Xi'an - Places Nearby

Shaanxi is the most historical province in central China with its archaeological sites, ancient temples, and historical sites, the scenic splendors of the mountains, enchanting nature, and folk houses… Some below are recommended to you to explore because they are not far away from Xi'an.

Mausoleum of Chin Shi Huang

The Mausoleum of Chin Shi Huang (the first emperor of the Chin Dynasty) is situated on Mountain Lishan in the eastern suburb of Lintong County, 30km east of Xi'an.

The mausoleum was begun to build in 246B.C when the First Emperor Chin ascended the throne at the age of 13. At that time, 720,000 laborers under servitude and convicts were pressed into service to build the mausoleum. The entire project lasted for 38 years until his second son was enthroned after several years. Not only did the unprecedented all-powerful emperor leave us the great exploit through all centuries but leave the world with a mysterious mausoleum. Its organizational structure imitated the structure of the capital, and its entourage assumes the shape of the Chinese character " 回 ". An inner city wall and an outside wall were constructed to enclose the mausoleum. Presently, some bases of the surface structures such as the imperial sleeping palace, rest palace, garden, temple and official houses have been proved up.

The mausoleum was covered and rammed by the earth, and formed into three-tier steps. It makes an overturn "dou"(the ancient Chinese ladder type container, its mouth is bigger than the bottom) figure from afar. Its bottom like a square covered an area of 250,000sq.m, and was115m in the old days. But now, the bottom covered earth only covers an area of 120,000sq.m and is 87m in height because of the over-2000-year weathering. The total area of the mausoleum is 56.25sq.km. There are many pits buried with the emperor's death, apart from the terra-cotta legion pits, the bronze chariot and horse pits. For the past several decades more than 600 pits and tombs have been found around the emperor's mausoleum, such as the stone body armors pits, different dramas' clay figures pits and the satellite tombs.

The mausoleum is still a brainteaser for archeologists. But according to the records of a book Shi Ji (by a famous historiographer of the Western Han Dynasty, Shi Ji means Historical Records in Chinese), we know that the mausoleum is very giant. It was covered by copper reaching the underground coffin chamber.

The mausoleum is still a brainteaser for archeologists. But according to the records of a book Shi Ji (by a famous historiographer in the Western Han Dynasty, Shi Ji means Historical Records in Chinese), we know that the mausoleum is very giant. It was covered by copper reaching to the underground coffin chamber; The inner mausoleum was decorated with rare jewels and precious stones; Crossbows were installed automatically discharged to prevent tomb plunderers from robbing; The never go-out whale grease candles are lit in the tomb chamber; Heaven and earth are shaped in the coffin chamber; The rivers, the seas, the lakes were accumulated by quicksilver; The big pearls were inlaied in the ceiling of the tomb to symbolize the sun, the moon, and the stars. Besides, all the barren concubines of the emperor were killed to entomb with him and many tomb builders were also entombed in the tomb chamber for keeping their mouths shut. According to the scientists' research of China and the CERN (vormals Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire) in the 1980's there is more than 100 tons quicksilver in the tomb chamber. It indicates that the record is true. With that, you can imagine how magnificent the tomb chamber is.  

Visiting the Mausoleum of Chin Shi Huang, you can also find many satellite tombs there. They are built for accompanying the mausoleum. And the ministers, princesses, princes, and many other officers were inhumed there for accompanying the emperor. In 1987, the Mausoleum of Chin Shi Huang was listed by UNESCO in the Catalogue of World Heritages. It has become the common treasure of the world.

Banpo Village Site

The Valley of Yellow River is the cradle of Chinese civilization where archaeologists found some traces of ancient civilization after the establishment of the PRC in 1949. And Banpo Village is one of the typical among them.

