カスタムツアーとは — Xi'an?
A custom Xi'an tour enters the Terracotta Army museum at 8:30 a.m. when it opens, before the tour groups reach the pits — Pit 1 is best in the first 30 minutes when the light is on the army and the crowds haven't built. The Muslim Quarter is best at 7 a.m. for the morning flat bread baking. Ride the city wall at dawn by bicycle (the rental is at the South Gate, opens 7 a.m.). The Shaanxi History Museum holds the Tang dynasty gold and silver artifacts that require context before the Terracotta Army makes complete sense.
Xi'an was the capital of China for 1,100 years across 13 dynasties — the starting point of the Silk Road, the capital of the Han dynasty (from 206 BC) and Tang dynasty (618–907 AD, when Chang'an was the largest city on Earth with 1 million inhabitants), and home to the buried army that guards the First Emperor of China. The Terracotta Army (discovered 1974, still being excavated) consists of 8,000 soldiers, 670 horses, and 130 chariots arranged in battle formation in underground vaults beneath the tumulus of Qin Shi Huang — the emperor who unified China in 221 BC, standardized weights, measures, currency, and writing, and built the first version of the Great Wall. No two soldiers are identical.
The city within the Ming-dynasty city walls (the most complete ancient city wall in China — 13.7km perimeter, 12m high, wide enough to drive a car along) contains the Muslim Quarter (Huimin Jie), home to the Hui Muslim community whose ancestors were the Silk Road merchants and traders who stayed in Chang'an. The Great Mosque (742 AD, Tang dynasty, rebuilt in Chinese architectural style) is the oldest mosque in China still in active daily prayer. The biang biang noodles of Xi'an (the character for 'biang' is the most complex Chinese character, with 58 strokes) are the Silk Road's contribution to Chinese food culture.
March–May and September–November are optimal: temperatures 12–25°C, clear air, and the spring blossom in the Tang Paradise garden. Summer (June–August) is hot (38°C) but the rice paddies around the Terracotta Army site are green. Tours start at €2,400 per person. The direct high-speed train from Beijing takes 4.5 hours; from Shanghai, 6 hours.
ベストシーズン — Xi'an?
おすすめの月は April–May, September–October. 月別の計画メモをご覧ください。
おすすめ体験 — Xi'an
地元オペレーターが厳選した体験の数々。すべてのカスタムツアーにこれらの一部、またはさらに良いものが含まれます。
サンプル旅程
2つの出発点 — 実際の旅程は完全オーダーメイドです。ここから組み立てます。
7日間クラシック
- 1日目 1: Arrival & Muslim Quarter EveningXi'an North station (the high-speed rail hub, 30 minutes from the city center by metro). Muslim Quarter (Huimin Jie) in the evening — the street food of the Hui Muslim community: rou jia mo (the 'Chinese hamburger' — braised pork or beef inside a toasted flat bread, the Xi'an street food that has been made for 2,000 years), yang rou pao mo (lamb soup with hand-torn flat bread, eaten by tearing the bread into tiny pieces and soaking in the broth — the minimum tearing time is 20 minutes), and the biang biang noodles (wide flat noodles, hand-torn, with chili oil and minced meat). Your food guide navigates the pedestrian quarter.
- 2日目 2: Terracotta Army at 8:30 a.m.45 minutes east of Xi'an by tourist bus: the Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum complex, with the three Terracotta Army pits as the peripheral guard force. Enter at 8:30 a.m. when the gates open. Pit 1 (the largest: 230m x 62m, approximately 6,000 soldiers in battle formation, visible from the elevated walkway above the excavation) has the most dramatic first impression before the tour groups fill the walkway. Pit 2 (the cavalry and archer units, partially excavated, with display cases of individual figures) and Pit 3 (the command headquarters) require less time. Your Qin dynasty historian explains what the army was for — not to defend the emperor in the afterlife as commonly stated, but as the projected power of the empire's military organization in the underworld.
