Beijing to Xian
 

I have 8 days in Beijing and am thinking about taking one to go to Xian to see the famous terra cotta warriors. Cheapest flights (after a quick check) are on Air China. Anyone have sugegstions about this? Would it be doable in one day (fly to Xian in the AM then return that night) or other transport besides flying? Also would appreciate any advice regarding best/worst days of the week to do this.

It is easily doable, via a taxi from the airport. You could even stay overnight if you wished and fly out next morning (I stayed in the large Drum Tower Hotel in the centre of town. Cheap.) Trains are slow and expensive. Use flights. Any day as far as I remember is OK.

Trains are neither slow nor expensive, because they are overnight sleepers, so you save two nights of hotels and can have a full day in Xi'an.

Soft sleeper (4 in a room) cost just over US$50 per person. Consider that a night of hotel in Beijing will cost almost as much, you get to see Xi'an for little extra cost. I believe the Z19/20 trains on this route also has the Deluxe Softsleeper (2 in a room). They usually cost about 50% more.

Z19 departs Beijing 10:28pm, arrives Xi'an 7:58am. Z20 departs Xian 7:23pm, arrives Beijing 6:53am.

Not saying they are the best, or they are for everybody; but it's an alternative worth considering.

Thanks for the info, both.
rk - I have an apartment that is prepaid so no saving on hotel cost, but it might be fun to do an overnight train and fly back. What site did you use to get that schedule? When I checked I did not see those trains listed.

Seamus - I use the oklx.com, a Chinese-only site. Travelchinaguide.com used to have train timetables but not anymore. But the trains I listed are definitely valid.

There are other fast overnight trains between the city with prefix T or K. But the Z train is non-stop, so slighty faster. I tend to wake up when the train stops, so non-stop is better. Also, the deluxe softsleeper is probably only offered on the Z.