Tour Beijing Journal
Dear Travellers, We’d like to have the following travel guide to remain...
Dear Travellers,
We’d like to have the following travel guide to remain updated for the benefit of new visitors coming to Terracotta Warriors.
If anybody having used the piece finds necessary updates, please leave a message or feedback. Thanks!
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He unified China in 221 BC for the first time in Chinese history and established Qin Dynasty (221–206 B.C.), thus starting China's over 2000 years' feudal society.
You are kindly reminded that Qin Shihuang's underground palace is still there and remains intact though some of the burial sites annexing to his mausoleum have been robbed to some extent.
Why his own burial site or his underground palace still intact? It is said that his tomb has solid and strict anti-grave digging system including secret crossbows which may kill people once you are inside the tomb, and a large amount of mercury which will emit much toxic air within the tomb.
Now the entrance ticket for Qin Shihuang' Mausoleum is also included in your ticket for Terracotta Army Museum - One ticket for two sites. The two sites are 2 km apart connected by free shuttle buses.

Located 2km east of Qin Shihuang Mausoleum, the Emperor's afterlife army terracotta soldiers are only part of his mausoleum. These vivid over 2000-year-old soldiers of Terracotta Army were discovered March 24, 1974 by a group of local farmers when they were digging a well.
Now this site of Terracotta army has been turned into a world-famous attraction site, bombarded by tons of tourists visiting this museum. Here we'd like to sum up some useful trips for visiting the Terracotta Army.
At Metro Line 9, you alight at Huaqing Hot Spring Station and exit from Exit C, then change for Lintong Bus 613 or Tourism Bus 5 ( Bus 306) and reach the Terracotta Warriors Museum. It takes about 3 hours.

If you take high speed train to Xian, you will arrive at Xian North Railway Station. Choose the following ways to reach Terracotta Warriors.
At Metro Line 9, you alight at Huaqing Hot Spring Station and exit from Exit C, then change for Lintong Bus 613 or Tourism Bus 5 ( Bus 306) and reach the Terracotta Warriors Museum. It takes about 3 hours.
If you arrive at Xian Railway Station and want to go to the Terracotta Army, you may take Bus 914. So should you find the bus terminal? Well, when you walk out of Xian Railway Station, you will enter the spacious railway square, and the Bus 914 is on the east side of the square ( on your left side).
Walk to the east side of the railway square and take the bus 914 for Terracotta Army.
Bus 914: ticket fare 7 yuan and takes about 2 hours ( 40 km with 25 stops)
If you stay downtown Xian, or let's say, in the Bell Tower area, you may first take Metro Line 2 and get off at the subway station of Beidajie (北大街), then interchange for subway line 1 and get off at the station of Fangzhicheng (纺织城站) , then again interchange for Metro Line 9. At Metro Line 9, you alight at Huaqing Hot Spring Station and exit from Exit C, then change for Lintong Bus 613 or Tourism Bus 5 ( Bus 306) and reach the Terracotta Warriors Museum. It takes about 3 hours.
You may first take Metro Line 2 and get off at the subway station of Beidajie (北大街), then interchange for Metro Line 1 and get off at the station of Fangzhicheng (纺织城站) . Then take the special bus Tourism Bus 5 (Bus 306) going to Terracotta Warriors . The bus station is about 200 m from exit A of Fangzhicheng (Metro line 1).
You don’t have to buy the bus ticket in advance. Just jump on the bus and later a bus guide will come to you and collect the money – RMB 7 per person.
Be sure to get off at the last destination – Terracotta Army Museum since the Bus 5 (306) is scheduled to stop at several tourist attractions including Huaqing Hot spring, Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum.
Remember where you get off the bus terminal. After finishing your visiting the museum, come to the same parking lot and take the exact bus No 5 (306) since there are some other “fake” bus 306 which eagerly push you to take their buses.

Located 30km east of Xian, the Army of Terracotta Warriors are undoubtedly the greatest archaeological find of the 20th century. The museum is composed of three pits: Pit 1, Pit 2 and Pit 3.
Pit 1 is most impressive and the highlight of the museum. Pits 2 and 3, though interesting, are not as impressive as the pit 1. If you don't have sufficient time, PIT 2 and PIT 3 can be avoided.
The movie -360 degrees, the background film, is in English and very cool, which takes about 15 minutes long. It gives some background to what you see with your own eyes. It is worth the 15 minutes. The film ticket is included in your entrance fee.
Note: There is a cap for the number of visitors ( limited to daily 8000 visitors due to covid-19 period). But basically you won’t have any problem buying your tickets if you avoid visiting the site during National Holiday ( Oct 01 -07 ).
On the left side of the Ticketing Office is the Tourist Information Center which offers free luggage storage service.
Rent an audio guide? Hire a tour guide? or Using a guidebook?
It takes 5-10 minutes walking from the ticketing office to the entrance gate. If you pay RMB 5, you take a small tram ride to the entrance gate. In my opinion, if you are in good shape, just avoid using the small tram.
After you finish visiting the museum and leave for your bus terminal, or in a word, on the way back, you have to pass through an area with a lot of shops and restaurants. This obviously poses some pressure on you to buy some souvenirs or spend some money here.
If you are tender-hearted, and going to buy something to support China's economy, please bargain!
There are many restaurants leading up to the museum. Some of them just rip you off. So take great care of your money!
For the toilets outside the museum, you have to pay. But once you are inside the museum, you enjoy free toilets. They are the same squatting-style facility like everywhere else in china.
It takes about 160 RMB by taxi from the downtown Xian to Army of Terracotta Warriors. Very often you have to bargain with your taxi driver.
If you take Bus 5(306) to Terracotta Army Museum, don't get off at Qin Shihuang' Mausoleum. Qin Shihuang's Mausolem is not much worth visiting since it is just a mound, not excavated yet.
So don't confuse Terracotta Army with Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum. The entrance for Qin Shihuang' Mausoleum is also included in your ticket for Terracotta Army Museum.
The Terracotta Warriors Museum is open all year round - 365 days every year! Children under the height of 1.2m don't have to pay.
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