- 3日目 3: City Wall Bicycle Circuit at DawnThe Xi'an city wall (Ming dynasty, 1370–1378) is the most complete ancient city wall in China — 13.7km perimeter, 12m high, 15m wide at the top, with 98 towers and 4 ornamental gatehouses. Bicycle rental at the South Gate from 7 a.m.: the full circuit takes 90 minutes at a comfortable pace. The wall at dawn: the city inside (the Tang palace ruins, the Muslim Quarter minarets, the Bell Tower) and outside (the modern city) visible simultaneously. The complete enclosure provides an understanding of what a Ming-era walled city felt like. Descend through the South Gate ceremonial gate complex.
- 4日目 4: Shaanxi History Museum & Tang ParadiseThe Shaanxi History Museum (the best provincial museum in China) holds the Tang dynasty gold and silver artifacts — the fengxiang (phoenix crown), the gold bowls, and the hoard of Tang-era coins that document the Silk Road trade. Then: the Tang Paradise (Datang Furong Yuan) cultural park — a recreation of the Tang dynasty imperial garden that existed here in the 7th century, with 12 cultural zones and the evening performance of the Tang dynasty court music and dance. The Tang dynasty is considered the golden age of Chinese civilization — your historian explains the cosmopolitan Chang'an of the 8th century (when the city had resident Persian, Indian, Japanese, Korean, and Central Asian populations).
- 5日目 5: Great Mosque & Drum TowerThe Xi'an Great Mosque (742 AD, Tang dynasty, current structure rebuilt Song and Ming) is the largest mosque in China at 12,000 m² — built entirely in Chinese architectural style (the prayer hall looks like a Chinese temple, the minarets are Chinese pagoda towers) except for the Arabic calligraphy and the Qibla direction. Morning prayer (Fajr) at dawn; the mosque opens to visitors after 8 a.m. Your Islamic art historian explains the architectural syncretism — the decision to build a Chinese mosque reflected the Hui community's integration into Chinese culture rather than a separation from it. Then: the Drum Tower (1380, Ming) and Bell Tower (1384, Ming) in the city center — the two towers that regulated daily time in imperial Xi'an.
- 6日目 6: Huashan Sacred Mountain — Sunrise2 hours east of Xi'an: Huashan (Mount Hua) is one of China's five sacred Taoist mountains — the Plank Walk (a narrow plank walkway bolted to a sheer cliff face, with chains to grip, over a 2,000m drop) is the most photographed extreme hike in Asia. Take the cable car to the North Peak (1,614m) the evening before and overnight at the summit guesthouses — sunrise from the East Peak (2,096m) over the Guanzhong Plain, the Yellow River visible 200km to the north. The Plank Walk is reached from the South Peak and requires a harness (provided). The mountain has been a pilgrimage site since at least the 2nd century BC.
- 7日目 7: Biang Biang Noodle Breakfast & DepartureBreakfast at the Xi'an noodle shop in the Muslim Quarter that opens at 6:30 a.m. — biang biang noodles are hand-torn flat noodles (as wide as a belt, as thick as a chopstick), topped with chili oil, garlic, vinegar, and your choice of meat or egg. The character 'biang' (with 58 strokes) is written on a board at every noodle shop in Xi'an, a visual demonstration of local identity. Then: the Small Wild Goose Pagoda (707 AD, Tang dynasty), the pagoda that still stands from the original Chang'an monastery where the monk Xuanzang translated the Buddhist sutras he brought back from India in 645 AD. Departure from Xi'an Xianyang International Airport.
14日間じっくりコース
- 1日目 1: Arrival & Muslim Quarter Night FoodRou jia mo 2,000-year braised meat bread, yang rou pao mo hand-torn bread lamb soup, biang biang noodles.
- 2日目 2: Terracotta Army at 8:30 a.m.6,000 soldiers in Pit 1, cavalry Pit 2, command HQ Pit 3, Qin dynasty historian on afterlife army purpose.
- 3日目 3: City Wall Bicycle at Dawn13.7km perimeter, 7 a.m. rental, 98 towers, 90-minute circuit, Muslim Quarter minarets visible.
