Luxury hotels in Xi'an

Xi'an guide

The Terracotta Army: how to see it before the crowds

Thousands of life-size soldiers guarding China's first emperor, about an hour from the city walls.

In 1974, farmers digging a well near Xi'an found fragments of a clay figure. They had uncovered the army of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China: thousands of life-size warriors, each with a different face, buried more than two thousand years ago to guard his tomb. It is the reason most travellers come to Xi'an.

The site lies about an hour's drive east of the city. Tickets are issued in your name with your passport, and we book them ahead. Arrive at opening and see Pit 1, the great hall of standing soldiers, first; then Pits 2 and 3 and the bronze chariots in the museum. A good guide brings the excavations to life.

Back in the city, cycle the Ming city walls at sunset, one of the few complete ancient walls in China, and end the day in the food streets of the Muslim Quarter. The Shaanxi History Museum, which requires its own advance booking, completes the picture.