The site of Banpo is located in the Banpo Village and is 6km away from Xi'an, which has a history of more than 6,000 years. The remains are the ancient settlement of the Banpo people. They belonged to a matriarchal community of Yangshao culture. The research of archaeologists demonstrates that the Site of Banpo Village is the most comprehensive example of an agricultural settlement of the New Stone Age in the world. This archaeological site contains the ruins of 45 houses, over 200 cellars, 6 pottery kilns, 2 livestock pens, and 247 graves (174 adult graves; 73children graves which are buried in the potteries). In 1958, a museum was built beside there to keep the instruments of production of the primitive man in Banpo Village such as the stone implements, fishing gears, stone spinning wheels, bone needles, fishhooks, leisters and many household utensils such as the stone mills and potteries, etc.

Xianyang Museum

Situated on Zhongshan Street, Xianyang City and is about 28km away from Xi'an. Xianyang was the capital city of the Chin Dynasty (221B.C.-206b.c.) and also the main location of the royal mausoleums, the tombs of the civil officials and military officers of the West Han Dynasty (206B.C.-8A.D.). Accordingly, the cultural relics exhibited in the museum are focused on the two dynasties. It covers around 1600sq.m of exhibition area and comprises six exhibition rooms.

Exhibition room 1 mainly shows the cultural relics of the Chin Dynasty, for instance, the bronzed weapons: daggers, lances, swords, halberds, metrology, etc; articles for daily use; iron bells, and some tools of production such as iron hoes and iron shovels, etc.

Exhibition room 4 focuses on the relics of the West Han Dynasty. There are iron ploughshares, iron sickles, iron hoes and so forth. These iron farm tools demonstrate that the cattle ploughed technique in agriculture was generally used in West Han Dynasty. Also, many colored pattern potteries and glaze potteries showed in the room e.g. the pottery barns, pottery animal models, and their whole bodies were made on the pottery-making rotational wheels. In addition, many eaves tiles, coins, carnelian seals, bullion and jade wares, etc. are shown in this room.

The fifth and the sixth houses the terra-cotta figures with the colored pattern. The figures supply many substantial materials for us to study the military organizational system, sculptural art and trappings of the West Han Dynasty.

Mountain Hua

The Western Sacred Mt. Hua is a famous Taoist Moutain and one of the five sacred mountains in China. It stands at an elevation of 2200 meters in Huayin City from Xi'an 120km, which is a famous state-level beauty spot.

Mt. Hua is famous for its precipitous height and breathtaking scenes. The road snakes way to the peak of the mountain is 12km, the lofty and steep cliffs always getting into the mountain climbers' sight everywhere. So there is a word goes that: "There is only one way to lead to Mt. Hua from time immemorial." Definitely, this is not to resort to sensationalism.

There are five most famous peaks on Mt.Hua, the Eastern peak (Sunrise Peak) - the best place to see the sunrise at daybreak; the Western Peak (Lotus Flower Peak)-it looks like a lotus flower at both the east and west sides, which is the most amazing and beautiful peak on the Mt.Hua; the Southern Peak（Falling Wild Goose Peak）- the highest peak among those of the Mountain; the Central Peak(Jade Maiden Peak)-a peak with a very romantic legend that a beautiful maiden was seen riding a white horse running towards the peak; the Northern Peak( Clouds Platform Peak) - its top is as even as a platform in the clouds.

The scenic spots and historical sites are great many in Mt.hua: the Taoist temples, pavilions, terraces, towers, and statuaries are found everywhere on the mountain. Some famous historic sites are Jade Spring Taoist Temple, Zhenwu Temple, Jintian Temple (White Emperor Ancestral Temple), etc.

The best travel time of Mt.Hua is from April through October. Though the climate in Mt. Hua is changeable, the seasons there are clear. In different seasons you can enjoy the wonders: Mt. Hua in the Clouds, Mt. Hua in the Rain, Mt. Hua in the Mist, and Mt. Hua in the Snow. Mounting some peaks on a special day, you can feast on the caress of this fairyland.

Mt. Li (Lishan)

Mountain Li is east of Xi'an and 24km away from there. It is very convenient to access there by bus. On Mt. Li, there are many fascinating natural wonders: the beautiful sunset, famous rocks, valleys, caves, and waterfalls cascading down, the ripple of the streams. Preserved on Mt. Li now are beacon towers, temples, palaces, pavilions, bridges, and towers…

Huaqing Hot Springs

Huaqing Hot Springs is situated on the north side food of Mt. Lishan in Lintong County, and 30km east of Xi'an. They are far-famed for the spectacular surrounding sceneries and the romantic legend of Tang Xuan Zong（an emperor of the Tang Dynasty）and his concubine Yang. In ancient times, these places are only for the emperors to bathe and relax but now they are open to the public. Visiting here, you not only can explore the many long histories of china but also feast your eyes on the beautiful scenes.