- 4日目 4: Shaanxi Museum & Tang ParadiseTang gold and silver hoard, court music and dance performance, cosmopolitan Chang'an 8th century.
- 5日目 5: Great Mosque & Drum TowerChina's largest mosque in Chinese temple architectural style, Arabic calligraphy in Chinese building, 1380 timing towers.
- 6日目 6: Huashan Sacred Mountain SunriseEast Peak 2,096m, Plank Walk cliff face harness, Guanzhong Plain sunrise, Taoist pilgrimage mountain.
- 7日目 7: Biang Biang Noodle Breakfast58-stroke character, belt-wide hand-torn noodles, chili oil and vinegar, 6:30 a.m. Muslim Quarter shop.
- 8日目 8: Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum — The Unopened TombThe tumulus mound of Qin Shi Huang (247m high, 38 km² of restricted area) has never been excavated — ancient sources describe a miniature empire inside with rivers of mercury (modern remote sensing has confirmed unusually high mercury levels around the mound). The mausoleum museum documents what is known from historical sources and geophysical survey. Your Qin dynasty specialist explains why the Chinese archaeological establishment has decided not to excavate — the technical impossibility of preservation at scale, and the political symbolism of opening the First Emperor's tomb.
- 9日目 9: Banpo Neolithic Village & Stone Sculpture ForestBanpo is a 6,000-year-old Neolithic settlement (Yangshao culture) excavated within the Xi'an city limits — the remains of a matrilineal agricultural society with pottery kilns, grain storage, and fish-hook tools, displayed under a protective roof over the original excavation. Then: the Forest of Stone Stelae (Beilin Museum), housing the largest collection of stone inscriptions in China — 11,000 stelae from the Han dynasty through the Qing, including the Confucian Classics carved on 114 stone tablets in 837 AD.
- 10日目 10: Silk Road Heritage — Dunhuang ContextXi'an was the eastern terminal of the Silk Road for 1,100 years — the Tang dynasty commercial hub where Central Asian, Persian, Indian, and Roman goods entered China. A private Silk Road historian traces the route westward from Chang'an through the Gansu Corridor to Dunhuang and beyond. The Xi'an Silk Road Heritage exhibition at the Shaanxi History Museum documents the trade goods, the merchant communities, and the religions (Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Islam, Nestorian Christianity) that arrived in China along the route.
- 11日目 11: Huashan Plank Walk (Second Attempt or Caves)If the Plank Walk was done on Day 6, an alternative: the cave temples at Maiji Mountain (3 hours from Xi'an) — 194 cave temples carved into a conical cliff since the 5th century, connected by external wooden staircases bolted to the rock face, with 10,000+ Buddhist statues including the finest surviving Northern Wei and Northern Zhou dynasty clay sculpture in China. The 16m painted cliff face at cave 43 is the single most significant surviving Buddhist artwork in Shaanxi.
- 12日目 12: Xi'an Food Deep Dive — Cooking ClassPrivate cooking class with a Shaanxi family: the technique for biang biang noodles (flour + water, hand-kneaded for 10 minutes, rested 20 minutes, torn into wide strips), the braised pork for rou jia mo (the 20-spice recipe, 4-hour braise), and the technique for a proper yang rou pao mo (the bread torn into pieces the size of a grain of rice). The flavors of the Silk Road — cumin, chili, sesame, and the aged vinegar of Shaanxi (as important to Shaanxi cuisine as Modena balsamic is to Italian).
- 13日目 13: Tang Dynasty Hot Spring — Huaqing PalaceHuaqing Palace, 30km from Xi'an at the foot of Lishan mountain, was the Tang Emperor Xuanzong's winter retreat — the hot spring pools where he bathed with his consort Yang Guifei, the most famous love story in Chinese literature. The bathing pools are the original Tang dynasty structures, now a museum. The Xian Incident Site within the complex: the 1936 kidnapping of Chiang Kai-shek by his own generals, which forced the Nationalist-Communist alliance against Japan. The bathrobe Chiang left when he fled in pajamas up the mountain is displayed.
