A team of passionate foodies welcomes you at around 6 pm at your central meeting point in Xi’an (transfers from and to your accommodation is not included). The excitement starts from the moment you board onto your private tuk-tuk for a night out of town, diving deep into what Xi’an has been cooking. A maximum of 2 guests per tuk-tuk is permitted; parties exceeding 2 clients will be spread over multiple tuk-tuks.

Food is almost a religion in China, and Xi’an forms no exception. A family matter of great importance, cherished recipes are transferred over from generation to generation to keep their unique flavours and stories preserved. During this 3-hour evening tour, a plethora of dishes will fill the evening, washed away with local drinks.

One can expect to savour up to 10 different snacks, dishes and gastronomical highlights of the Xi’an kind while being tuk tuk’ed effortlessly through the streets and alleys of frantic Xi’an. Each dish comes with its own story, often loaded with secrecy on how it found its way to the people, and your guide eagerly translates the stories told by the local families you. Aside from enjoying what’s on the menu at various street stalls, your guide will take you to 4 restaurants, known by the Xi’an residents as culinary institutions and protectors of the city’s gastronomical allure.

At the end of the evening, a small brewery marks the end of a tuk-tuk journey. To round off this unique culinary trail that supports the local community, a cold freshly tapped brew marks the perfect end of an in-depth motorized wander through Xi’an’s food culture. With a kaleidoscope of impressions and a full stomach, the tuk-tuk ride back to the meeting point marks the end of an exciting night tour through this mesmerizing metropolis.

Your driver will collect you from your hotel and drive you to the Tang Dynasty Palace. Take a seat and be prepared for a dazzling show featuring a combination of live music, Chinese folk dances and ancient traditions. The show brings to life the culture, artistic heritage and lifestyle of the illustrious Tang Dynasty, the most prosperous and glorious of all dynasties.

History experts and historical records were consulted during the creation of the show to ensure that the characteristics of the music and dance of the Tang Dynasty was accurately represented. Enjoy the poetry, exotic dancing, imperial court music and elaborate costumes of China’s golden age.

This spectacular show also provides a fun and entertaining way to discover more about Empress Wu. Villain or superwoman? That’s for you to decide!
After this feast for the eyes and ears, your driver will take you back to your hotel.

You are warmly welcomed by your English-speaking guide for the day at your hotel in downtown Xi’an. As this tour is exclusively operated by public transport, our drivers today will enjoy a day off. The morning starts with a Tai Chi lesson at the Small Wild Goose Pagoda (closed on Tuesdays), almost hidden in the surrounding parkland. Guided by a local master, early morning movements are seen as the best start of the day.

Xi’an’s Old Town is encircled by its city wall, and these fortifications are some of the most complete and well-preserved. Via a leisurely walk along the wall’s thick stone contours, we end up at the Beilin Museum , a themed museum focusing on the display of stone steles, epigraphs and stone sculptures from past dynasties. Next is a Xi’an icon of immaculate proportions. At nearly 40 metres tall, The Bell Tower is one of the largest and best-preserved of its kind in China. En route from these centrepieces to more lively regions of Xi’an, we enjoy a Chinese-style lunch at a local restaurant

The afternoon is reserved for the Muslim Quarter. Located near two of Xi’an’s most famous attractions, the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower, Xi’an Muslim Quarter also draws tourists from around the world. Home of the Grand Mosque, an impressive building and the largest mosque in China, it dates back to 742 AD and was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in 1985.

Soak up the atmosphere of this district that has become known for its street food and restaurants while also gaining a deeper understanding of local Islamic culture.

We then have some free time to browse the bustling bazaar which sits between the Drum Tower and Great Mosque. After exploring the Muslim Quarter’s vibrant grounds, you head back to the subway or local bus for a local transport back to your Xi’an hotel.

Warmly welcomed by your English-speaking guide and driver at the lobby of your booked accommodation in downtown Xi’an, the day starts with a short ride outside the city centre towards the region’s best known sites. As one of the world’s most significantly important archaeological discoveries, no visit to Xi’an would be complete without a trip to the Terracotta Army, a site which was found by local farmers who were digging a well in 1974. Depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China who is buried here alongside more than 8,000 life-size terracotta figures of warriors, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses arranged in battle formations, the sheer scale and the history of this excavation site is an impressive sight to behold. Lunch is included at a local restaurant.

Next, we head back to the downtown area and make our way towards one of the most important symbols of ancient Xi’an, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. This religious shrine has stood imperiously over the city ever since its construction in 652, when it originally comprised five storeys. While the Buddhist tower was extended to 10 storeys in 704, a sixteenth-century earthquake damaged the top three storeys to leave it at its present height of 64 metres and a very slight tilt to the west.

Before we make our way back to your overnight address, seeing Xi’an from the City Wall delivers commanding views over its sprawling city centre. These fortifications are some of the most complete and well-preserved in China and were built under the rule of Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang during the Ming dynasty. Learn about this important defence system that is located at the beginning of the prosperous Silk Road.

An exciting day of Xi’an exploration comes to an end with a transfer back to your hotel in the downtown area.

For this evening out, we stay within the business district of Xi’an. Your guide and driver wait for you at your booked accommodation and as night falls, you reach an institution in the culinary world of Xi’an dumplings. This widely-known collection of bite-size snacks is served around the world and is well-known in China as a great way to bring family and friends together.

Defa Chang Restaurant, however, takes dumplings to a new level with a diverse collection of hot-served dumplings, stuffed with almost everything delectable under the Xi’an sun. The expert chefs use meat, vegetables, seafood and more to delicately create shapes and different sized dumplings using carefully-prepared ear-shaped dough. Some of these delicacies take quite some time to make – the preparation has almost become an art form once your waitress serves you a selection of freshly-steamed dumplings. This journey through dumpling-heaven is one of these must-dos if you really want to tell anyone that you have been to Xi’an. This banquet dinner comes with one soft drink or one local beer.

After this feast for the eyes and taste buds, we bring you back to your hotel for perhaps an aperitif and sharing your dumpling favourites with your fellow travellers.

The drive from your Xi’an hotel in north-western direction to reach Xiangyang is a short one. Only 30 kilometres / 19 miles separate this fast-growing city in central China from this historical marvel, quite often overlooked when customers arrive in one of the largest cities of the Shaanxi Province.

Upon arrival in Xianyang, we head first to see the Qianling Mausoleum, a truly special one. It is the only tomb in the world that contains the remains of a royal couple of Emperor Gao Zong and his Empress Wu Zetian, the only female monarch in Chinese history. With the Liangshan Hill as the backdrop, this Tang Dynasty reminder, a replica of the ancient Chang’an city (now Xi’an), will be one of the highlights of the day.

After enjoying a local Chinese lunch at a local restaurant, we enter the Xianyang Museum. The permanent exhibition focusses mainly on artefacts and displaying the history of the emperors from the Han and the Qin Dynasty. The museum is divided into nine main exhibition halls with lots of information and finds on display about the numerous tombs and mausoleums in its vicinity. The construction of this centrally located museum into its current form started in 1962 and remains up until today one of China’s most famous national, medium-sized museums.

Our day comes to an end as we make our way back to Xi’an and your booked hotel.