ChinaRoam
ChinaRoam
Metro routes that work, tickets you can actually book, food you can order, and the payment hacks no guidebook prints — city by city.
Home of the Terracotta Warriors and the eastern end of the Silk Road — 3000 years of history you can walk through.
Xianyang (XIY) airport express connects to the metro. High-speed rail makes Xi'an an easy stop between Beijing (4.5h) and Chengdu (3h).
Lines 2, 3, 4 & 5 cover the main sights. Line 2 is the north–south spine. Same Alipay metro QR.
DiDi for the Terracotta Warriors (~40 min each way). The old city is walkable; the City Wall is best by rental bike.
Thousands of life-size clay soldiers from 220 BC — China's greatest archaeological site. About 1 hour from the city; book on Trip.com with your passport and skip the guided-scam touts at the entrance.
Reserve: Recommended — passport
The best-preserved ancient city wall in China. Rent a bike and ride the full 14 km loop at sunset — the classic Xi'an photo.
Reserve: None
Lantern-lit maze of street food right by the Bell Tower — lamb skewers, roujiamo and more. Packed but essential.
Reserve: None
Free but notoriously hard to reserve — tickets open in limited batches online with passport. Book as early as possible.
Reserve: Required — passport
Tang-dynasty pagoda with a huge musical fountain show in the plaza at night.
Reserve: None
'Chinese hamburger' — braised pork in a crispy baked bun. The street version from a proper stall beats any restaurant.
Lamb stew into which you tear your own flatbread — the classic Xi'an ritual dish.
Cold wheat noodles with chili oil and vinegar — perfect in summer.
Hand-pulled belt noodles with the famous hard-to-write character. Order 油泼面 for the chili-oil version.
Standard Alipay setup. The Muslim Quarter and small noodle shops are the most cash-dependent spots — carry ¥100–200.
Book transport there and back with DiDi or a Trip.com day trip. The site itself takes 2–3 hours. Avoid anyone offering 'a private tour to see the real pit' — it's a scam.
English signage is decent at the big sites, sparse elsewhere. Translation app essential.
Spring and autumn. Summers are hot; winters are cold and dry.
ChinaRoam is a crowdsourced guide to traveling China, built for foreign visitors. We started with the city guides that everyone needs but nobody could find in English: how do I actually pay? How do I book a museum with my passport? Which metro line goes where?
Unlike tourist agencies and travel portals, every entry here is written by travelers who have been on the ground — and every guide is open for anyone to correct and improve. It's a living guidebook, not a static one.
Prices, opening hours, and visa rules change. Treat every entry as a strong hint, not gospel — check official sources for things that matter. And if you spot something wrong, correct it: that's the whole point.
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