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When is the best time to visit Xian?

Tuesday, January 8th, 2019

When you are planning your Xian tour, one of the frequently asked questions likely to tantalize you is “When is the best time to visit Xian?”. As one of the oldest cities in Chinese history, Xian is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.

Unlike other scenic cities in China, Xian is well known for its historical sites and relics which are little influence by seasons. As a matter of fact, Xian is a place which you can visit on all seasons.

Xian enjoys four distinct seasons with warm spring, hot summer, cool and rainy autumn and dry winter. The weather is generally pleasant all year round. Use this travel guide to help you make a smart decision about when to visit Xian. Check out below to have some information on each season:

Xian in Spring ( March – May )
Spring or autumn is considered as the best season to visit Xian, which is neither too hot nor to cold. But the sporadic sandstorm in spring has kept people on alert when they plan their spring trip to Xian.

In spring, you can visit the historical relics, such as Terra-cotta Warriors or Horses Big Wild Goose Pagoda; you can also go to climb Mount Hua.

With gentle breezes and warm sunshine, spring in Xian is really a good time of year for outdoor activities and traveling.

Xian in Spring

Xian in Summer ( June – August )
Summer in Xian, which usually lasts from June to August, becomes both hot and humid. The blooming flowers and colored leaves dot the mountains.You have to make full preparation from sunburn.

There is always rainstorm in summer, be sure to take the umbrella with you. Of course, if you are interested in Xian Snacks, go there in summer is a good choice for you. The night markets come alive as the sun went down in summer.

Xian in Autumn (September – November)
During autumn, Xian is filled colors as several species of trees change the color of their leaves. Autumn is the high season for people to visit Xian. Fall period are the months of September, October and November, and the weather is fine and pleasant.

You are kindly advised to skip over China National Holiday in October when you plan your Xian Tours, since there are so many people during that time.

Xian in Winter ( November – February )
Winter is an off-season for traveling in Xian. If you are more of a person who loves winter and would like to go skiing down some of the most breath-taking sites in Xian, Xian still welcomes you during the winter months.Winter lasts from December to February, dry and cold with a little snow.The coldest month is January, with an average temperature of 0 C. The most advantage to visit Xian in winter is that you can save money and see fewer visitors, thus avoiding tourist crowds. Winter in Xian is cold, make sure to take enough thick clothes with you.

Crowd Information
Xian gets very crowded and busy during school vacations and public holidays. You are kindly advised to skip over the Official Chinese Holidays when you plan your Xian Tours. Please jot down the following public holidays:New Year’ Day ( 1st Jan, three-day holiday )
Chinese New Year ( later Jan and early Feb )
Tomb Sweeping Day ( Early April, 3-day holiday )
Mid-Autumn festival ( Aug-Sept, 3-day holiday )
May Day ( 1st May, three-day holiday)

Tip: Hassle-free Xian Guided Tours
If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for Xian guided tours:

Xian City Day Tour from US$69
Xian Terracotta Warriors Day Tour A from US$85
Terracotta Army and Song of Everlasting Performance from US$135

Xian 2 Day Tour Package from US$170 p/p
Xian 3 Day Tour Package from US$235 p/p

Further Readings

Beijing Xian High Speed Train Experience
Top 10 Attractions in Xian
Tips for Visiting Muslim Quarter in Xian
Tips for Visiting Xian City Wall
Tips for Visiting Shaanxi History Museum
Tips for Visiting Xian Bell Tower
How Visit Terracotta Army
How to Visit Daming Palace National Heritage Park
Top 10 Photography Spots in Xian
The Night View of Great Tang All Day Mall
Tips for Visiting Hanyang Tombs Xian
The Song of Everlasting Sorrow Show in Xian
Tips for Visiting Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Tips for Visiting Huaqing Hot Springs in Xian
How to Visit Mount Huashan
Top 10 Hostels in Xian
Best Time to Visit Xian

Any questions, just drop a line.

Tags: the best time to visit Xian, when to visit Xian
Posted in Xian Attractions & Tips, Xian Travel | 16 Comments »

How to visit Xiyue Temple

Saturday, October 20th, 2018

If you are going to visit Mt.Huashan on your Xian trip, don’t miss Xiyue Temple, which is bound with Mt.Huashan in one entrance combo ticket. That means if you buy an entrance ticket for Mt.Huashan, you can use the same ticket to enter Xiyue Temple.