Huaqing Hot Springs can be divided into three sections. The first section has lots of constructions, for instance, the Water Lily Pavilion, Hovering Rosy Clouds Pavilion and Five Halls, of which the Stele of Eulogy to the Hot Springs is a famous masterwork of the Chinese stele art treasure trove. The middle section is the remains Museum of the Huaqing Palace Imperial Hot Springs Bathing Pool. In the spa, there are Lotus Flower Hot Spring Bath Pool, Crabapple Hot Spring Bath Pool, Prince Hot Spring Bathing Pool, Shangshi(the officer who administered food for the emperors in ancient times) Hot Spring Bathing Pool, Stars Hot Spring Bathing Pool and cultural relics' showrooms. In the west section, there are some forby things worth seeing such as the Nine Dragons Lake, Hovering Rosy Clouds Hall and the big mural - Yang Yu Huan (the name of the concubine Yang above mentioned) Received the Emperor's Summons. This mural portrays a scene in which the emperor Tang Xuan Zong was first summoned to an interview with Yang Yu Huan in the Mt. Lishan Hot Spring Palace. The mural is made up of 90 white marbles, 9.15m in length and 3.6m in high.

Famen Temple

Located in Famen Township 10km north of Fafeng County and 120km east of Xi'an, it is a Chinese famous temple that ensconces the sarīra (Buddhist relics) of the real body of Sakyamuni--the Lord Buddha.

The original temple was first built in East Han Dynasty (25-220A.D.), occupying an area of over 100mu (66,660sq.m.), with 24 compounds. It accommodated more than Buddhist monks in Tang Dynasty. In the temple, there stands a 13-storied octagonal stupa. It is a 47-meter-high resemblant timber architecture. There are 89 niches for statues of Buddha from the 1st to the 12th story. When visiting the stupa, you can see the pendentives and the jutting out eaves in each story. The emblazonry on them is viewed very ornately because they are excellent in workmanship. Besides, there are also some famous ults in the tower that can be seen.

Under the stupa is a palace, it was discovered when rebuilding the stupa in 1985. The palace is 21.2 meters long, covering an area of 31.84 square meters, including the steps paved by laying bricks, tunnels, front room, middle room, and back room. They were all fieldstone structures besides the steps. In this underground palace, many Buddhist relics were found such as gold brocades, secret color porcelains and gold plates, etc. Among the relics, the finger bone of the Lord Buddha is the most precious, which was encased in an eight-layered treasure case. These relics have made the temple enjoy a very high reputation in China.

Mountain Taibai

Mt. Taibai is a famous mountain in China since time immemorial. The highest peak is at an elevation of 3767 meters. It is teeming with ancient architecture, temples, stone steles, iron steles; iron Buddha statues, wooden statuaries, iron bells and iron furnaces. Every year, shoals of tourists come here to see the wonders: the impressive sea of clouds, the ice cave, mirror-like lakes, snowcapped peaks, hot springs, omniform granite gneisses, the splendid sea of stones, the rivers of stones, glaciers sites and lofty trees, or survey the hillsides (in June) flames with azaleas from the cable cars.

This national forest park is a natural botanical garden and zoological garden. The floristic here is about 1850. The rare single-leave grass grows on here. The high-grade herb Taibai rice and Taibai ginseng are also yielded on this mountain. It is home to more than 230 kinds of birds, 1690 species of insects and over 40 beasts, such as the rare animals: giant pandas and the golden monkeys, etc.

To visit Mt. Taibai is very convenient because there are touristry cars to get there. It is just 110km east of Xi'an. There are nineteen guest houses and one foreign hotel available there.

