Warmly welcomed by your English-speaking guide and driver at the lobby of your booked accommodation in downtown Xi’an, the day starts with a short ride outside the city centre towards the region’s best known sites. As one of the world’s most significantly important archaeological discoveries, no visit to Xi’an would be complete without a trip to the Terracotta Army, a site which was found by local farmers who were digging a well in 1974. Depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China who is buried here alongside more than 8,000 life-size terracotta figures of warriors, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses arranged in battle formations, the sheer scale and the history of this excavation site is an impressive sight to behold. Lunch is included at a local restaurant.

Next, we head back to the downtown area and make our way towards one of the most important symbols of ancient Xi’an, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. This religious shrine has stood imperiously over the city ever since its construction in 652, when it originally comprised five storeys. While the Buddhist tower was extended to 10 storeys in 704, a sixteenth-century earthquake damaged the top three storeys to leave it at its present height of 64 metres and a very slight tilt to the west.

Before we make our way back to your overnight address, seeing Xi’an from the City Wall delivers commanding views over its sprawling city centre. These fortifications are some of the most complete and well-preserved in China and were built under the rule of Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang during the Ming dynasty. Learn about this important defence system that is located at the beginning of the prosperous Silk Road.