That said, this is not the main reason that you should visit Xiyue Temple. I think, Xiyue Temple itself is really worth your time for a look, broadening your knowledge of Chinese traditional culture.

As you know, Mt.Huashan is one of the five sacred Taoist mountains in China. Each of them has a temple to shrine the God of its mountain. As Dai Temple for the God of Mt.Taishan, Xiyue Temple is for the God of Mt.Huashan. “Xiyue” means the West Mountain, one of the five Taoist mountains ( east, west, north, south and central mountains).

Xiyue Temple was originally built by Wu Emperor (134BC) in West Han Dynasty (202BC-09AD). It was relocated to the present place in East Han Dynasty (25AD-220AD). The temple received great expansions in Sui and Tang dynasties (581AD-907AD). It further developed and reached its climax in Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368AD-1911AD). Unfortunately Xiyue Temple was heavily damaged during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).

In 1979 with the establishment of Xiyue Temple Relics Administration, Xiyue Temple’s great restoration work started. In 1988, Xiyue Temple was listed as China’s National Key Protection Relics. Now Huashan Scenic Spot has become a AAAAA national scenic area, attracting huge number of tourists home and abroad each year.

Opening Hours:
07:00-19:00 (Mar-Nov)
08:00-18:00 (Dec-Feb)

Entrance Ticket (combined with Mt.Huashan):
RMB 180 (Mar-Nov)
RMB 100 (Dec-Feb)
Remark: Your ticket is valid for two days.

How to get there
Xiyue Temple is about 2.2km southeast of Huashan North Railway Station and 5km north of Mt.Huashan. With an entrance ticket, you are able to use the free shuttle buses running between Xiyue Temple and Mt.Huashan. From Huashan North Railway Station, you can easily get to Xiyue Temple by half hour’s walk.

Note: During tourist low season ( Dec, Jan and Feb ), there will be probably no shuttle bus service connecting the north railway station, Xiyue Temple and the tourist center. If so, You need to take a local taxi from the train station to the tourist center (where you purchase your entrance ticket). Taxi fare around 10 yuan or 20 yuan, you should haggle with your taxi driver.

Xiyue Temple used to be an imperial worshipping place for the God of Mt.Huashan. So its buildings had higher level of architectures, quite different from the temples of the local communities or common people. It resembles the greatness of Forbidden City. See the photo below, does it look like Forbidden City? It is Xiyue Temple!

It is Xiyue Temple

Look like “Forbidden City“?. It is Xiyue Temple! Xiyue Temple faces Mt.Huanshan. Its basic layout goes along the axis from south to north through 6 courtyards including Haoling Gate, Lingxing Gate, Jincheng Gate, Imperial Garden, Wanshou Pavilion etc. The present temple is mainly based on the remaints of Ming and Qing dynasties.

A huge colored glazed screen wall, 30m long and 6m wide, stands in front of the Xiyue Temple Gate.

A huge screen wall stands in front of the Xiyue Temple Gate

Haoling Gate

This is the first gate of Xiyue Temple, named “Haoling Gate”, also called “Three Gates” indicating the inner city between the gates. It was first built in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It is brick-stone city wall architecture with coloured glazed tiles in single-eave saddle roof style.

This is the first gate of Xiyue Temple

The first gate of Xiyue Temple also called – Three Gates – indicating the inner city between the gates. The characters above the gate read “Building Xiyue Temple at the imperial order”.

The first gate of Xiyue Temple also called – Three Gates – indicating the inner city between the gates.

Lingxing Gate
The gate gets its name from Ling Star, in ancient time, people sacrifice the star to pray for good harvest. The gate door shape is like window lattice. so it was renamed as the present one. It was a group of Ming-Qing architectures.

Lingxing Gate

The gate door shape is like window lattice

It was a group of Ming-Qing architectures

Jincheng Gate
Jincheng Gate is in front of the main building in Xiyue Temple – Haoling Palace. When originally built in Ming Dynasty, it was named Jintian Gate.

After Zuo Zhongtang, the general of Qing Dynasty suppressed the rebellion, the gate was renamed “Jincheng Gate”, meaning the golden city gate, solid and firm for the area.