Shaanxi Black River Forest Park

The Shaanxi Black River Forest Park is 80km away from Xi'an, and has an area of 4941 hectares. The covering of forestry of it is 95 percent. There are three main scenic zones and over 100 scenic spots in the park. The gross forest, vagarious sculpture-like peaks, craggy rocks and green water will bring you a breathtaking sensation whenever you come here. Here you can make short distance osculation with giant pandas, golden monkeys and takins. You can admire the ancient plank road built along the cliffs and the ancient Platform for Angling. In the forest park, the road is along the river, and the river snakes her way along with the mountains. The dangerous shoals, rapids, deep lakes and glens, etc will take your breath away! There are too many things for the eyes to take in!!

Visiting the Black River Forest Park at any season is suiul for you. The diverse brilliant flowers in spring, the lush trees in summer, the red leaves that scatter over hills and dales in fall, and the spots which are all covered with pure white snow in winter will lend an unlooked-for pleasure to your trip!

Qia Chuan Beauty Spot

Qia Chuan Beauty Spot is near the Yellow River, about 170km from Xi'an and 20km east of Heyang County. It has fertile soil, a humid climate, ample water and rich products, which is an ideal place for ecotourism in the northwest of China. Here you can see an ancient architectural complex, loess hoodoo landform, epic Yellow River, famous gushing springs, the boundless reed marshes and lotus pond. Here is also home to a large variety of birds including red-crowned cranes, bustards, black marabou, swans, grey cranes, herons, and mandarin ducks, etc. This beauty spot is enjoyable year-round.

Dangjia Village

Dangjia (the family whose surname is Dang) Village is situated in Hancheng City, near the Yellow River only 3km and about 3 hours from Xi'an by bus. This village is more than 600 years old. It is a famous village with the most completely well-kept architecture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in China. And it is entitled the living fossil of the ancient traditional oriental village architecture. In this village, there are more than 100 szu-ho-yuan (four-section compound) and san-ho-yuan (three-section compound), intact fortresses, blind passes, geomantic omen tower, chasteness memorial archway, family ancestral temple, horse galloping gate towers (an arch over a gateway) and sentry towers. In addition, pedigrees of a clan and the history of the village are kept in a good condition in Dangjia Village. The streets in the village were paved with stones with the "井", "Ｔ"and "十" shapes on. Strolling along the street you can appreciate the doors with swags, woodcarving traceries, brick carvings and stone carvings. All of these seem to reflect the prosperity of this village over the past.

The village was given very high praises by many architects from the world. For example, Professor Charles Correa (Royal Institute of British Architects) said: "the world architectural culture is in China, but folk house architecture is in Hancheng". Coming here you will be filled with wonder at the sight of this village.

East Lake of Fengxiang

East Lake is in Fengxiang County, Shaanxi Province, 159km east of Xi'an. It takes about 2 hours to get there via the expressway. It goes that:" Water in West Lake, Willows on the bank of East Lake." East Lake has been considered the sister lake of Hangzhou West Lake. Its water coverage of it is about 16 hectares. It is famous for its unique natural wonders and human landscapes. The scenic spot of East Lake can be divided into three parts: the inside lake, the outside lake, and the Su Temple. Boating on the lake or roaming on the lake bank, you will be brought a quiet trip by the joggling lotus flowers, the waving willows, and the lush bamboo forest. You can enjoy the famous poems, calligraphy, paintings and carved stones by the worthies. Meanwhile, you can draw some unexpected inspiration and imagination from the meandering roads, wonder stones, terraces, studios, waterside pavilions, zigzag bridges, and broken bridges…

Qian Mausoleum

Qian Mausoleum (Qian Ling), the united tomb of Tang Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi by name) and Empress Wuzetian, lies on Mt. Liangshan in the north of Qian County, Shaanxi Province, 80km west of Xi'an. It is the best intact under protection among the 18 mausoleums of the Tang Dynasty.

