Xi'an

Terracotta Army, getting there from Xi'an and tickets

How to get to the Terracotta Army from Xi'an by bus, metro or DiDi, the ticket price, how to book with your passport and what to see in each pit.

By Armando Pacheco, who lives in Shanghai · Reviewed 15 Oct 2026

The Terracotta Army is the clay army that guards the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor. Farmers found it in 1974 while digging a well. It is about 40 km east of Xi'an and takes a day to see.

Getting there from Xi'an

How	Time	Price	What to know
Tourist coach	1 h	19.9 yuan	Leaves from several points in the centre, including the Bell Tower. Outbound 8.00 to 13.30
Bus 游5 (306)	70 min	5 yuan	Leaves from Fangzhicheng bus hub, not the railway station. 7.00 to 19.00
Metro and bus	1 h 30 to 1 h 50	Metro plus 5 yuan	Line 9 to Huaqingchi, exit C, then bus 613 or 602
DiDi	45 to 60 min	120 to 160 yuan	Set the museum visitor centre as your destination. Avoid rush hour, 7.30 to 9.00

Do not get on a bus sold to you on the street near the old Xi'an railway station. They are not the official ones.

Tickets and booking

A ticket costs 120 yuan, about €16. Some websites say it drops to 100 from December to February. It covers the pit museum and Lishan Park, where the emperor's tomb is, with a free bus between them.

You book online with your passport. Ticket windows hardly sell any more.
Tickets open 7 days ahead, at midnight Beijing time.
There is a cap of 65,000 visitors a day. In summer they sell out. On 11 August 2026 they were gone by 12.30.
The official site is in Chinese. The easiest way is to book on Trip.com.
Bring the original passport you booked with. Photos and copies are not accepted.
According to Wander in China, children under 6 or under 1.2 m get in free with an adult. Check it when you book.

Opening hours and how long

It opens at 8.30 every day of the year. Last entry is 17.00 from 16 March to 15 November, and 16.30 the rest of the year. Allow 2 to 2.5 hours for the pits and another 1.5 hours for Lishan Park. With the trip there and back, it is a full day. The best times are right at opening or after 14.30. Tour groups arrive from 9.30 to 12.00.

What to see, pit by pit

Pit 1. The largest, like an aircraft hangar. Over 6,000 figures in battle formation, each with a different face. At the back is the "hospital", where broken figures are put back together.
Pit 3. The smallest, U-shaped. It is the command post, with officers and a war chariot.
Pit 2. Cavalry, chariots and archers. This is where the kneeling archer was found, one of the few figures found whole.
Bronze chariots. Two half-size chariots of the emperor, each with over 3,000 parts in bronze, gold and silver.

A good order is Pit 1, Pit 3, Pit 2, then the bus to Lishan Park.

With a guide or on your own

On your own, the audio guide works well, for 30 yuan plus a 100-yuan deposit. At the entrance there are official guides, 60 yuan per person in a group. If you would rather not think about anything, there are English tours from Xi'an with hotel pickup, transport, ticket and guide for about $40 to $90.