Jincheng Gate

Golden River Bridge

Known as Watching Immortal Bridge, it is a stone arch bridge of three-bridge and 4-ponds structure.

Golden River Bridge

The pavilions in front of Haoling Palace

Haoling Palace

Haoling Palace is the master palace in Xiyue Temple, a leading place to sacrifice the God of Mt.Huanshan, which in the past was done by the numerous emperors in successive dynasties.

In the palace, the statue of Huashan God and other gods are worshipped here.

The Haoling Palace, the master palace in Xiyue Temple

Sleep Palace

Behind Haoling Palace is the sleep palace for the God of Huashan and his wife. It is a single-eave saddle roof style. It is a place for God to settle down.

Sleep Palace

Yushu Lou (Imperial Calligraphy Building)

The buiding houses a stele engraved with the characters written by Emperor Qianlong in Qing Dynasty. The imperial calligraphy was used to pray for rain.

Imperial Calligraphy Building

Longevity Tower

Longevity Tower is the last and the highest building in Xiyue Temple. It is a 3-storey structure built on a high platform. Unfortunately it was destroyed in war. The present tower was rebuilt in 2000.

Longevity Tower

Xiyue Temple City Wall and Corner Towers
The Xiyue Temple is laid out like a Ming-Qing Palace. It is rectangle in shape with 525m long(north-south) and 225m wide (east-west). Each of its four corners has a corner tower similar to those of Forbidden City.

Xiyue Temple City Wall

Corner Towers

Wall and Corner Tower

Temple, Wall and Tower

Again have a look at the splendid temple

Add on:

How to visit Xiyue Temple

Tip: Hassle-free Xian Guided Tours
If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for Xian guided tours:

Xian City Day Tour from US$69
Xian Terracotta Warriors Day Tour A from US$85
Terracotta Army and Song of Everlasting Performance from US$135

Xian 2 Day Tour Package from US$170 p/p
Xian 3 Day Tour Package from US$235 p/p

Further Readings

Any questions, just drop a line.

Tags: Mt.huashan Xiyue Temple, Xian Xiyue Temple, Xiyue Temple, Xiyue Temple Travel tips
Posted in Xian Attractions & Tips | 10 Comments »

Tips for Visiting Huaqing Hot Springs in Xian

Tuesday, October 9th, 2018

Plan your Xian tour? It is advisable to have a side trip to Huaqing Hot Springs after or before visiting Terracotta Warriors in Xian. You may wonder if the site of the “Hot Springs”is worth your visit or whether you need to bring your bathing suits.

Well, “hot spring” is really a misnomer in this case. Generally speaking Huaqing Hot Springs refer to a huge park sitting below the northern slope of Lishan Mountain, 32km east of Xian Bell Tower, and 8 km west of Terracotta Warriors Museum.

The park is rebuilt on the royal palace in Tang Dynasty ( 618 -907 ), which mainly comprises the royal gardens and the royal hot springs. The royal hot springs are an excavated site, kept original, an artefact without actual springs running and housed in a museum in the park.

Tips
tips-1 1. Why Visit Huaqing Hot Springs
So why the bother to visit a big park since there are tons of parks in China. Before deciding whether to visit the park, you may consider the following factors relative to the park:

1) Romantic Love Story
This is the actual site of romance of Emperor Xuanzang (685-762) and Lady Yang (719-756 ) at the Pear gardens in Tang Dynasty ( 618 – 907 ).

The Marble Statue of Lady Yang

There were hot spring pools built for the emperor , concubine for leisure and recreation. It is an interesting insight and perspective into Chinese history and culture.

Crabapple Pool built 747 for Lady Yang

2) A Park with Nice Landscape Gardens and Buildings
The park is a history repackage of the former royal gardens with traditional Chinese architectures.

There is a peaceful Nine Dragon Lake, pavilions, palaces, fruit gardens and hot springs with the backdrop of the picturesque Lishan Mountain.

Gardening and Landscaping in Huaqing Hot Springs

3 ) Xian Incident
Nationalist Chiang Kai-shek (1887 – 1975) once also frequented this imperial palace. Chiang Kai-shek was a Chinese political and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China between 1928 and 1975.