Qian Mausoleum was built on hills and copied by the capital city, Chang'an. It is outside and inside the city walls. The outside wall is 40km in circumference. The inside wall, with a coverage of 2.3 million square meters, has four gates-the Blue Dragon Gate (east), the White Tiger Gate (west), the Phoenix Gate (south) and the Tortoise Gate (north).In the mausoleum, there are many large and exquisitely carved stones, such as ornamental columns, animals with wings, ostrich, lead-horse men, a mysterious stele with no characters, Stele of Record of Reporting to the Emperor and 61 foreign chieftains statuaries.

17 satellite tombs were found southeast of Qian Mausoleum. From 1960 to 1972, 5 of them were excavated. Plenty of silver and gold wares, pearls, jade wares, copper and iron wares, colored glaze, porcelain, silk draperies, lacquer woodenwares, stone inscriptions, food, frescos, painting and calligraphy etc were unearthed. All of these provide material data for the study of the politics, economy, military affairs, culture and architecture of the Tang Dynasty. So far the tombs of princess YongTai, Crown Prince YiDe and Crown Prince Zhanghuai have been opened to tourists both from home and abroad.

Zhao Mausoleum

The Zhao Mausoleum is the mausoleum of Emperor Li shi-min (598-649A.D.), the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty, which is located in Liquan County and is 80km away from Xi'an. The mausoleum is the biggest one among the 18 mausoleums of the Tang Dynasty. It was built on the mountain, with a perimeter of over 60km, covering more than 20,000 hectares, and accompanied by more than 180 satellite tombs. This mausoleum is known as the "famous mausoleum under the sun" and the biggest royal mausoleum in the world. It was taken 107 years to build according to the historical record.

In the mausoleum, there are a lot of sculptures, of which the Six Fine Steeds are the most famous. Its composition is very novel, and the carving skills are very refined. The beautiful murals on the tomb walls of the satellite tombs are reflections of the real life of the Tang Dynasty, which permeate through the romantic flavor. The calligraphy and the inscriptions on the steles are all by the famous calligraphers of the Tang Dynasty. They featured different styles and character fonts. Many color-painted pottery tomb figures with elegant shapes were excavated from the satellite tombs. They are multicolored and made with super techniques.

Now, plenty of cultural relics have been found in the mausoleum area. They are material witnesses from the early Tang Dynasty to the prosperous Tang Dynasty. This mausoleum is the best mine to learn about the politics, economy and culture of the Tang Dynasty or even those of the Chinese feudal society.

Hukou Waterfall

Hukou Waterfall (Kettle Mouth Waterfall) is a big waterfall located on the Yellow River, straddling the provincial border separating Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces in Hukou Township. It is the second biggest waterfall (the biggest is the Huanguoshu Waterfall in Guizhou Province) in China. Running to Hukou Township, the Yellow River suddenly narrows its riverbed from over 300 meters to over 50 meters. And the vast water is accumulated as a column in a trice. With an over 30 meters drop height, the mighty waterfall looks breathtaking and glamorous.

The best season to visit the waterfall is summer and winter. In summer, the rising water creates an over 100-meter misty width. This time the waterfall is full of power and grandeur; in winter, the waterfall is in a freeze-up period, countless translucent icicles hang on the waterfall, and the snow-white waterfall is very enchanting. And if you visit the waterfall at Spring Festival, you can also enjoy the waist drum performance. Yangko dance performance, Shanxi Opera performance, full-scale Chinese opera performance, and stilt performance by the hospital and humble local villagers. You can visit their cave dwellings and share their food with them. Or mounting on a hill, you can view the picturesque villages, the grazing cattle and sheep on the hillsides, the boundless terraces, smoke from the kitchen chimneys of the villages hiding in the hills…

Besides, you can enjoy its surrounding natural and cultural spots when visiting the waterfall: the Moonlit Night of the Mt. Mengmen, Guarding River Consecrated Oxen, Sailing a Boat on the Dry Land, Great Wall of Qing Dynasty, Shipside of Ming and Qing Dynasty, Toilet ul, Ancient Emplacement, and Ke Nan-po Village.

It is very convenient to visit the waterfall because you can take the bus there through it is about 300km from Xi'an. And you need not worry about the hotels you can live in that luxury which is about 30 meters from the waterfall. Or you can lodge in the villagers' house, but bear in mind when in Rome better do as the Romans do.