CHINA · XI'AN · TERRACOTTA ARMY 兵马俑

Terracotta Army & Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum: My Route from Xi'an

A first-hand guide to the bus, passport entry, crowds, pits and mausoleum shuttle

Visited Aug 8, 2026Bell Tower → Terracotta Army → MausoleumPassport required

Qin Shi Huang statue near the Terracotta Army visitor area — The Qin Shi Huang statue on the approach to the Terracotta Army.

I visited the Terracotta Army (兵马俑) and Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇陵) on the same day, starting from central Xi'an. The route is easier than Huashan, but the travel time and queues add up quickly.

This is the route I actually used: Bell Tower → Terracotta Army → Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum → Huaqing Palace.

01 Bus from Bell Tower Station

I took the subway to Bell Tower Station (钟楼站) and used Exit H. After reaching street level, I walked right to a tourist center with a reddish sign.

I told a staff member in a yellow vest that I wanted to go to the Terracotta Army. They showed me a QR code, opened the booking page and quickly tapped through the Chinese interface until all I had to do was pay. My fare was RMB 25.

The bus ride took about one hour. One of the guides sat next to me and used a translation app to ask about Korea, my age and even Korean dermatology clinics. That unexpected conversation became one of my favorite memories from the day.

02 From the bus stop to the entrance

After getting off the bus, I still had to walk about 10 minutes. Follow the main flow of visitors until you reach the large Qin Shi Huang statue.

03 I booked the ticket on Trip.com

I booked through Trip.com. The on-site ticket price was RMB 120 when I visited, while my booking cost about KRW 25,000. The key detail for foreign visitors: my reservation was linked to my passport information, so I entered by presenting my passport rather than scanning a separate admission QR code.

View the Terracotta Army on Trip.com →

04 Two passport checks — and the queue matters

After the Qin Shi Huang statue, I reached the first passport-check area.

First passport checkpoint at the Terracotta Army entrance — The first passport check after passing the Qin Shi Huang statue.

After that, I could either take an electric cart or walk roughly 10 minutes toward the next entrance area. I walked.

Crowd before the second passport check at the Terracotta Army — The crowd before the second passport check.

The crowd was dense. On my visit, the left-side queue—especially staying toward the far left—moved more comfortably than the right. The lines eventually merged, and the right side felt more congested where people joined together. Keep up with the person in front of you; gaps disappear quickly in a crowd this size. I got through the final passport check and inside in under an hour.

05 Pit 1 → Pit 2 → Pit 3 → Museum

Pit 1 (一号坑) is the iconic hall filled with rows of life-size warriors.

Entrance to Pit 1 at the Terracotta Army — The entrance to Pit 1.

Rows of warriors inside Pit 1 — The scale becomes obvious as soon as you step inside.

Terracotta warriors lined up inside Pit 1 — Rows of warriors inside Pit 1.

I continued to Pit 2 (二号坑) and Pit 3 (三号坑).

Entrance to Pit 2 at the Terracotta Army — Pit 2 entrance.

Entrance to Pit 3 at the Terracotta Army — Pit 3 entrance.

After the three pits, I went to the museum, where the figures and related displays can be viewed much more closely.

Entrance to the Terracotta Army museum — The museum entrance after visiting Pits 1, 2 and 3.

The warriors were not originally plain earth-colored figures. Many were painted, but the pigments deteriorated rapidly after excavation and exposure to air.

Close view of a terracotta warrior in the museum — A close view of the face and armor.

Detailed terracotta warrior display in the museum — The museum makes the craftsmanship much easier to appreciate.

Display showing the original colors of the Terracotta Army — The figures were not originally the earth color we see today.

06 Free shuttle to the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum

After returning to the Qin Shi Huang statue, I found the free shuttle to the mausoleum near the purple building. I actually ran into the same guides who had helped me in the morning, and they pointed me toward the shuttle again. The ride took about 10 minutes.

Entrance to the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum area — The entrance after arriving by free shuttle.

Inside the mausoleum area, I paid RMB 15 by scanning a WeChat QR code for the electric sightseeing cart. The route had three main stops: acrobat figures, the bronze chariot museum, and the emperor's burial mound.

I was short on time, so I started from the second stop.

07 Bronze chariots and the burial mound

The second stop leads to the bronze chariot museum.

Entrance to the bronze chariot museum at the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum — The entrance at the second sightseeing-cart stop.

Bronze chariot displayed at the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum — The bronze chariot inside the museum.

The bronze chariots are extraordinarily detailed miniature vehicles. Beyond being impressive objects, they reveal the Qin era's sophisticated casting and metalworking, as well as the ceremonial vehicle culture of the imperial court.

I then waited roughly one hour for the cart to the third stop. By then it was extremely hot and everyone looked exhausted, so I stayed on the cart and photographed the mound without getting off.

Qin Shi Huang burial mound seen from the sightseeing cart — The hill-like shape behind the stele is the enormous burial mound, not a natural mountain.

08 What I would do differently

The transport itself was manageable. The real variable was waiting time: entrance lines, internal transfers and the sightseeing cart can consume far more time than expected.

If you have time, I recommend continuing from the Terracotta Army to the mausoleum rather than leaving immediately. It makes the scale and purpose of the entire site much easier to understand.

Next: Huaqing Palace & Song of Everlasting Sorrow →

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