Xian - How many days do you need to sightsee??
 

Did a search and there isn't anything recent on the city of XIAN, China. Planning a trip to Beijing mid August with a side trip to XIAN. Flights from SIA to PEK are only in the morning. So if I flew over from PEK do I need 1 night or 2. Is there enough to see that warrants two nights?

Any help would be appreciated.

Morning only flights? Xian code is XIY not SIA my feeling is go to Xian early day#1 arrival Ck into hotel do tour around old city (city wall, bell towers, markets) overnight, then early AM all day tour to Terracotta Warriors site & Museum return to Xian for second nite next AM arise ck out & go to airport for return to PEK.

If you want quick trip to Xian to just see Terracotta Warriors can do one day no overnight on weekday go PEK/XIY Air China Flt#1203 Dep7:30/Arr9:15, Return China Eastern Flt#2105 XIY/PEK Dep17:40 Arr21:10. You can arrange land portion in XIAN with CITS(China International Travel Service) in USA or when you get to PEK

We did two nights and one day, that was plenty for the Terracotta warriors and all the other attractions of Xi'an. Stayed at the Hyatt, which was a decent hotel and while not super-luxurious, was quite nice and clean and clearly the best in town.

at least 2 nights. one full day to the terracota,
another day (can split to halves) around the city, see the city walls, temple, etc.

We stayed two nights and were glad we did. I think the terra cotta warriors and ban po are a good combination for a full day. Note though that ban po (http://english.ctrip.com/Destination...?Resource=1441) (very ancient ruins) is probably only for the most die hard history buffs or sinophiles.

Other highlights in Xian were
-the city wall
-the "forest of the steeles (really nice!) (http://english.ctrip.com/Destination...?Resource=1439)
-both Goose Pagodas (I prefer the small one) (http://english.ctrip.com/destination...?resource=1442 & http://english.ctrip.com/Destination...?Resource=5418)
-the drum tower & the bell tower (http://english.ctrip.com/Destination...?Resource=1450)
-the mosque (http://english.ctrip.com/Destination...Resource=18279)
-Huaqing pool http://english.ctrip.com/Destination...?Resource=1443
I probably forgot some too.

I stayed at the Hyatt which was nice, if not somewhat dated. On my next trip I have been giving a lot of thought to staying here:
http://english.ctrip.com/Destination...?resource=1403


FYI, I know the official code is XIY but when i went about a year ago SIA printed on my tickets. Go figure.

btw, must try the
"lamb souped buns" there (mostly found in shabby stores on the street, but given the high steam it is cooked you should not worry about the hygiene), maybe RMB 5 or 10 for a dozen. they are better than "xiao long bao"

also the "lamb barbecue on a stick" is more original than those in beijing.

XIY is between Xian and Xiangyang (the capital of Qin Dynasty). Remind the driver to show you the various Tang tombs by the airport higway.

i stayed at the hyatt as well, not bad. clinton stayed there when he visited :). there is also a shangi-la, about the same age; and a newer sheraton outside the city wall.

We stayed two nights. We found it was so much to take in in one night. The Terracota warriors are unbelievable.

Unlike some of the others here, I actually prefer to keep Xian visits short and sweet. FYI, my favorite attraction in Xian is the Banpo archeological site:

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attr...xian/banpo.htm
http://www.orientaltravel.com/provin...npo_Museum.htm

Any idea what's the cheapest roundtrip price for PEK-XIY?

Air China site is showing rates of 840-1580 RMB for this summer, but I can't figure out if that's one-way or roundtrip. Most of the booking site is in Chinese (and I can't get the China Eastern site to display the English version) and my in-house translator is at school. :) Thanks.

usually around 500 each way. best to book 2-7 days before you fly.

We were in Xi'an for 8 days and enjoyed every minute of it.

As noted, the terracotta warriors are a full day, and should include a stop at the Qin emperor's tomb as well as some other nearby sights.

There is much to see within Xi'an itself, including the city walls (Xi'an is the only walled city in China with a fully-intact city wall), the Small and Large Wild Goose Pagodas, an excellent museum, an ancient Mosque (Xi'an has a large Muslim community -- the Muslim restaurants offer the best food in Xi'an, in my opinion, and the Muslim neighborhoods are fascinating to walk around), and Tang Paradise -- a cultural park built primarily for tourism by Chinese, not westerners, that recreates the architecture and feel of a Tang city.

How you travel is a personal decision, but we're of the school that doesn't like to rush through things and we enjoy spending enough time in a location to get a real feel for it. I was done with a cold for one full day in Xi'an, so our visit was shortened, but there were still things we would have like to have done for which we didn't have time.