Terracotta Army: tickets, hours and how to visit
Three pits, 8,000 figures, no two faces alike. Go at opening; the site is 40 km east.
Terracotta Army at a glance
Three pits, 8,000 figures, no two faces alike. Go at opening; the site is 40 km east. Plan on 3 hours on site here, plus half an hour either side for entry, security and parking.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tickets | CNY 120 including all three pits and the bronze chariots hall. No separate camera fee. Students and seniors half price with ID. |
| Opening hours | 08:30–18:00 (Mar–Nov), 08:30–17:30 (Dec–Feb). Ticket sales stop 60 minutes before closing. |
| Time needed | 3 hours on site; 5 hours door to door from central Xi'an. |
| City | Xi'an, China |
What to see
Three things carry this sight. If you are short on time, do them in this order.
- Pit 1the 6,000-figure main army, the one you have seen photographed
- Pit 3the command post, small but the only complete one excavated
- Bronze chariots halltwo half-size chariots in extraordinary detail
Tickets and booking
How the ticket works, and what foreigners usually get wrong.
Before you buy
- Price. CNY 120 including all three pits and the bronze chariots hall. No separate camera fee. Students and seniors half price with ID.
- Booking. The site is a functioning archaeological dig, not a museum — Pit 1 is a hangar with no air conditioning in summer and no heating in winter. Go at opening; by 10:30 the viewing rail is three people deep and the light is flat.
- Payment. Most Chinese sights take WeChat Pay or Alipay only. Cash works at staffed windows but not at self-service machines; a licensed guide can pay on your behalf and settle with you at the end of the day.
Getting there and when to go
45 minutes east of the city by car. Bus 306 (green, from the east square of Xi'an railway station) takes 70 minutes for CNY 8 but queues at peak. A car lets you arrive at 08:30 opening and leave before the 11:00 tour wave.
08:30–18:00 (Mar–Nov), 08:30–17:30 (Dec–Feb). Ticket sales stop 60 minutes before closing.. The first hour after opening is the quietest — tour groups arrive around 09:30. Late afternoon gives better light but the main viewpoints start clearing people out, so shoot early if that is your priority.
Public transport reaches Terracotta Army, but connections and waiting times add up. With luggage, older travellers, or two sights in one day, a car and driver removes the guesswork.
The one thing that goes wrong
Xi'an local note
- The site is a functioning archaeological dig, not a museum — Pit 1 is a hangar with no air conditioning in summer and no heating in winter. Go at opening; by 10:30 the viewing rail is three people deep and the light is flat.
Pairing Terracotta Army with
These are usually on the same day or the same trip.
Terracotta Army: questions travellers ask
Should I see the pits in order?
Is it worth hiring a guide?
Can I combine it with Huaqing Palace?
How booking works — three steps, itinerary before price
No deposit to get a plan, and nothing is locked in before you agree.
Send the brief
Dates, party size, how you arrive and what you want to see around Terracotta Army.
Get a route and a price
We order the stops by location and traffic, then quote per car per day with fuel, tolls and the driver included.
Confirm and travel
Only after you accept the route and the price do we assign the car and guide.