- 14日目 14: Final Great Mosque Dawn Prayer & DepartureFinal morning: the Great Mosque at dawn prayer (the mosque is open for visitors immediately after, the prayer hall visited while it is still fragrant with incense). A final rou jia mo from the stall at the mosque's north gate. Then: the Small Wild Goose Pagoda sunrise, when it catches the first light and the Tang dynasty monastery garden is empty. Departure from Xi'an Xianyang Airport.
旅行の実用情報
よくある質問
Is the Terracotta Army worth visiting and how do I avoid the crowds?+
Yes — the scale and quality of the Terracotta Army are genuinely extraordinary, not overhyped. To minimize crowds: arrive at 8:30 a.m. when the museum opens (not 9–10 a.m., when the tour buses arrive), enter Pit 1 first, walk to the east end of the elevated walkway (away from the main platform), and return to the west end after the guided tours have been delivered and dispersed. Pit 2 and Pit 3 are significantly less crowded than Pit 1 at all times. The Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum (the unopened tomb mound) is a separate site 2km east — often skipped, worth 45 minutes.
What are biang biang noodles?+
Biang biang noodles are the most iconic dish of Shaanxi cuisine — hand-torn flat noodles, wide as a belt, served in a bowl with chili oil, garlic, vinegar, and fried minced meat. The name 'biang' refers to the sound of the dough hitting the table during pulling. The character for 'biang' has 58 strokes and is the most complex Chinese character in existence — it cannot be typed on a standard keyboard. Every noodle shop in Xi'an writes it by hand on a blackboard. The dish originated in the Qin period peasant kitchen and has been continuous since — a 2,200-year-old recipe.
What is the Silk Road and why does Xi'an matter?+
The Silk Road was the network of trade routes connecting China to Central Asia, the Middle East, India, and Europe from the Han dynasty (2nd century BC) to the decline of the overland route (15th century AD). Xi'an (Chang'an) was the eastern terminal — the point from which Chinese silk, ceramics, and paper departed west, and from which Buddhism, Islam, and Zoroastrianism entered China east. The Tang dynasty (618–907) was the Silk Road's golden age — Chang'an was the world's largest city with a resident population from every known culture. The Xi'an Muslim Quarter, the Great Mosque, and the Shaanxi History Museum's Central Asian artifact collection are all physical remnants of this.
What is Shaanxi food?+
Shaanxi cuisine is the oldest continuous food tradition in China — the Silk Road spice trade, the Central Asian influence, and the agricultural staples of the Guanzhong Plain define it. Key dishes: biang biang noodles (wide hand-torn flat noodles with chili oil), rou jia mo (braised meat in toasted flat bread), yang rou pao mo (lamb soup with hand-torn bread), liangpi (cold rice noodles with chili oil and sesame paste), and jingao (steamed rice cake with pork). The Shaanxi aged vinegar (similar in acidity to Italian wine vinegar) is used as a condiment for everything. Cumin and chili were introduced via the Silk Road and are now central to the cuisine.
How do I get from Beijing to Xi'an?+
High-speed rail (HSR) from Beijing West station to Xi'an North: 4.5 hours by G-class train, approximately ¥500 for second class. The train passes through the North China Plain and the Loess Plateau — the landscape transition from flat agricultural land to the yellow loess terrain of Shaanxi is visible from the window. Book through the official China Railway website (12306.cn) or through a tour operator — seats sell out 30 days in advance for peak dates. Alternatively, flying takes 2 hours but the total airport time makes the train faster door-to-door.
よく検索されています
- Is the Terracotta Army worth visiting?
- How do I get from Beijing to Xi'an?
- What are biang biang noodles?
- What is the Xi'an city wall?
- What is the Great Mosque of Xi'an?
- What is the Silk Road?
- Is Huashan dangerous?
- How many days do I need in Xi'an?
Xi'anへの旅を計画しましょう
AIコンシェルジュとチャット — 夢の旅を伝えるのに2分あれば十分です。