Xian Travel Guide
From Wikitravel
Xian (西安 Xī'ān), or officially, Xi'an, pronounced roughly she-ahn, is an historic city in Shaanxi Province, China.
Contents |
Understand
Xian served as the capital of China for over 1000 years and was home to thirteen dynasties. It was also the Eastern terminus of the ancient Silk Road.
Although due to warfare and constant political changes throughout the ages, not much of its former glory remains in the city and most visitors find Xian a rather grimy industrial city.
Get in
Xian has an international airport to the northeast of the city (Xi'an XianYang International Airport). This is around 25 km away from the city centre.
Most people use taxicabs or the airport bus to reach town from the airport. Be careful though, one of the airport buses (from the airport to the Drum Tower) will try their absolute best to sell you expensive plane tickets and then upon getting off the bus you'll be hounded by a few dozen more touts and a large concentration people begging for money that were all seemingly waiting for you to get off that bus. It's probably best to avoid this route and take the bus to the train station instead.
By train
There are plenty of trains transporting passengers to and from most of the major cities inside China. Located at the center of China, it often takes one day to travel from Xian to other cities by train.
By car
Traffic is heavy, right of way is unheard of, the rule of thumb is keep going no matter what (although drivers do note red lights).
By bus
Orientation
The city is surrounded by a city wall, in its middle the Bell Tower (钟楼 Zhōnglóu). From this one, the four main streets descend into the four points of the compass.
- North-Street (北大街 Běidàjiē)
- East-Street (东大街 Dōngdàjiē)
- South-Street (南大街 Nándàjiē)
- West-Street (西大街 Xīdàjiē)
Don't get confused by different names in tourist guides, addresses and bus stops: Nandajie; Nanda-Street, South-Street; South-Avenue... are all the same.
Locals often speak about Within city walls and Outside city walls when talking about locations. Outside the walls, the southern part is the most interesting: it offers shopping streets, bars and some nightlife.
Get around
There are plenty of Buses departing everywhere in short-intervals (main lines every 5-10 minutes). If you are not confident enough with orientation, or if you don't liked packed busses, the cheap taxis are the best alternative, broadly available, except for rush hours.
By train
A subway system is planned for Xian running east to west. It will have a total length of 26.22 km, including 15 stations. As of 2004, Line 1 will be not be completed till 2009.
By bus
There are busses leaving regularly for the Terracotta Warrior museum in front of the Xi'an bus station (opposite the train station, within the city walls). Look for line number 306, it will take you to a parking lot right in front of the museum site within 40 minutes. A one way ticket costs 7RMB.
Regular busses within the city cost 1RMB (2RMB for air-conditioned, marked with a snow-flake) no matter how far you go.
By taxi
Watch the taxi drivers in Xian as the industry is not regulated as it is in other larger cities like Beijing. You may find yourself being taken on a long ride around town to get where you are going. It can also be difficult to convince them to take you anywhere - even to the railway station, if in doubt get your hotel or hostel to write down the place you want to go in Chinese. Trips within the city walls are generally in the 6RMB range; longer trips to the attractions south of the city are in the 12-20RMB range.
Some taxi drivers in Xian won't take you seriously when you tell them that you want to go somewhere and will drive off without you getting in.
By bike
Fortunately Xian's main sites (with the notable exception of the Terracotta Warriors) are bunched fairly close together, so renting a bike is a good option. Be wary of the narrow streets and cars that squeeze you out of the way.
See
- Army of Terracotta Warriors (兵马俑 Bīng mă yŏng). Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987, this is one of China's most famous tourist attractions, the 8000 statues of soldiers are part of the tremendous mausoleum of China's first Emperor. Take bus 306 from the central bus station. Alternatively, most hostels run tours to the warriors with an English speaking guide. These aren't necessarily better, be prepared to spend a good portion of the day (as with any Chinese tour) visiting "terra cotta factories," "museums" and other tourist traps. But, you will get to your destination without dealing with the bus (the warriors are quite far outside of town) and not all of the public buses that go there are legitimate.
