Traveler Reviews

Great attraction - And do the bike ride!
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on Sep 9, 2008


The Xian city walls are great! In every sense of the word. They are absolutely massive, and they are really well restored. I had visited Xian a couple of months prior to coming there on holiday with my three teenage kids. During that visit I discovered that it was possible to rent bikes on the wall and immediately realised that this would probably be a popular activity with them. When we arrived at the wall our guide gave us a quick introduction to the walls and also took us to some of the exhibitions in the buildings on top of the wall close to the south gate. But the kids were already restless after having spent most of the morning visiting the Terra-Cotta army exhibition, and were eager to get out on the bikes. So we rented four bikes, and off we went. I had imagined that the kids probably would not want to go too far as it was pretty hot and humid. But despite the sweat streaming down our backs after only a few minutes they quickly made it known to me that they were intent on going all the way around. The ride was rather bumpy in some parts, but this didn?t seem to matter so much. It soon developed into a little race and it felt like we were back at the south gate again in no time. Dripping with sweat we were all glad to be back there, but the kids were smiling from ear to ear and in the best mood they had been in on our entire China trip. The Great Wall, Forbidden City and the Terra Cotta Warriors are of course the top China attractions, but for me the bike ride on top of the Xian city wall was a whole lot of fun and a welcome break from the usual tourist attractions. And I know the kids just loved it!

Worth climbing up to for the view but no need to see all of the wall
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on May 26, 2008


The view from the wall is worth seeing but I would recommend seeing it during the evening when the lights are on, as during the day the view is less attractive and also during summer pretty hot. I also do NOT recommend buying tickets for the golf cart that does the tour of the entire wall for RMB100 per person for the 1 hour trip. Visiting all of the wall I found repetitive and instead I would recommend visiting only the East gate.

Xi'an City Wall - A Must Do
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on May 13, 2008


Whether you decide to rent a bike or just walk a couple sections of the city wall it is definitely worth the time. Great views of the city and activities. We rented bikes and rode the entire wall - took almost 2hrs (8 miles) with frequent stops. Lots of fun and one of the highlights of Xi'an.

Biking on the Xian City Wall
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on Mar 11, 2008


I agree with the previous reviewers that this is a highlight of travel to Xian, specially if you are traveling with children. The wall has been fully restored, and it is now possible to go all the way around. The entire perimeter is 14 km. so it only takes a couple of hours to do that. It took us about three hours since we stopped a lot with the kids to take a look at the different watchtowers and gates or just watch daily life unfold down below. We rented our bikes from the rental place at the South Gate. It was only a couple of dollars for the rental, but you have to leave a deposit, about $15 for each bike. If you have small children and are afraid they won't make it all the way around, there are tandem bikes so they can ride with an adult. The ride is an easy one, maybe a little bumpy in some parts. The wall is wide enough so we didn't have to worry about running over others! Make sure you bring something to drink, specially on hot days and enjoy! You can watch our video here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ProfileGallery-i17664901.html

xi'an city walls
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on Jan 13, 2008


lots of people just visit xi'an to go see the terracotta warriors, but there is much more to the city, such as the walls rent a bicycle for dirt cheap and cycle around them; it's really neat and it doesn't take too long (it takes a few hours to walk the whole thing)