Rail connection will prolly open in June 2019.

From Xi'an North Sation (Beikezhan), it takes 40 minutes and 25 yuan for the airport bus. Taxi or didi will be around 75 yuan.

If you're referring to the Novotel opposite the Sheraton, the Xi'an North Station airport bus will be the most convenient. That said, I would still go for the taxi just to avoid the hassle.

Great, thanks - yes, it's the Novotel by the Sheraton. I'll see how adventurous I'm feeling, but probably go for a taxi from the airport then. Thanks!

We were just in Xi'An a couple of weeks back.

Yes, the Terracotta warriors won't take the entire day. For us, we took a taxi from our hotel (Sheraton Xi'An North) to the main Xi'An railway station. From there, we found the bus area, where they had tourist buses (at least 2 different companies) plying this route. Bus fare was inexpensive, I think 7 or 8 RMB. The conductor accepts cash. The bus, airconditioned, will bring you all the way to the Terracotta warriors (there are stops along the way, but don't get down). Everybody has seats. The ride can be as long as an hour though.

Made this video which also has some footage of the place to catch the buses. Hope this is useful.

The Metro to the airport wasn't opened when we were there in mid May 2019. We asked the taxi driver, who told us that he didn't know when they would open. Apparently, during construction of the airport station, they found some archaeological remains. Of course, I couldn't verify his statements.

Rail connection not open still (June). I can't see any evidence that it will happen soon. Construction happens quickly in China, and there is a lot of road construction / reconfiguration around the terminal, in preparation I infer. But in the country side there are only a handful of disparate pylons that I can see. Maybe the archaeological remains story is correct.

My oldest will be in Xi'an as an exchange student soon, so we have been looking for videos to get some of the flavor. He's been to Korea before, but this will be his first time in China. We found a few that I thought were interesting for various reasons.

This one was nicely produced and edited:


We found others made by a Canadian expat who focuses on the food:



Looks like it will be fun.

A few posts up, someone suggests a Ramada as being best-located to all the sites. Usually, when choosing a hotel, I go with location. Still, I collect points in all the chains: IHG, Hilton, Marriott, and Accor. Always a tough decision between the usual and the convenient.

Convenient is determined by context, i.e. it depends on what you are doing.

For touring the city, the Ramada is decently situated. But for touring, you can also collect points with similar convenience (HIX bell tower, Sofitel peoples square). When your meeting is at one particular place, though, then it is harder to justify choosing something just for the brand.

I just stayed at the HIE Bell Tower. It's a few steps from the airport bus terminus (Bell Tower Hotel), very close to the subway stop (Bell Tower), and within a 10 minutes' walk to the Muslim Quarter, decent shopping, and one of the more remarkable nouveau Shaanxi-cuisine restaurants at Shuyuanmen. The Ramada is located a little farther away, north of the Bell Tower. But HIE is still HIE. The rooms are small and the service is plain -- the norm.

I tend to stay at non-branded hotels in the same area because they are little cheaper, but location is key.

I think there is no need in apostrophe when we talk in English, it will be read accurately anyway

西安 is two characters/syllables, so the apostrophe helps differentiate it from the ~10 Chinese characters that are romanized as "xian".

Any recent experiences? I am planning a trip in May 2020 to include Xi'an, will be coming from Beijing via train.

Digging this thread up as looking to head to Xian around 8th December for a whirlwind tour. Arriving about 19:30 to the airport Friday evening (with Hold luggage), and departing 13:30 on the Sunday, so essentially will have the Saturday and a couple of hours Sunday morning to see stuff.
Saturday AM Clearly the Terracotta warriors are top of the list
Saturday PM there are a few options: Huaqing Palace or Big Wild Geese Pagoda ( is doing both possible?)
Sunday AM Maybe bell tower and city walls?

Seen comments that its easiest to just get a driver, is this still the case?

Potentially keep close to the center on Sunday and walk the city walls?

Any good places to eat?

From Previous comments I'm looking at the Novotel (i.e close to the bell tower).