Travel to Xian. After breakfast, you will have the chance to enjoy a hands-on noodle-making demonstration (optional, payable locally) before transferring to the Pingyao train
station to board your 3-hour bullet train to Xian, the former ancient capital. On arrival, transfer to your hotel for check-in.
Please note you will need to carry your luggage on and off the trains.
Destination Information
Xian–Xian has long played a pivotal role in China’s extensive history and has been a thriving hub for cultural exchange, economic trade as well as national politics for centuries. Home to some of China’s most ancient sights, diverse architecture, and delicious fares, Xian is a must-see destination.
Strewn with the high-rises you find in any modern city, yet girded by stately Ming-era walls, the city formerly known as Chang’An was once the heart of China’s empire and the endpoint of the Silk Route. Today, despite encroaching globalization (Xian seems to have a thing for swish shopping malls), something of its past prestige remains. The city’s central rectangle is fenced in by orderly ramparts dating back to 1370. They’re punctuated here and there by watchtowers and illuminated dramatically at nightfall. Within the walls, you’ll find wide-open squares with flowerbeds, parks, and the imposing, triple-storied Ming Bell and Drum Towers.
Once it had fallen from grace as the seat of the Chinese Empire, Xian became a relative backwater. Then, in 1974, some local farmers discovered an extraordinary underground cache: a life-size militia of hundreds of clay warriors (all a uniform shade of brown: their original bright paintwork fades on contact with air). The Terracotta Army, as it’s now known, was created at the behest of Emperor Qin Shi Huang to accompany him in the afterlife. It’s situated in its own dedicated museum complex about an hour’s drive out of the city.
Breakfast – Lunch – Dinner
