with glass floor walkways over the pits.
- Why go
- Dramatically undervisited compared to the Terracotta Warriors; the glass walkway directly over the excavations is genuinely immersive.
Qinling Mountains
秦岭
- How to get there
- Chartered car; buses to Zhouzhi for Qinling Wild Animal Park
- What to see
- Mountain range dividing north and south China; forested valleys; wild giant panda habitat in Zhouzhi; Taibai Mountain for serious hikers.
- Why go
- Cooler by 8–10°C than Xi'an in summer; good birding and hiking with none of the cultural-site crowds.
Xianyang Ancient Tombs Area
咸阳陵墓群
- How to get there
- Bus from Xi'an Chengxi station; chartered car
- What to see
- Cluster of Han dynasty royal burial mounds on the plateau north of the Wei River; Maoling Museum for Han Emperor Wu.
- Why go
- The tomb mounds are visible for miles across flat farmland — a strikingly different scale from Xi'an's urban sites.
Zhouzhi Giant Panda Centre
周至国家级自然保护区
- How to get there
- Chartered car strongly recommended
- What to see
- Wild giant panda habitat and Qinling subspecies conservation; guided tours of the natural forest zone.
- Why go
- One of the few places to learn about Qinling pandas — a different subspecies to those seen in Chengdu.
Verified May 2026