Terracotta Warriors Museum (Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum) Tours and Tickets

The Terracotta Warriors Museum (Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum) is the largest tomb in Chinese history and archaeologists learned much about Chinese civilization from its excavation. This huge expanse of life-sized terracotta warriors, horses, and chariots weren’t unearthed until 1974, almost 2000 years after they were buried with Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Today it’s a major tourist attraction outside of Xian.

It costs around ¥420, about US$17, to enter the Terracotta Warriors Museum. It’s worth having a guide to help you navigate and understand the site, so booking a tour can be beneficial for efficiency and avoiding the hassle of finding a guide at the entrance. Most tours include round-trip transport from Xian.

There’s a lot to see at the Terracotta Warriors Museum, so wear good walking shoes. There are three huge excavated pits filled with rows of warriors, horses, and weapons, plus bronze sculptures and animals in the museum. You can also purchase souvenirs, food, and drinks.

Plan to spend around 2-3 hours at the Terracotta Warriors Museum. The journey from Xian is about 30 minutes by car or taxi, then it’s a 15-minute walk from the car park to the museum.

It depends. The Terracotta Warriors Museum is a relatively long day out for kids and there are usually large crowds, but it’s an impressive site that many children might be interested to see (depending on their interests and temperament). If you’re in Xian, it would be a waste not to visit.

Yes, you can visit the Terracotta Warriors Museum by yourself. You can take a public bus or a taxi there and hire a guide at the entrance, if you want to enhance the experience. If you take a taxi, you can ask your driver to wait and take you back to Xian later.