ryanleewq

Traveling to Xi'an from Beijing as part of my China trip in April. Will 3.5 days be enough to comfortably cover the main highlights at a semi-relaxed pace? I will be arriving 11:20am by train from Beijing on the first day.

I have already allocated a day each for Mount Hua hike and Terracotta Army, which leaves me with 1.5 days to cover off the main highlights of the city. From what I gather, these are the "must-see" attractions:
- Great Mosque
- City Wall
- Muslim Quarter
- Drum and Bell Towers
- Big Wild Goose Pagoda

On the topic of Mount Hua, I am considering between the below 2 trails and would like some advice on amount of time required for each, difficulty and whether the plank walk plus other similarly dangerous sections can be avoided? From what I gather, either trail can be completed in a single day.
- Trail 1: Tourist Center - West Peak Cableway - West Peak - South Peak - East Peak - Central Peak - West Peak - West Peak Cableway - Tourist Center
- Trail 2: Tourist Center - West Peak Cableway - West Peak - South Peak - East Peak - Central Peak - North Peak - North Peak Cableway - Tourist Center

pathsunwritten

I can't speak to Mt Hua, but you can certainly do the rest in the time you've allotted. Although, I would recommend another day just to explore the city without knocking off tourist sights -- It really is an interesting city. I would also recommend the Shaanxi History Museum that's nearby the Big Goose Pagoda.

jacketwatch

If I recall correctly, we had around three or four days there and that was fine. You should be fine.

I forget which one but I think the climb to one of those towers is about 108 steps. Just want to let you know if you want to go to the top that’s what it takes.

CaliforniaLady

Three full days in Xi' An should be sufficient: One day for the city itself, another day for the Terra Cotta Warriors along with other sites outside the city, and a third day for Huashan (Hua mountain).

Climbing Huashan continues to be one of my favorite travel experiences. You know those old Chinese paintings with beautiful steep mountains? That's what the scenery looks like. We were there in 2007, so my information may be outdated, but here's what we did. We had a driver from the Hyatt take us there, and we did not have a hiking guide. We found a nice Chinese girl who attended college in Montreal, and her dad, and they invited us to go along with their small tour group. If it weren't for them, we would have been confused about which way to go on the trails. I don't remember which cable car we took, we just followed along with our adopted tour group. We did see five peaks total, and it did take quite a while, as I recall. So from the hotel and back, I think it was most of the day.

When we arrived at the ticket office, they were selling life insurance policies. The mountains are pretty scary looking, but there are metal chains to keep you from falling. The chains were quite rusty, so be sure and take those North Face E gloves to protect your hands. We didn't plan ahead, so our adopted tour group members loaned us some gloves. If ever there was a time that I wished we had a hiking guide, this was it. If you don't have someone familiar with the trails, you are likely to get confused.

All in all, in was an unforgettable experience.

fufu7755

Leave some time to taste Xi'an's delicious food and snacks, which are very unique.