3-Day Beijing to Xi'an Train Tour: Private China Highlights

Summary

DAY 1 Beijing: Tian'anmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of heaven
DAY 2 Beijing—Xi'an by Train: Mutianyu Great Wall, Train to Xi'an
DAY 3 Xi'an: Terracotta Warriors, Ancient City Wall, Muslim Quarter

Day 1 Arrive in Beijing

Welcome to Beijing. Your guide meets you in the airport arrivals area holding a Your Way Holiday sign, and a driver takes you by car to your hotel. This is the first day of a trip that pairs Beijing with Xi'an by high-speed rail. Rather than rush into sightseeing, the plan settles you in: check-in, a short briefing with your guide on the days ahead, and time to adjust. If you arrive early your guide can suggest a light walk nearby; if you land late, the day rests and the schedule starts the following morning.

Tian'anmen Square

Your first stop is Tian'anmen Square, one of the largest public squares in the world, covering about 440,000 square metres (roughly 109 acres) and open enough to hold up to a million people at once. It has been a focal point of modern Chinese history. On the south side stands the Tiananmen Gate, the place from which Mao Zedong announced the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Your guide walks you across the open granite to the gate, the flagpole and the flowerbeds that line the square, and times the visit around the flag-raising ceremony held each day at sunrise.

The Forbidden City

After lunch the tour moves to the Forbidden City, the imperial palace through the Ming and Qing dynasties, today run as the Palace Museum. This itinerary lists it among the world’s five major palace complexes, beside Versailles, Buckingham Palace, the White House and the Kremlin. The grounds cover about 720,000 square metres (177.9 acres) and hold some 8,700 rooms, ringed by a red wall about 3,400 metres long. Building ran from 1406 to 1420, fourteen years, and the site was listed as a World Heritage property in 1987.

Temple of Heaven

The last sight today is the Temple of Heaven, where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties held rites to the heavens. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is a round timber hall raised without nails, and the Circular Mound Altar is the open terraced platform on which the winter solstice ceremony was performed. Along the side walls runs the Echo Wall, which carries a whisper around its curve. In the park your guide points out old cypress trees, some more than 500 years old, and explains the layout, read as heaven above and earth below.

When the visit ends your driver takes you back to your hotel and your guide helps with check-in. The evening is yours: your guide can point you to a restaurant nearby, or leave you to rest. The group leaves Beijing tomorrow for Xi'an by train, so tonight is mainly about rest and a final look at the city on your own.

Day 2 Beijing—Xi'an by Train

Mutianyu Great Wall

Your guide picks you up from the Beijing hotel this morning and drives out to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. There is a well-known saying that anyone who has not climbed the Wall has not really seen China; Mutianyu is one of the most completely preserved stretches to climb it on. The section once formed part of the northern defence protecting the capital and the Ming imperial tombs. Here the wall runs over wooded hillsides and open pasture that change colour through the seasons, and you can walk a length of the ramparts at your own pace before returning to the car.

Xi'an by high-speed train

Leaving Mutianyu, your driver takes you to the Beijing railway station for the high-speed train to Xi'an. On arrival, a local Xi'an guide waits at the station exit with a Your Way Holiday sign, helps with your luggage, and drives you to your hotel. On the way the guide gives a short introduction to Xi'an and its history and outlines what to expect over the next days, and is on hand for questions or restaurant suggestions once you are settled.

Day 3 Xi'an

Terracotta Warriors

This morning the drive heads out of Xi'an, about an hour east, to the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China. The Terracotta Army is a collection of life-sized clay soldiers, horses and chariots made around 210 to 209 BCE and placed underground beside the emperor for the afterlife. Across the excavation pits you can follow the rows of figures up close and see how each face and piece of armor differs from the next. It is one of the most important archaeological finds of the twentieth century, and your guide explains how the pits were uncovered and how the work is being conserved.

The Qin Mausoleum

The burial complex does not stop at the warrior pits. The tomb mound of the first emperor rises nearby as part of the same necropolis, and although the central burial chamber has never been opened, the scale of the surrounding site conveys what the emperor expected to take with him into the afterlife. From here you can see how the warriors, the ancillary pits and the mound were planned as a single funerary arrangement rather than separate stops.

Xi'an City Wall

Back in the city, the last monument of the day is the Xi'an City Wall, one of the oldest, largest and most completely preserved city walls in China. The ramparts you see today were largely raised during the Ming dynasty on the line of earlier fortifications, and they form a near-complete circuit around the old town. The top of the wall is broad and walkable; many visitors hire a bike and ride along part of the loop to take in the scale, while the full circuit on foot would take about half a day. Standing on the wall gives a clear sense of the layout of the old city and its defenses.

Muslim Quarter

The day ends in the Muslim Quarter of the old city, a historic neighbourhood known for its narrow lanes and its food. Stalls and shops here sell spices, dried fruit, breads and cooked dishes alongside textiles and small souvenirs, and your guide points out the places locals are known for. It is a good spot to try roujiamo, a crisp sesame bread filled with seasoned minced meat, and to pick up something to eat as you wander. The quarter is easy to explore on foot and makes a relaxed last stop before you head off.

When the tour draws to a close, your driver takes you back to your Xi'an hotel or to the train station for your onward journey. Let your guide know in advance which drop-off you need, and the transfer is arranged around your departure time, with help for your bags and time for any last questions on the way.

Price Per Person in US Dollars