This was the place where he was “kidnapped” in the famous Xi’an incident of 1936. He was forced to forge the alliance between the KMT and the Communist Party against the Japanese. The incident greatly increased the status of the Communist Party at the time.

Chiang Kai-shek‘s Temporarily Office in Huaqing Hot Springs

4) The Song of Everlasting Sorrow Evening Show
The Song of Everlasting Sorrow Show is presented on the real-scene in Huaqing Hot Springs with the backdrop of Lishan Mountain and the ponds, pavilions, corridors and palaces in the background.

The Song of Everlasting Sorrow Show

The performance is adapted on the same name poem written by the famous Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi (772-846) retelling the lament of the court concubine Yang Yuhuan and Emperor Xuanzong.

If you are interested in Chinese history, especially Tang Dynasty, and Chinese landscaping, Huaqing Hot Springs are worth your visit.

2. How to Get There
The park of Huaqing Hot Springs is located about 32 km to the east of Xian Bell Tower and 8 km west of Terracotta Warriors Museum. Basically, people would combine Terracotta Army and Huaqing Hot Spring on the same travel route.

1) Take Tourism Bus No.5 (306) directly from Xian Railway Station to Huaqing Hot Springs Station; or take Tourism Bus No.5 (306) from Terracotta Army.
Bus fare: RMB６
Estimated Bus Ride Time: 45 minutes ( Railway Station to Huaqing Hot Springs)

2) Take a free shuttle bus from Xian North Railway Station to Huaqing Hot Springs; or from Terracotta Army to Huaqing Hot Springs.

3. Entrance Fees & Opening Hours.
Entrance Fee:
RMB 120 (all year around)
Children below 1.2 meters: free of Charge
Opening Hours:
07:00 – 18:00 (Mar 01 – Nov 30)
07:30 – 18:30 (Dec 01 – Feb )
Suggested visit time: 2-3 hours

4. Everlasting Song of Sorrow Evening Show
The performance is presented on the real-scene in Huaqing Hot Springs. It is adapted on the same name poem written by the famous Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi (772-846) retelling the lament of the court concubine Yang Yuhuan (719-756) and Emperor Xuanzong (685-762) .

In the story, Emperor Xuanzong fell deeply in love with his beautiful concubine Yang Yuhuan ( Yang Guifei ). His love diverted his focus on his ruling duties and caused much trouble to his country that led to a military coup.

The ministers and the soldiers around Emperor Xuanzong thought that it was the concubine Yang Yuhuan who had caused the chaos. Later under the pressure, Emperor Xuanzong had his favorite concubine Yang Yuhuan killed to save the country.

The poem-turned drama is presented in four parts with a preclude and 10 scenes. The four parts include “Fall in Love”, “A Sweet Couple”, “Goodbye to Love” and “Meet again on Fairyland”.

Show Time:
Twice performances a day ( Valid from April through October )
20:00 – 21:10; 21:40 – 22:50
Entrance Fees:
RMB 220 ( east or west side area):
RMB 260 ( central area);
VIP area: RMB 988/888/588

5. Combo Tour of Terracotta Army
Both Huaqing Hot Springs and Terracotta Army are on the same eastern travel route from Xian’s city center, which can be combined to have a day trip.

6. Stay Overnight in Lintong
Lintong District is one of nine districts of Xi’an. The Terracotta Army and Huaqing Hot Springs are both located in Lintong. If you have enough time in Xian, you may stay overnight in Lintong after a heavily scheduled combo tour of Terracotta Army and Huqing Hot Springs.

Alternatively you can separate the comb day tour into two days – first day on Terracotta Army and the second day on Huaqing Hot Spring with the first night on the Everlasting Song of Sorrow Evening Show.

Tip: Hassle-free Xian Guided Tours
If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for Xian guided tours:

Xian City Day Tour from US$69
Xian Terracotta Warriors Day Tour A from US$85
Terracotta Army and Song of Everlasting Performance from US$135

Xian 2 Day Tour Package from US$170 p/p
Xian 3 Day Tour Package from US$235 p/p

Archive for the ‘Shaanxi Travel’ Category

When is the best time to visit Xian?

Further Readings

How to visit Xiyue Temple

Further Readings

Tips for Visiting Huaqing Hot Springs in Xian

Further Readings

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