Xi'an

Pros: Extremely significant and historical place, archaeologically and anthropologically.
Cons: Winter travel is cold, the city is polluted, beware the guided tours.

Xian: The Home of Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di and His Warriors of Clay. By James P. Zaworski Caution: This is a long review where my experiences of Xian dominate the narrative! After a two-week jaunt in the cold wonders of Beijing in December ...

Pros: Terra Cotta Warriors, Small Wild Goose Pagoda
Cons: Not much else to see or do

Xi'an doesn't immediately come to mind for most people when they think of China, despite its cultural and historical significance. The city itself was established over 3,000 years ago, and served as the capital of several Chinese dynasties over the ...

Pros: The terra-cotta warriors, the city wall around Xi'an itself
Cons: Cabs like to use fixed price, people don't speak English

A short summary
This is a travelogue about the trip that my wife, Nikki, and I took to China (Beijing, Xi’an and Hong Kong) in the period from March 15th to March 29th 2003. We first spent 7 days in Beijing and we got to see the Great...

Pros: Terra Cotta Museum, Tang Dynasty dinner show, Confucian Temple, jade carving, great tour guide.
Cons: It's not really set up for independent travelers. Recommend going with an established tour.

We just came back after our first family vacation in China. Xi'An was of course on our "must-see" list due to the Terra Cotta Warriors. Since it is an excursion from Beijing, we arranged a tour through CYTS, a major Beijing travel agency. The tour ...

Pros: nice architecture (temples) and wonderful historical sites
Cons: aggressive street vendors

I have traveled extensively throughout China, most recently over the last two summers. My experiences have been breath taking and I have fallen in love with the country. Check back on me to see my opinions of all the other places I have visited including...

Pros: Great shopping, Beautiful architecture, generally terrific
Cons: hordes of street peddlers that accost tourists everywhere

Xi'an (She ann)

In a word Xi'an is "Fantastic!"

Our visit to Xi'an started with the 2,000 year old statues of the Terracotta soldier museum. The museum is made up of three pavilions which were built around the three main...

Pros: One of the Great Sights in China
Cons: None,

After leaving the "Old Passengers Waitting Lounge" in Shanghai, and passing a box "For Accusation Letters", we boarded our flight to Xian. On the plane, some of the passengers got cardboard boxes with food, others got empty cardboard...

Pros: Fascinating historical sites
Cons: No true 5 star hotel, limited western conveniences

Long before Beijing became the capital of China, Xi'an held that title. Located fairly centrally in China and reached easily by air from anywhere in the region, Xi'an provides excellent opportunities to explore China's vast history.

The city...

Pros: train travel is the best way to see China
Cons: buying tickets in Xi'an can be inconvenient

A friend recently asked me for advice in traveling by train from Beijing to Xi'an, Xi'an to Chengdu, and Chengdu to Tibet. Here's what I told him:

Taking the train is the absolute best way to travel in China, I really love it. You see so much...

Pros: culture,The Terracotta Warriors, people, weather
Cons: have to take a tour

China is one of the greatest place to visit in the world. It is a rich culture unlike any other in this world. With such a long history it is no surprise that China has such a wonderful culture and of course the people are one of the greatest...

Pros: good
Cons: good

Xian is one of China's most popular tourist destinations, attracting more than 3.5 million visitors a year. Of course, the main attraction is the incredible collection of terra-cotta warriors, which was discovered in the village of Lintong, 37 kilometers...

Pros: History
Cons: Don't know of any, except maybe heat

After having made seven trips to the People's Republic of China, I have to agree completely that, along with Beijing and Shanghai, Xi'an, a former capitol of the country, ranks at least as one of China's three best places to visit - from and educational...

Pros: Good tour, not rushed, tasty food. Great guide and Grace was very professional.
Cons: Really need at least three days. There was so much to see.

Traveled to Xian in February 2008 arriving just as the snow was gone and the temperatures were rising. Instead of booking the tour through the hotel I booked through www.chinabluefish.com and saved about 20% plus got a private car, driver and fluent ...

Pros: Terracotta Warriors, Islamic Culture
Cons: Dirty City, aggressive vendors

Xian is a fascinating place to visit, the city is quite large, but since it is walled it is difficult to get too lost. The Terra-Cotta warriors is the main attraction near the city. There are planty of tours offered by the hotels, in fact once you...

Pros: A Wonder of the World
Cons: isolated, not much else to do

OK, upfront: Xi'an is quite touristy, especially in the area around the Terracotta Warriors.

But you should still go, if you're in that part of the world.

The Terracotta Warriors are genuinely one of the wonders of the world, and...

Pros: Historical and fascinating. Great local food. Guaranteed to be MUCh different than back home!
Cons: Huge crowds, thick layer of industrial pollution, rains often, beggars and aggressive merchants

It was sometime in early August 2005 that I decided to take a trip to Xi’an. I’d been living in Thailand for a while and had recently gotten over a wicked case of food poisoning when I decided that I needed a change of scenery. My trusty friend Juny ...

Pros: We thoroughly enjoyed visiting Xi'an and intend to return next year.
Cons: The smog is terrible in the summer.

We spent two weeks in Xi'an in July 2007, visiting our daughter, who is a teacher at an international studies university there. We had a great time! The people are friendly, and there are many things to see and do. Some reviewers said Xi'an is "touristy" but that's only true in limited areas.

Of course, the terra-cotta army is a MUST. We also loved the Big Goose Pagoda, the Great Mosque, and the Daoist temple of the Eight Immortals.

Vendors were only aggressive in the area near the Bell Tower.

We found the food in most restaurants to be great, but if you get hungry for a western-style meal, there is a KILLER Italian restaurant within walking distance of the Drum Tower. It's called Il Satiro Danzante (The Dancing Satyr), is owned by a genuine Italian family, and they have a genuine Italian chef. It is an upscale place, expensive on Chinese standards, but the food is marvelous. They also have nicely appointed Western-style restrooms with hot water! soap! and paper towels!