THE 10 BEST Cheap Things to Do in Xi'an
Best Budget-Friendly Things to Do in Xi'an
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Travelers' Choice Awards winners (including the "Best of the Best" title) are among the top 10% of listings on Tripadvisor, according to the reviews and opinions of travelers across the globe.
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59 places sorted by traveler favorites
- Things to do ranked using Tripadvisor data including reviews, ratings, number of page views, and user location.
Ancient Ruins
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Admission tickets from $54
Recommended Experiences (9)
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Points of Interest & Landmarks
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Historic Sites • Hot Springs & Geysers
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Admission tickets from $60
Historic Sites • Ancient Ruins
Historic Sites • Amusement & Theme Parks
Ancient Ruins • Points of Interest & Landmarks
Lianhu District
Points of Interest & Landmarks • Fountains
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Historic Sites • Observation Decks & Towers
Points of Interest & Landmarks • Historic Walking Areas
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Ancient Ruins • Observation Decks & Towers
Points of Interest & Landmarks • Architectural Buildings
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Showing results 1-30 of 59
What travelers are saying
- Skeney57Sydney, Australia24,648 contributionsHad three main things I wanted to experience on visiting China and they were the Forbidden City, the Great Wall & the Terra-cotta Warriors of Xi'an! Thank goodness the warriors lived up to expectations when the first two were a sad disappointment! The site was created by Emperor Qin who wanted his army to attend him in the afterlife and was discovered in the 70's by some local farmers digging a well. The site consists of Pit 1 with 6000+ Warriors & Horses, Pit 2 where they are still recovering items and Pit 3 which was the command post & home to the charioteers. Pit 2 is awaiting new techniques to recover the warriors with the minimal amount of damage and hopefully that will be available soon. There is also the Emperor's Museum with hundreds of exhibits excavated from the site plus gives the full history of the site & local culture. Pit 1 is huge and could house a Zeppelin inside! It was the highlight of the trip and worth every minute, even with the place chockers of locals & tourists alike!Written October 8, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Clive WOrpington1,956 contributionsAlthough I have visited Xi'an many times, I had never gone along the city wall. Having had a hip replacement operation in mid-May, I was determined to walk along the city wall during a conference in the city. My Chinese hosts were happy to oblige me and I took this as a challenge. I passed with flying colours, having walked 20km in one day at the start of August.
Instead of walking, we decided to hire bicycles because it was a hot day and we were on a busy sightseeing schedule! The bicycles were great though the saddle could have been a little higher. The brakes worked well and I had no fears my trousers would get caught up in the chain.
The views were magnificent either side. We cycled 50% of the wall. It is surprising to many that the wall is so wide, wide enough for 2 vehicles to pass each other with lots of room to spare. A magnificent day and thoroughly recommended. A big thanks to my Chinese friends.Written October 4, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - Lin YSingapore, Singapore74 contributionsThe atmosphere is very different from the rest of China and can see muslin influence. The main street of the Muslim quarter is very touristy though and would have a more authentic experience when walking off the main street into the smaller streets.Written September 16, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- bcheongShanghai, China48,658 contributionsCame here for a 2nd look, first time was 15 years ago. Not sure if we could enter or even climb up, we didn’t ask. But nice to know of this 1500 year old pagoda that houses items from Xuanzhang’s travels. An UNESCO site as part of the silk routeWritten March 13, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- carolinafzs dRio de Janeiro, RJ486 contributionsThe palace is beautiful and well preserved. This is an area of hot springs and you can have a bath (RMB295/person) or a feet bath (RMB50/person) while enjoying a cup of tea.
Please be sure to watch The Everlasting Sorrow show. It worths reading a bit about the Concubine Yang Guifei before the show, then you can understand it better. The show is amazing!!Written January 7, 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - Sandra J39 contributionsAn amazing museum! It is about an hour from the city center, but it was well worth the trip. We had the place to ourselves!!Written July 3, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Aviation CentralSydney, Australia48 contributionsPretty good amount of exhibitions, however it is essential to bring a mask as the air is very polluted. While in the main gallery, we saw loads of historical goods from China. The only thing that ruined our trip was the terrible attitude of the staff members.Written October 8, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Fazilah ASingapore, Singapore7 contributionsWe were shown to the staff area for ablution by the keeper of the mosque.
The grounds is pretty nice. We saw a few couples taking wedding photos on the ground a d several other ladies dresses i. Fashion of the Tang Dynasty era.
The interior of the mosque was hot as August is a hot month.
We prayed in the mosque. After which we checked out the 30 panels where the 30 juzuks / volume of the holy Quran were carved. We met the imam of the Xian Great Mosque earlier on the way. He shared the history of the mosque as printed in the book on The Great XiAn mosque. That book was gifted to me! All Praise to Allah!Written September 2, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - David MKuala Lumpur, Malaysia266 contributionsThis commercially built 'historical site' - themed park has many good angles for photo opportunities. You would expect to see couples taking their wedding photos and many poses. The night sights were worth waiting for.Written October 29, 2019This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Kyle CiullaBeijing, China347 contributionssuper cool mosque near the Muslim quarter. if you are in the area, it is worth a visit. the people here were very nice, and were very happy to see a foreigner take interest in their culture.Written April 10, 2021This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Christian MCopenhagen, Denmark6,165 contributionsYou might be among the 90% of travelers who are satisfied with taking nice photos of picturesque buildings from the outside. You don't need to wander around dusty rooms or know the entire history...
If so, head to Xi’an Bell Tower and Drum Tower, which are a few minutes apart, after dark.
Both structures are beautifully lit up and much more interesting to look at than during the day. Additionally, many Chinese girls dressed in historical costumes show up to take selfies - they are also fun to photograph.Written June 14, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - K8500BHkensSewanee4 contributionsA must see in Xi'an but the weekends are super crowded! Walk the length of the Dayan walkway, the lights are fantastic.Written March 7, 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- ClaireLouiseDerbyshire, UK342 contributionsWe wandered up and down the roads with a huge variety of foods and drinks to be tempted with, making it difficult to choose from.
It was very busy, but I did enjoy walking around the huge amount of stalls.
100% recommendWritten November 6, 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - Stephen CSingapore, Singapore1,141 contributionsThis is a museum of stone monuments and carvings. It is housed in a former Confucius temple.
You will find stone monuments and epitaphs from past dynasties here. If you understand the language, the inscriptions on some of the stones are by legendary poets.
Personally, I thought the museum can be better run. Lighting in the exhibition halls should be brighter so that visitors can read the inscriptions. They should also do a better job maintaining the stones as many of them look old and dusty. While u can understand that they would like to maintain the original look and feel, it does give one the impression that it is not well run.Written July 5, 2020This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - ThaiCookingRocksChangchun, China828 contributionsThere is much more to see here than there is at the Bell Tower, but its worth doing them both as it helps you imagine being part of Xi'an as a time when drums and bells helped dictate the life of the city from waking up, to closing and opening of the city gates.
At the Bell Tower, the inside just had lots of text panels, and pictures. Here there are many drums and drum types both inside and out. There was also a group of musicians that performed about 4-5 minus worth of music about every 45 minutes or so, and they were very good.
This is also right at the opening of the Muslim Quarter for those who want to visit there as well.Written December 27, 2020This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