The museum of Army of Terracotta Warriors has three sections, and covers an area of 16,300 square meters. It was listed the world cultural heritages by UNESCO in 1987.
- Hua Qing Pools (华清池 Huáqīngchí), a palace with pools built around hot springs also site of the Xian incident with the bullet holes still preserved.
- Mao Ling Mausoleum, the tomb of the fifth emperor of the Han Dynasty has many stone carvings
- Shaanxi Provincial Museum, many artifacts dating back to the Bronze Age are on display
- Forest of Steles (西安碑林 Xīān Bēilín)
- Big (Wild) Goose Pagoda (大雁塔 Dà Yàntǎ). Built by Emperor Gaozongin 648 AD. Take bus No 41 or No 610 from the main train station.
- Little (Wild) Goose Pagoda (小雁塔 Xiǎo Yàntǎ). Completed in 709 AD. Take bus 203 from the South Gate.
- Drum Tower （鼓楼 Gǔlóu） and Bell Tower （钟楼 Zhōnglóu） right in the centre
- The Mosque (清真寺 Qīngzhēnsì) behind Drum Tower built in the Chinese architecture style and the Muslim Street (回民街 Huímín Jiē) around it.
- Hu Kou Waterfall (壶口瀑布 Húkǒu Pùbù) located 150km north of Xian, private transportation recommended; can be combined with a day trip to Huang Di Mausoleum
Do
- Walk along the City walls and see the South Gate (南门 Nánmén) (illuminated at night)
- Walk through the Hui Muslim Quarter (回民街 Huímín Jiē) sampling food
Learn
Work
Foreigners, no matter what age or any mother-tongue, can easily find jobs as English teachers, for example at Kid Castle or Aston English.
Buy
Souvenirs
- If you are visiting the terracotta warriors, be prepared to meet some of the most hardcore hawkers you are likely to meet anywhere. If you keep quiet, they will usually bargain themselves down in front of you in desperate pleas for your money. Buy a 15cm Terracotta warrior for 5-10RMB even if they offer it to you for 45RMB. Wood-carved Buddhas and Dragons for about the same. They are fortunately kept at a distance from the actual site. Many travelers report enjoying this experience. It's definitely not a reason not go see the Terracotta Warriors.
- The best place to buy souvenirs in the city centre is behind the Drum Tower in the Muslim Quarter (around the Mosque). The seller usually offers you a very high price, and even if you bring them down by 50%, they will still make a big profit. This is also a good place to buy folk art, specifically folk style block prints in a single shop which go for about 50RMB if you can stand bargaining when the older gentleman artist himself is standing right there.
Clothes
Xi'an is amazingly cheap for clothes
- The East-Street (Dongdajie, the eastern of those 4 big ones descending from the central Bell Tower) has regular fashion shops
- The fancier one is the South-Street (Nandajie) with fine shops for clothes & shoes (f.ex. Louis Vuitton).
- Local youngsters buy in Baihuo-Market（百货市场）in Xiaozhai (小寨)，10RMB by Taxi from the centre. It's one of those fake-brand-markets. Sport shoes should be less than 150, pullovers and nice jeans sometimes less than 100, a lot of cheap fashion accessories. This is also a great place for DVDs and CDs, but be careful, most of them are pirate ones.
Eat
Yang Rou Pao Muo is one of the signature dishes of the area, it consists of a piece of bread and a kettle of lamb soup. The diner shreds the bread with his hands and places the shreds in a bowl, the soup is then poured over the shreds
The Muslim Quarter is located close to the Drum tower and is a vibrant area with many restaurants spilling out onto the street and mixing with the street sellers
Street food (mostly sold after sunset, or some near night clubs/bars after 11PM) presents a variety of local/regional dishes, ranging from noodle soups, dumplings, hot pot, Rou Jia Mo (sandwich like, with pork, beef or lamb, must try), by tens of little food vendors on street side, each with a red lamp. Most common mid-night snack in Xi'an is basket-steamed dumplings (one basket 3RMB), say "Yi long bao-zi" or jsut point.
