Terracotta Army: How to Get There

The route the museum prints and the only one with no touts on it — three changes and a bus, about 90 minutes from the wall, not a scenic ride. Leave the wall by 8:00 to be at the pits by 9:30 with the 8:30 crowd already inside; on weekends the 613 fills at Huaqingchi, so take the 602 if it is the one loading. The trap is the terminus: Huaqingchi is the palace, not the pits, and 6 km of bus or taxi still lie ahead. If you are two or more, a licensed taxi or DiDi for that last 6 km costs little more per head and saves the bus hunt — just never the car offered to you outside the station. For first-timers with a timed ticket and no Chinese phone number; anyone who wants the palace on the same day without a second bus.

The cheap, quick leg nobody mentions: twenty minutes and ¥5-10 from the old station to Lintong, on real trains with real timetables — twelve out, nine back. It is not door-to-door: the train leaves from Xi'an station north of the wall, not Xi'an North, it needs a 12306 booking in your passport (e-mail contact is allowed, and a first booking may need a one-off window check with the passport original), and Lintong station leaves you 6.5 km from the gate with a taxi still to take. Do not plan on an afternoon train home — there is nothing between 15:19 and 18:48; either catch the 15:19 or come back by bus and Metro Line 9. And do not look for 'Lintong East': 12306 has one Lintong, and it is this one. For people arriving at or staying near the old station; anyone with a 12306 account who wants the fastest leg for the least money.

The museum's own answer for people who want one seat and no changes — and the museum tells you where it leaves from and nothing else. Everything you need to plan around is a 2024 figure from one reposted notice: ¥30, half-hourly 8:00-14:00, last coach back 16:00, a phone number. Do not go without ringing 029-86691444 the day before, and do not expect the 16:00 return to fit a full visit — the museum checks tickets until 17:00, so go out by coach and come back by bus 613 / 602 and Metro Line 9. The trap is the name: the yellow minibuses at Bell Tower and Dayan Pagoda are a different company with shopping stops, and the coach-station coach is a third. For groups of two or more with a fixed morning who want a seat each and will confirm by phone; not anyone who cannot get through on a Chinese-language line.

A thirty-year legend that survived a 2019 cancellation threat, and the reason 'fake Bus 5' is a phrase. Do not plan a timed ticket around it: we cannot tell you the current stop from an official source, the museum has stopped recommending it, and the holiday queue at the real stop is exactly where the touts work. What it still has is the ¥7 fare paid on board with cash — the one thing a private coach cannot imitate, because the coach asks ¥20-30 and promises a guide. Unless you enjoy the hunt, take the metro; if you do try, the rule is queue, board, pay on board, and walk away from anyone who says 'this way to Bus 5'. For return visitors who know the stop and want the ¥7 ride; not first-timers, not anyone with a slot to keep.