Why Xi’an?
I had always wanted to visit the Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum to see the Terracotta Army. A combined trip with Guilin and Yangshuo did not materialize last year and we had already booked air tickets for Xi’an. Thus, we ended up going to Xi’an alone plus visited Chengdu (3 hrs away) to see pandas as a side-trip.
Flight to Xi’an
We are becoming used to taking Scoot Flight nowadays. It is less expensive and the seats are relatively comfortable. I like that it brings us to the city we want directly instead of transferring from Beijing or Shanghai and enduring another flight. As we do not need in-flight entertainment since we could watch our own favourite shows, taking a budget airline is not a problem.
This time, it was an evening flight and we embarked on our journey at around 7pm after eating dinner at the food court in Changi Airport Terminal 1.
Arrival in Xi’an Airport 西安
Checking out was relatively smooth. We just had to fill in some physical forms at a counter on our personal details and where we would be staying.
In no time, we met up with a driver whom we had booked via Klook to take us to the hotel. He was surprised that we could converse in Mandarin and commented that he had been revising hard on his English before meeting us. (Majority of Singaporean Chinese do know how to speak Chinese as it is our second language. My children understands Chinese too but just do not speak the language often except in school language classes)
Before that, we decided to head to a convenience store buy something to eat on the 1-hour journey to the hotel.
Payment was cashless via WeChat as we had set it up with our credit card before we entered China. This trip would be easier for us compared to our first trip to China in 2018 when Alipay or WeChat did not allow overseas credit card and we often use cash in that trip. Later on in small stores, we still used some local cash as we had already exchanged them before we arrived in Xi’an. (in case electronic payment did not work – cash is still handy)
Check-in Hotel in Xi’an – Yunheyebo Hotel 西安云和夜泊
The hotel entrance was not the typical auto door glass entrance. To enter the front door which was an ancient looking opaque door, we had to open it ourselves. That confused us when we alighted and I thought we went to the wrong hotel. However, the driver confirmed it for us by calling them and told us the entrance was indeed that. When we walked up to open the door, we were greeted with a “sink-in” counter where oddly the staff were a step below.
Despite informing them earlier that we would be arriving in the wee hours, they did not “save” the rooms for us and could not allocate us two twin rooms side by side. I had started booking two separate rooms since last year’s Japan trip, so we could use two bathrooms as it was tiring to wait a long time to shower. Thus, we ended up staying in separate rooms across the level and each night, we had to cross to each other’s room to get things or pass things. It was a slight inconvenience for us as a family.
However, as a “compensation”, they upgraded my deluxe room from “twin beds” to two full beds (slightly bigger than a super single size but smaller than a queen – 137cm) and the room size expanded from 28m square to 42 m square!
Details of Our Room
The room was extremely big with even a dining table, chairs and sofa, meant for 4 person to stay in (Superior Twin Room). Vin and Dar stayed in another room meant for 3 people with one King size bed and a twin bed option. Each room was about the size of my own house’s living + dining area. The decor is in my favourite Scandinavian style and feels homely.
Buffet Breakfast in Yunheyebo Hotel
There was a large variety of Western and Asian cuisine for the buffet breakfast with more focus on Xi’an local food. I had read reviews and they had complimented the food. However, I found the majority of stir-fry Chinese dishes too oily after my first try and focused on eating porridge with a few dishes for the next few days. The variety do not change too much.
There was also some steamed dimsum (not the kind we are used to) and cartoon buns for children. My 10 year old took one but it was not really to her liking so she ended up with eating one croissant and some cereals. The 17 year old’s appetite is pretty small in the morning so he only ate some options too. Vin enjoyed the soup noodles and would order them most. Therefore, I did regret ordering buffet breakfast for all six days of our stay as we did not eat much.
It was more for convenience sake to settle breakfast first thing in the morning (7-8am). As I discovered later on, as Xi’an is a northern region, local food is mostly made of wheat (which I cannot eat T^T due to some intolerance). Northern region food differs from the Southern region food we are more used to. (We are not ‘foodies’ so I did not research much on food prior to the trip)
The characteristics of northern food are wheat-based pasta (such as noodles, steamed buns, dumplings), which tastes salty, fresh and rich. The cooking methods tend to be stewed and stir-fried. They eat more beef, mutton and vegetables. In winter, you need to stock up on cabbage and other vegetables. Southern food is based on rice. Rice is a common staple food. The taste is light, fresh and sweet. The cooking methods are diverse and sophisticated, with more seafood and vegetables. In winter, soup and hot pot are preferred.
Explore Xi’an First Day 西安第一天
We had been self-planning trip for more than ten years. This was the first time we did not manage to do all the attractions we had planned. Firstly, we did not know we had to book our visit for “Small Goose Pagoda”. Vin did not find it stated anywhere when he checked the website. We also allocated too little time for travelling as the area was jammed with traffic in the late afternoon at 4 plus. It took a while for the DiDi driver to reach us and bring us there. In retrospect, we should have done the attractions afternoon after lunch.
