Special Inclusion: Beijing - Xi’an Soft Sleeper Train Tickets

To save you time and cost, we have specially arranged overnight soft sleeper train tickets for your round trip between the two cities. In the late afternoon, please take a taxi or subway by yourself to Beijing West Railway Station at least 30 minutes before departure time of the train we booked for you. You won’t need a paper ticket - simple use your passport to go through security and board the train for a 12-to-13-hour night trip to Xi’an. We’ll prioritize trains with convenient schedules, like the Z179 (18:26/06:51+1), T231 (18:32/07:35+1), or T41 (18:46/08:04). Rest assured that we will send you the train schedule, seat details, as well as instructions on how to board the train in advance.

Soft Sleeper vs. Hard Sleeper
There are two types of train sleeper compartments in China, and the one we’ve planned for you is the obviously more comfortable soft sleeper. Its compartment is more spacious, with four wider and longer berths inside, two upper and two lower, while the hard sleeper compartment has six smaller berths. What’s more, the soft sleeper compartment has a lockable door to ensure more privacy for passengers, and you’ll enjoy more convenient facilities, such as power socket, reading light, temperature controller, clothes hanger, and radio.

► Things to Know:
1. The night train we highly recommend saves you valuable daytime for sightseeing and also eliminates the cost of a hotel room; high speed trains are available, running 4.5 to 6 hours, but they use up half the day. Of course, if you prefer to travel by high speed train, we can also book your tickets and tailor the itinerary upon your request.
2. Prepare some food like hamburgers or breads, along with bottled water for your train journey. The train staff will push a food cart to sell snacks and beverages after the train sets off, but prices are a bit higher.
3. Since this is a short trip to Xian by overnight train, we suggest you deposit your large luggage at your hotel in Beijing and travel as light as possible with some necessities. A backpack is convenient for the train ride.

Accommodation: Overnight soft sleeper train 

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Upon arrival at Xi’an Railway Station this morning, your private guide and driver will pick you up at the exit, and then escort you on a comfortable private drive to start your Xi’an day tour from Beijing. If you want to have breakfast at your own expense first, the guide will be willing to give you some recommendations.

After that, we’ll drive directly through the highway for around one hour to the Terracotta Army Museum, a large-scale underground army built over 39 years to protect Qin Shi Huang (259-210 BC), the first emperor of imperial China, after his death. Along the way, the guide will give you a brief introduction to Xian city and this august UNESCO site.

Once there, the guide will show you around the three main pits, boasting more than 8,000 life-sized terracotta warriors with various gestures and vivid expressions, as well as horses and bronze chariots. First up will be Pit No.1, the main force of this powerful army, with 6,000 infantry soldiers. In Pit No.2, witness more diverse arms, including cavalry and crossbowmen, arranged in a more complicated battle formation. While Pit No.3, the headquarters and the only one that had not been burned, will present you with many colored warriors. Afterward, feast your eyes on 230 precious relics excavated in the past 50 years at a new exhibition. Imagine the acrobatic and musical dance scenes of the imperial court over 2,000 years ago, when standing in front of a figurine with the right arm bent and raised, the forefinger and thumb pointing upwards, and the other three fingers half-clenched as if holding a slender stick to rotate a plate.

Lunch today is on your own. You may have a light meal at a Western or Chinese fast food restaurant near the museum with the guide’s assistance. If you are not hungry yet, we would suggest you have a late but better meal of local specialties when we go back to the downtown area.

In the afternoon, let’s head to the Xi’an City Wall, an enclosed rectangular architecture built over 600 years ago to guard the inner imperial city, with a total length of 13.74 kilometers (8.5 miles). Containing a series of defense facilities like ramparts, parapets, suspension bridges, archery towers, turrets, and gate towers, and surrounded by an 8-meter-deep (26-foot-deep) moat, it made the city easy to hold but hard to attack at that time. As you leisurely walk on the Wall, apart from appreciating the grandeur in itself, you can also have a bird’s eye view of the charming city, with historical structures interspersed sporadically among the towering skyscrapers. Also, you can ride a bicycle on the wall, and the guide will be glad to help you with the rental at your own expense.

Cast your eyes on the centuries-old cultural landmarks, the Bell and Drum Towers sitting in the city center, on our way to the last stop today, the Muslim Quarter, a very popular food court managed by Muslims who have been living here for hundreds of years. During your stroll on the bluestone-paved long street, your nose will be pleased by the aromas of varieties of authentic local specialties like Chinese Hamburger, Cold Noodles, and Crumbled Bread in Mutton Stew emitted from the ancient buildings or small stalls on both sides. If you are interested, taste some convenient and quick ones for dinner with the guide’s advice, or if time doesn’t permit, pack some portable snacks like Green Bean Cakes and Chinese Hamburgers to eat on the way back.

As your Xian tour from Beijing comes to an end, we’ll transfer you back to Xi’an Railway Station to catch an overnight train bounding for Beijing. After arrival in Beijing the next morning, please get to your own booked hotel by yourself. We hope you a nice trip!

► If you want to stay longer to explore Xi’an in more depth, check out our 3 or 4 days private tours, which additionally include other landmark sights such as the Shaanxi History Museum, Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, and Great Tang All Day Mall. We are always online for you to tailor an exclusive itinerary to your satisfaction.​