China Travel Forum

[jennifer]

I'm leaving for China tomorrow for a month tour and have one last question..
I've read a lot on here and in my LP about both and not sure which place to go to. I was told that Xian is boring and the only reason to go is for the Terracotta Warriors. Does anyone have a preference? They are both equally accessible on our route from between Datong to Kaifeng. We could technically go to both places but don't want to do too much during our trip.

[kamal]

Xi'an has enough of interest to make things worthwhileand good place to visit. The walls, the stelae museum, the hui quarter, check out the fun water park south of the city walls in addition to the other sites mentioned here. I wasn't particularly thrilled with the warriors. Also, it can be hellaciously hard to buy a train ticket there. Pingyao when I visited in 2002 seemed like it was thronged with French tourists. On the plus side, there are some nice old style (i.e. faux Qing) hotels there and the old architecture is atmospheric especially at night. The highlight though was outside the walls: the Shuanglin Si (if I remember right) a short mototaxi ride away that has some really cool lifesize wood sculpture of some of the weirder members of the pantheon of Chinese religion. I enjoyed Datong more than either Xi'an or Pingyao, but it is an acquired taste. Thought of fitting Luoyang on your itinerary?

[ilziya]

We did tour both in May 2003; we enjoyed both - I agree that other then TWarriors nothing much in Xi'an. We spent time walking around the city including the Muslim quarters. But then nothing much in Pinyao too ! Half a day to walk around the old town ! Qite dusty in Pingyao - the beef was not bad and there was an old Church that we visited !I would say you should do both - believe me you are not doing too much if you have the time. In my case Pingyou happened to be convenient break - about midway point by train Xi'an-Beijing.

[penghe]

I have just spent 6 days in Xian & loved it. It is tourist friendly without being overrun by tourists (western ones). The Shuyuan Hostel is really cool & friendly. The muslim quarter & the Mosque are interesting as is the Bell Tower & Drum Tower & the Big Wild Goose Pagoda etc. We also visited the HuangPiung Hot Springs but were disappointed as there are no "hot springs" any more.
Sorry I can't compare

[Guest]

I agree with kamal. I spent a month to tour in Xi'an last fall and really got to observe and appreciate the Chinese culture. It's a genuine city, not a tourist attraction. Although, there's certainly enough touristy stuff to stay busy for two or three days. Pretty wild too, compared to other large civilized places like Beijing. Warning though, the air is pretty bad.

[johne]

My travel companions slammed Xian, so I spent 5 days in Pingyao, instead of splitting time between the two, and I regret it. Pingyao is an impressive walled city and the people are very cool, the gardens and estates are very beautiful but I think 2-3 days is a decent amount of time to see most of what it has to offer. I am still a bit shocked at the fee they were charging to walk on the walls, (120 yuan) it seemed to be ridiculously high. I did like the view from the central tower, that was excellent at different times of the day. It does get a bit gritty when the wind starts to blow. I wish that we had seen the terra cotta warriors, though.

[Ali]

I also enjoyed both and I agree that a couple of days is enough for Pingyao. I liked the areas of Xian that kereru referred to (didn't see the hot springs) and the provincial museum was quite good. If you are into walking you could go to Hua Shan outside of Xian and stay the night there. Gorgeous scenery. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think Xian is more than just the warriors, although I found them impressive as well.

[jennifer]

thanks, everyone. It makes me feel better. the person I spoke to said that there was nothing in Xian to see except the warriors. but it seems like a nice place to visit anyway. I'll definitely look into the hot springs kereru mentioned!

[karlos]

I deally you would do both. Xian is more or less a typical Chinese city despite the warriors being there. Aside from them there really isn't much to tell Xian apart from anywhere else in China.
Pingyao on the other hand...is one hell of a city. It's really almost like nothing else in China. In fact city walls border the town. The 120 yuan ticket price to climb the wall that was quoted above is actually an all inclusive ticket to see ALL of the sites inside of Pingyao. There's temples...a big huge tower...China's first bank...and on and on. Really a great fucking place. There is some serious atmosphere there. I loved it.
Outside of Pingyao is the oft awed over Shuang Lin Si temple that I felt was underwhelming. The interest in that place was the 45 minute bike ride me and my girlfriend took to get there. You get to see a little of the countryside as well that way.
Also of extreme interest and only one train stop away is the Wang Family Mansion. This place is impressive and served as the inspiration and I believe part of the set for one of Zhang Yi Mou's films. It's incredible to see how the extravagance of feudal China. A certain highlight to anyone travelling in Shanxi.
If you can only see one then my recommendation is to see Pingyao and the surrounding area. But if you can see both though.