Vegetarian
- To the west of Da Yan Ta square is Tian Long Boa Vegetarian Restaurant. They do amazing fake meat dishes such as kao rou and chicken feet!! They have an easy to order from picture menu.
- Xiao Zhai Da Xing Shan Temple also has a vegetarian restaurant with dishes similar to to thos on offer at Tien Long Boa. There is no English on the menu, but choose and point works well.
Budget
A good way if you don't want the expensive hotel food or just want to try real Chinese cuisine, is to simply go into a small restaurant and point on your the dish somebody else is having and you will get a Meal for less than 10RMB (seldom 20RMB) per person.
- Wen Xin Jiaozi Guan (温馨饺子馆) is a good cheap place for Jiaozi（dumplings,if you speak Chinese. There is no menu, but endless suplies of fresh jiaozi of many flavors, from 4 or 5 RMB a bowl. It is at 123 Xushimiao jie, next to the Good World Hotel, off of Lian Hu Lu.
Mid-range
McDonalds, Pizza Hut, KFC or its Chinese brother Dicos are widely available within city walls for a change of the daily Chinese cuisine.
- Highfly Pizza (高飞), located a bit down the right street after coming out of South Gate (南门), offers best Pizza and other western food in town.
Splurge
- La Seine, french style restaurant recently opened at NanDaJie (南大街) near Bell Tower
Drink
Clubs in Xian are poor since going out is not affordable for the most local citizens. All clubs play the same music, a mix of Chinese disco and some Italodance, but it might slowly get better in future. But for now, don't expect latest charts or hiphop music. Most people go out from 10 p.m. and 1 a.m., but clubs are generally open until 4 a.m.
- Along the short Nandajie (南大街) are the most clubs (you can also eat on the street after late midnight). You will easily find the MIX (big light ad) and its neighbour Palando. Both are rather places to sit and drink. If you want a dance floor, go along towards South Gate, on the same side there are first Night Cat with some foreigners and OK-DJs and Kulala.
- The most popular club remains 1+1 (pronounced "yi-jia-yi" for the taxi driver）in the middle of Dongdajie (东大街) The club has 3 dance floors: first floor is mostly hiphop music, second floor is mostly techno and third floor is for slow jam music.
- In summer time, the area around South Gate (南门) is beautiful. East of it are three nice bars with terrace and garden.
Sleep
Xian is by no means cheap. A regular single room at a hotel will gouge you from 250 yuan and up. However, there are many low priced budget hostels starting as low as Y30 for a dorm bed, so if you're on a budget be sure to check around.
Budget
- 3e Hotels International, 54 Nandajie (located between the South Gate and the Bell Tower, right next door to a KFC on the West side of the street). An absolutely beautiful single room with all the fixings and free broadband internet is 154 yuan. A plus is that right outside the door is a REAL COFFEE shop!
- Ludao Binguan, 80 XiBa Lu {PH 8742 0308}(a couple blocks South and West of the train station, on the South side of the street). A nicer-than-average hotel and hostel. Dorm rooms are between 25-50 RMB, depending on the season and your bargaining skill. You can also get a reasonably nice hotel room for around 75 RMB, again depending on your bargaining skills.
Mid-range
Splurge
- Grand Mecure at Renmin Square A few blocks north of the Bell and Drum Towers. If you are willing to pay the exhorbitant price (for China) of about 500 RMB, this hotel treats you to accomadations as good as any in the world: first-class rooms, facilities (including pool, game room, gym, spa, etc), several wonderful restaurants, a great morning buffet and very helpful staff.
Contact
Stay safe
Xian is, like other Chinese cities, generally quite safe. Just watch out for pickpockets (usually children) in crowds.
Cope
Look at the Beijing site advisories, they apply to Xi'an, too. Most importantly, take paper tissues with you for toilets.
Get out
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