Dropped at the wrong entrance of the extremely huge attraction area
We also did not know we had to state the exact entrance to drop for our driver. We were dropped by the taxi driver at the start of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda Scenic Attraction area with no idea that it would take us at least another 20 minutes to walk straight to the correct South entrance (大雁塔南广场） and enter the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda itself! It was near closing time so it was impossible to reach. Thus, we had to schedule it to the last day of our visit. In the end, we decided to still walk ahead and explore the Big Wild Goose Pagoda Scenic Attraction area even if we could not visit the Pagoda. On the way, we found Joy City Mall (Da Yue Cheng 大悦城) and decided to eat dinner there.
Should have visited the musical fountain at 9pm
We had a heavy dinner and was too tired to walk back to the musical fountain area. Thus, we missed the 9pm musical fountain show in the Big Wild Goose Pagoda Scenic Area. At that time, I was thinking we could watch it again on another day since we would be in Xi’an for so many days and a musical fountain is not worth walking the length for it.
3 days later, we manage to find an opportunity to watch the musical fountain and specially waited right in front from 6 plus to 7pm to get the best spot. However, the sky had not even darkened! Essentially, they became spurts of water shooting into the daylight sky with some music and not impressive at all. I regretted that we should have watch the Xi’an musical fountain show in Big Goose Pagoda at 9pm instead with the full laser lights on.
Constantly being asked to dress up in Hanfu and take photographs
I know this is one of the most trendy things to do when touring China. Women love to dress up and pretend to be ancient people walking around in the ancient Xi’an city. Taking photographs of themselves to post in social media is priority for them too. However, we are not interested to spend hours on this for now. Maybe Yunnan in the future for me as I love ethnic costume. Dressing and making up will take about an hour or more. Adding in photography time and we would have not much time left for anything else.
Each step of the way in the Big Wild Goose Pagoda Area, literally a few seconds each, we were constantly being hounded by people holding a placard, wanting us to take photographs with traditional Chinese costume. “要拍汉服吗？(meaning: “Want to dress up in Hanfu and take photographs?” ) which was super irritating. Even when we were standing there discussing things with each other, a person came up to interrupt our conversation with this question. Super annoyed! I wish the government would do something about this “over-tourism”. If I want to do Hanfu photography, I would ALREADY have gone to the shops located along the walking path (many of them in competition). I do not need to wait for them to ask me..
SHOPPING | Lunch Kai Yuan Shopping Mall 开元商城 | Luomashi 骡马市 步行街
The nearest shopping mall to Yunheyebo Hotel was Kai Yuan Shopping Mall. We explored around but did not find much to buy. It has plenty of restaurants so we kept going back here for our meals. At the top floor toy sections, my girl found only one or two blind boxes to buy.
Lunch – Biang Biang Noodles
It is a must to try the local Xi’an food “Biang Biang Noodles” – named because of the sound it makes when the chef slams the dough onto the board. The word is a unique Chinese character that was made up and each part of the character represents a story of Xi’an. The noodles are big and flat with many ingredients thrown into a sauce that you have to stir around first before you eat.
We were walking in a deserted mall and noticed this shop quite popular with delivery drivers. (If people are ordering, it must be good). Therefore, I asked Vin and Dar to try. (I can’t eat wheat noodles and Ling is not interested in noodles). Both of them found Biang Biang Noodles delicious and even ordered it again in Singapore (found a Xi’an local food store). They specially asked for “non-spicy” version because we cannot take their spice level.
- Location: 长安情𰻝𰻝面（骡马市店）
- Price: RMB 20 each
CHAGEE Tea in Xi’an Luomashi 骡马市景云坊店
CHAGEE 霸王茶姬 is the most hip milk tea store in China right now I feel. The designer packaging entices me to try their drink and surprisingly, the drinks are quite reasonably priced. I had not tried it in Singapore before though but heard so much about it. Thus, when we accidentally walked past one CHAGEE store, I just had to try it, especially the milk tea made with Longjing tea. We first tasted Longiing tea （西湖龙井） in Hangzhou before and loved it. I wondered how would the milk tea version taste?
My verdict was that it was so good! The disposable cup is quite thick and quality-made to avoid spillage and the straw was the special flat straw. The cost was only RMB $18! (SGD$3.24). Forgive me for keep exclaiming about the prices in China because it is impossible to get such prices in Singapore.
- Location: CHAGEE 霸王茶姬 Luomashi 西安骡马市景云坊店
- Ordered: 醒时春山 （Longjing milk tea)
- Price: RMB 18 each
Shopping – Character Blind Boxes “盲盒” | Min Sheng Department Store 陕西西安民生百货店 | Da Yue Cheng 西安市雁塔区大悦城店.
I seldom shop during travel and we specially came shopping due to my girl’s love of “Blind Boxes”. China-made “blind boxes” are much cheaper. Nowadays, I seldom buy trip souvenirs except for fridge magnets of places visited and I rather do online shopping sent to my home.
