How to Visit Xian City Wall

Overview
Xian Ancient City Wall is a fun site to explore in Xian and attracts tens of thousands of tourists come to visit, as the oldest and largest surviving wall of its kind in China. Xian was the one of the ancient capitals in China, and even after the capital was relocated, the city remained the important military stronghold for centuries, same as Great Wall in Beijing. Xian has long history which over 3000 years, it was one of the four great ancient capitals of China and was the starting point of famous ancient Silk Route. Xian Ancient City Wall is one of the famous sites in the city center, there are 18 gates along the wall, big and small, different shapes. The total length of the wall is 13.74km, it is a simple number but hide a secret, it shows there are 13 dynasties and 74 emperors built their capital in Xi'an. It is an interesting place to visit and do some activities with your family and friends. It is highly recommend to enter the wall from the South Gate. There are three options that you can choose how to visit at Xian Ancient City Wall as below:

Walking
Walking along the Xian Ancient City Wall is a leisure way to explore city wall and it takes around 3 hours in a normal walking speed. It is possible to walk the entire perimeter of the wall, the wall has a road on the top perfect for walking or biking. Buy your entrance ticket at any open gates, walk up to the top of the wall and start your Ancient City Wall walking tour.

Biking
Cycling is the most popular way for most travellers when they visit the Xian city wall. If you want to feel more adventurous, you can take a bike and cycle the anciety city wall and it takes about 2 hours for a whole circle in an anti-clockwise direction. You can rent the bike at many places when you arrive, at least one rental station near each gate. If you want to visit the city wall by biking, you are required to pay CNY200 as deposit for rental, the bike charges by the hour, CNY45/2hours for a single bike, CNY90/2 hours for a tandem bike. Please keep the rental receipt with you since it still needed when return the bike.

Sightseeing Battery Car
If you are travelling with seniors or who has walking problem, the battery car is the best option to visit the ancient city wall, more expensive but energy-saving way to let you enjoy a panoramic view of the city, including the old residence inside the old downtown city center and modern skyscrapers outside the wall. It takes around 1.5 hours to go around the whole wall and cost CNY120 for whole route, and CNY30 for each stop. You can easy to catch the battery cart on the Xian Ancient City Wall.


Recommended Visiting Route:
There are many gates are available to go up to visit the city, you can choose according to the location of your hotel. Among them, the South Gate is the most welcomed gate in a convenient location and has lots of interesting activities here, and it is also the most visited city wall for tourists.

From South Gate (Yongning Gate) where you can enjoy some performances and join in some local activities, then walk to east to reach Wenchang Gate and there is a Kuixing Tower on the wall and Stele Forest on the west of the Wechang Menli Road. Next, you will go through the He Ping Gate where close to Xian Big Goose Pagoda & Xian Railway Station; Jianguo Gate is the eastern most gate on the south wall area where you can visit the Masion of General Zhang Xueliang; The last gate is the East Gate, you will reach there after passing the southeast corner of the city wall. You can finish your Xian Ancient City Wall tour when you reach the East Gate, you can visit Drum Tower or take bus & taxi to your next desination.

Tip: You can take Xian Metro Line 2 to reach south gate, get off at Yongningmen Station. Taxi is also a good choice from your hotel.


Top Attractions to Visit Nearby Xian City Wall

Xian Ancient City Wall is located in the center of the Xian City, there are numerous places should be visited nearby the ancient city wall. Here is a recommended list as below:

Bell & Drum Tower
Both of them are the symbol of Xian city and show the history of the city. You can climb up to the Bell Tower's terrace where the wooden tower sits to get a bird's eye view of the surrounding area. The Drum Tower is oppsite of Bell Tower, it houses many large drums and some antique furniture, as well as short musical performances featuring drums and other traditional instruments at various times. The Drum Tower can be visited together with the Bell Tower with a combo ticket

Muslim Quarter
Muslim Quarter in Xi'An or Beiyuanmen Street is a real paradise for foodies. A walk the Muslim Quarter was one of favourite food memories of Xian tour. The street has a long history, dating back over 1,000 years and is the hub of the Muslim community in the city. The market is famous for delicious food and trendy products. Street sellers make fresh noodles, dumplings and a variety of other mouth watering delights right in front of you.

Beilin Museum or Stele Forest
It is a museum for steles and stone sculptures which is located in Xi'an and is home to over 10,000 precious stone carvings, steles, epigraphs and other calligraphy works that have been engraved on rocks throughout Chinese history, one of the largest collections of such cultural relics in China.

South Gate Perfromance
South Gate is the oldest and longest city gate. It was renamed Yongning Gate during the Ming Dynasty. There are many different performances which are performed at the South Gate. It is also a fun activities that you can visit when you touring the Xian Ancient City Wall.


Best Time to Visit Xian City Wall
Actually, Xian Ancient City Wall can be visited all year around, Spring & Autumn are the best time to visit since you can enjoy the most comfortable weather in Xian. If you travel to Xian in Summer, you should prepare the sunscreen, sunhat, sunglasses in advance since the the UV is very strong; The winter in Xian is pretty cold, you should wear warm clothes, such as thick jacket, hat, scarf and gloves. It is recommended to start strolling in the afternoon, explore nearby attractions such as Muslim Quarter, Bell Tower, so you can watch the night view of Xian city from the wall as well.

Xian City Wall Travel Tips
1) You'd better use the bathroom when at the entrance since it's hard to find the bathroom once you get onto the surface.
2) Prepare some snacks and water for the ancient city wall tour
3) You can get a map to know better about the location, there are all the English signs pointing to the directions if you travel on your own.
4) You should be careful when you cycling since there are some parts of city wall are very bumpy.