Agate Travel in the Media

I had an excellent tour with Lily. My Chinese is okay and I generally navigate tourist areas by myself in China, but I’m so glad I decided to take this tour. It’s perfect whether you live in China or are just a visitor who doesn’t speak a word of Chinese!

Lily met me at a Metro station (as my hotel was outside the pickup area) where we met with the driver, who had picked up the other couple on my tour. The whole day we were in a nice minivan with free water bottles.

We drove to the terracotta warriors, first stopping to meet the farmer who discovered them (he was at the official museum shop where you could buy history books he would sign). Lily then walked us to the 3 different parts of the terracotta warriors museum/pits, providing incredible historical information and letting us know where to get the best pictures. We got lunch at a local restaurant outside the museum, then drove to the Little Goose Pagoda. Unfortunately it was unexpectedly closed, but Lily did an amazing job adjusting on the fly and instead took us to the Xi’an History Museum, where she provided an amazing impromptu tour with historical information. We then drove to the Xi’an City Wall, heading to the top while she explained the history. We looked at the views and got pictures, but because it was snowing and cold, decided not to stay for long. We then drove to the Muslim food street area, where she walked us around and helped me find the Metro station at the end. She recommended going to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda area at night after the tour - awesome idea! Huge plaza and food area with a light and water show.

Throughout the day there were unexpected delays/problems (nothing to do with the tour - just because it was the first snow of the year and the city wasn’t prepared), but Lily did an outstanding job accommodating these situations. I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone visiting Xi’an and wanting to hit all the city highlights.

If you’re looking to extends your trip to Xi’an, I’d recommend a day trip to Huashan (Mt. Hua) - only 30 minutes by bullet train. Also, Shaolin Temple (home of Kungfu) isn’t too far from Xi’an. Read lessCollapse

This was an incredible tour that I would highly recommend for any non-chinese as well as Chinese persons. Why? First of all if you are non-Chinese, you have all sorts of passport issues when purchasing tickets at counters with some one that has virtually no English skills. Then, if you do not sign up for a tour that picks you up at your hotel, you need to have Wechat on your phone connected to your credit card to order a taxi to go to the site. Further, you would need to be fluent in Mandarin to talk to the taxi service. All of these critical problems are solved when you book the trip through Tripadvisor!

As for the tour guide Lilly, you may want to request that she be your guide. Myself, I am very familiar with Chinese history. However, she provided many key insights into these historical sites. She noted that it was March 28th, 1974 when seven villagers from Xi'An were digging a well due to the drought. Instead, they found some of the warriors from the Terracotta Army. Of the seven who found this incredible discovery, five of them have passed away. Lilly was able to introduce me to one of the two surviving men who discovered the Terracotta Army. I now have an autographed copy of his book and a picture of meeting him. Is an autographed Chinese history book something that you would like to leave to your grandchildren?

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda on this tour is one of the most famous pagodas in China for two reasons: (1) it was built by Empeor Taizong in 629 AD. Taizong was one of China's greatest emperors, he is also the emperor that sent Xuanzang the Chinese Buddhist monk to obtain much better copies of the Buddhist scriptures. The Buddhist Xuanzang's Journey to the West (i.e. India) inspired one of China's four greatest fictional novels, which we call the "Monkey King." (2) The Pagoda was originally five stories high. However, Wu Zetian, the only lady whoever became the Emperor in China, expanded it to seven stories. At that time, it was the tallest building in Xi'An. Wu Zetian became a concubine of the emperor at age 13, and then many years later became one of China's best governing Emperors.

Xi'An's city wall. Maybe you have visited a castle in Europe and seen one of their outside walls guarding the castle. However, unless you have walked the Great Wall of China or visited the city wall around Nanjing, European castle exterior castle walls are nothing in comparison to Chinese city walls. These were built so wide that chariots could easily travel both directions.

Finally, end the night at the Muslim Bazaar and try the street food. In China, street delicacies are a Chinese culture by themselves. Sometimes you might find something similar at a cultural event in the U.S., but never to the extent you will see here. The only problem you may have is that your stomach might not be big enough to hold all of the Chinese delicaes that you will want to taste.

My last recommendation, you want to ask for Lily as your guide. Her English skills are excellent and knowledge of Chinese culture is extensive.Collapse