She went “shop-craze” at Miniso (A China Company) when we found it in Min Sheng Department Store 陕西西安民生百货店 and bought about SGD$100 worth of products. They were all small blind boxes of Sanrio / Chiikawa / 线条小狗Maltese characters which she loves at the moment. I indulged her as each item in Chinese Yuan was half price of what we bought in Singapore and most items could not be easily found in Singapore. (She also loves buying them in Japan but the prices were astronomical there and we could only buy a few compared to China)
Later after dinner, she bought more blind boxes from “X11” located in Xi’an Da Yue Cheng 西安市雁塔区大悦城店.
DINNER at Xi’an Joy City (Da Yue Cheng) 西安市雁塔区大悦城店 in Xi’an Big Wild Goose Pagoda Scenic Area
I was delighted to find Hong Kong Style Food in “Yue De Xian 悦得闲 ” . We love Xiao Long Bao, Hong Kong Dim Sum and dumpling noodles. The decor looked like a traditional Hong Kong cafe too. We ordered the tea 菊花普洱 (Chrysanthemum Pu’er tea) and they brewed it in a traditional way with the tea leaves suspended in a separate container. We were could refill ourselves by pouring hot water over the tea leaves and brewing them again. The food was the taste we enjoyed always and the portions were really big for the price.
We ate too long and ended up so full that we had to forgo the musical fountain show at 9pm and took a long walk instead in Grand Tang Dynasty Everbright City to help “work away” the dinner.
Our Orders:
- 招牌虾饺皇 (Prawn Dumpling – RMB34 – great!)
- 灌汤姜汁小笼包 (4 Xiao Long Bao Soup Dumpling – Delicious! RMB30)
- 生菜鱼片粥 (fish slices porridge for both Ling and Me RMB30)
- 招牌靓油条 (this was too big! could not finish RMB10)
- 净云吞 (he wrongly ordered – only have 8 wonton no noodles – he thought this was pork meat noodles RMB28)
- 鲜虾云吞面 (prawn wonton noodles RMB28)
- Restaurant Name: Yue De Xian 悦得闲
- Location: 西安市雁塔区大悦城店
- Total Price: RMB 184 (Ordered so much and it was only about SGD$33 so worth!)
After dinner, we went up the lift to the top floor of Joy City Mall (Da Yue Cheng) where we could see some scenery and the view of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.
Our Only ATTRACTION for the day: Grand Tang Dynasty Everbright City 大唐不夜城
There are food stalls along the paths but not many. Thus, I was glad that we had settled dinner before walking in. Besides, the children might not be able to stomach street foods so it is safer to eat in a proper restaurant. We were also warned by enthusiastic China drivers not to settle for “street food” and eat in proper restaurants. Food hygiene seemed to be issue here in China where the people do not even trust their local stalls.
The walking area consists mainly of statues in the center with some inscriptions to explain what they were. We did not know those ancient poets so they meant nothing to us. The most impressive one was a metal sculpture of a golden phoenix. We took some pictures but other than that, we did not wish to buy anything from the street stalls. After 1 hour of walking, we called for a DiDi ride, back to the hotel. Of course, we knew this attraction was overhyped but since we were there in Xi’an, we just need to see it for ourselves. Indeed, I felt that the “Grand Tang Dynasty Everbright City” was just a normal modern city walking area with some ancient looking buildings and too many people.
Overall, I was disappointed on the first day that Xi’an was pretty much like Singapore, full of shopping malls. The “ancient” portion was quite minimal. Each “ancient” attraction was made too modern with organised stalls and full of photographers wanting to take a picture for you. The entire area was jammed packed full of Chinese local tourists too.
>> Read Next Post: China Xi’an Day 2_ Ancient City Walk | Bell Tower | Shu Yuan Street | Muslim Street
Xi’an June 2025: Day 1 Itinerary
- Departure from Singapore to Xi’an – Direct Scoot Airline Flight
- Arrival in Xi’an and stay in Yunheyebo hotel 云和夜泊 – South Gate of Bell and Drum Tower
- Lunch and Shopping at Kaiyuan Shopping Mall 开元商城
- Back Hotel Rest / Head out to Small Goose Pagoda but could not visit / Headed to Big Goose Pagoda
- Walking from start point of the Xi’an Big Wild Goose Pagoda Scenic Area to reach Xi’an Da Yue Cheng
- Dinner in Xi’an Da Yue Cheng – Yue De Xian 悦得闲
- Walked in the pedestrian street of Grand Tang Dynasty Ever Bright City 大唐不夜城
- Back to Hotel
READ China Xian 2025 Itinerary Summary: 6-Day China Itinerary: Xi’an | Chengdu
Past Explorations in China :
Read About our China 2018 Trip: 9-Day Family Travel Itinerary in China Shanghai, Suzhou & Hangzhou
Tips For Travelling in China: “Essential Tips for Safe Family Travel in China“
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