Terracotta Army (Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum) (秦始皇帝陵博物院（兵马俑）)

Museum · Xi’an. Stand above the excavated ranks of Qin terracotta soldiers near Xi’an.

Also called: Terracotta Warriors.

Source: https://chinafootnotes.com/places/terracotta-army · Data checked 2026-10-06 · Rendered for 2026-10-08 (Asia/Shanghai). Facts carry their status; "not found yet" means we searched and found no reliable source.

Why go

The Terracotta Army is an archaeological museum in Lintong, east of central Xi’an. The excavation halls let you see ranks of life-size soldiers, horses and ongoing conservation at the site of China’s first emperor. The same ticket also covers Lishan Garden (the emperor’s tomb park) and its Bronze Chariot hall, reached by free shuttle bus.

What to do

• See Pit 1. Begin with the large excavation hall to grasp the scale of the army and its partly excavated ranks.
• Compare the other pits. Walk on to Pits 2 and 3 to see different formations and excavated areas.
• Look at the objects. Use the museum exhibition hall to examine excavated objects after the vast pit views.
• Add Lishan Garden and the bronze chariots. The same ticket covers the Lishan Garden site with the Bronze Chariot hall; a free shuttle runs from the terracotta car park, and each of the two parts takes about 1.5 hours.

• Best time: Morning before the busiest tour groups
• Skip if: If you have only a short city-centre stop, allow for the long Lintong journey.

Practical details

• Hours: 08:30 entry · seasonal closing
• Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun: 08:30–19:00, last entry 17:00
• Peak season (03-16 to 11-15), Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun: 08:30–19:00, last entry 17:00
• Low season (11-16 to 03-15), Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun: 08:30–18:00, last entry 16:30
• The official page publishes only the first and last ticket-check times (17:00 from 16 March to 15 November, 16:30 from 16 November to 15 March); the 19:00 and 18:00 closing times in the rules are an editorial estimate, not an official figure.
• Bendibao’s weekday listing (updated 2026) also gives 08:30–17:00 check-in and a 19:00 closing time in the peak season, which matches the estimate above; the museum itself publishes only the check-in times.
• Admission: Ticketed · adult ¥120
• Adult: ¥120
• Battery cart inside the ticketed area (first gate / Lishan Garden): ¥5 — ¥5 at the museum gate; ¥15 inside Lishan Garden
• Concession: Full-time students up to undergraduate level (Chinese mainland students only) ¥60 (Student card, checked at the student gate)
• Concession: Retired military personnel (Chinese) ¥60 (Veteran preferential-treatment certificate)
• Free: Seniors aged 65 and over (Chinese nationals only; foreign seniors pay full price) (Chinese ID card)
• Free: Chinese children aged 16 and under with a guardian (up to 3 per adult) (Chinese ID or household register)
• Free: Children of non-Chinese nationality 1.4 m or shorter (a free ticket must still be booked in advance) (Height; accompanied by parents)
• Other free groups on the official list (serving military, disabled visitors, police, martyrs’ families) are for Chinese nationals.
• Booking: Book a timed ticket online
• Official museum ticketing — https://www.bmy.com.cn/jingtai/bmyweb/ticketing.html · passport: yes
• 秦始皇帝陵博物院 (秦始皇帝陵博物院) — WeChat → search 秦始皇帝陵博物院 → ticket booking · passport: yes
• 兵马俑票务在线 (兵马俑票务在线) — WeChat → search 兵马俑票务在线 → booking · passport: yes
• Passport accepted: yes — Foreign visitors can reserve with a passport and must bring the original document.
• The operator requires every visitor, foreigners included, to book a named online ticket. Two Reddit travellers (February and July 2026) still bought same-day tickets at the on-site office; book online for holidays, when daily capacity is capped.
• Last admission: 17:00 peak · 16:30 low
• Time to allow: 3–4 hr on site
• Getting there: Line 9 to Huaqingchi, then bus 613/602
• Metro Line 9 to Huaqingchi (华清池), Exit C, about 3 min walk
• Show a taxi driver: 秦始皇兵马俑博物馆北门
• The operator’s own route list starts from the airport, the north station and the railway station and joins at Fangzhicheng for Line 9; it also lists the Tonghuamen direct shuttle. It has no route from the Bell Tower.
• Foreign visitors: Passport booking and original ID required

Not found yet

• foreignVisitors.payment.foreignCard: Only Roadlisstravelled (Jul 2026) says foreign cards worked at the on-site office; the operator does not list payment methods. (searched: Exa web search (Cloudflare), Linkup web search (Cloudflare), Operator or government page (curl), Xiaohongshu)
• foreignVisitors.foreignPhone: The official booking pages do not say whether an overseas phone number can register; one 2024 Xiaohongshu author borrowed a relative’s Chinese number and two unnamed commenters report the same problem, but no 2026 account exists. (searched: Exa web search (Cloudflare), Linkup web search (Cloudflare), Operator or government page (curl), Xiaohongshu)

Traveler tips

• Reserve before leaving town. The museum requires a named, timed online ticket for every visitor, including foreign passport holders. Use the official website or one of the two named official WeChat accounts and save the booking record. source
• Carry the original passport. The ticket is tied to your identity document: bring the original passport you booked with, and show it at the North Gate. Booking is checked against the passport. One April 2026 visitor says no paper ticket or QR code was issued and the passport was swiped at the gate. Caveat: Gate swiping is from Xiaohongshu posters: 桃李不言 (2026-04) says no paper ticket or QR code was issued and the passport was swiped; 两宝妈 (2024-06) swiped it and showed it again at a second security check; 兵马俑小花 (2024-03) says to enter the passport number correctly; Everythingbothnothing (2024-04) says one of four passports would not scan. (4 travelers) source
• Go to the North Gate. The museum uses the North Gate as its visitor entrance. Set your ride destination to 秦始皇兵马俑博物馆北门, then follow the inspection route into the pit museum. source
• Arrive ahead of the slot. The operator asks timed-ticket visitors to wait at the gate about half an hour before their reserved period. Leave slack for the long walk from transport and for security. source
• Budget for the interchange. From the Bell Tower, take Line 6 to its terminus Fangzhicheng and change cross-platform to Line 9 for Huaqingchi. At Huaqingchi Exit C, take Lintong You 613 or 602 to the museum area; this is not a direct metro stop. Caveat: Line 6 and the Fangzhicheng interchange are from Wikipedia; Southporter (Reddit, 2026-02) and 桃李不言 (Xiaohongshu, 2026-04) both describe Line 6 to Fangzhicheng. The operator’s own list uses Line 1 to Fangzhicheng instead. (2 travelers) source
• Start with Pit 1. Pit 1 is the vast hall with the best view of the army’s scale. Continue to Pits 2 and 3 instead of treating the first photo stop as the full museum. source
• Keep Huaqing Palace as a separate stop. Huaqing Palace is a separate ticketed site next to Huaqingchi metro station. Visiting the terracotta pits does not get you in; plan the transfer as another stop. Caveat: The ¥120 Huaqing Palace price comes from a blogger’s visit in autumn 2024; see the Huaqing Palace entry for the current ticket. source
• Read the seasonal entry cutoff. The published last ticket check is 17:00 in the warmer season and 16:30 in the low season. Entry deadlines are earlier than the site closing time, so do not plan arrival for closing. source
• Metro plus shuttle bus takes 1.5–2 hours. A blogger who visited in late 2024 took Metro Line 1 to Fangzhicheng, changed to Line 9 toward Huaqing Pool (华清池), then boarded shuttle bus 602 or 613 for about €2 (2024 price), and counted 1.5–2 hours door to door. Caveat: Blog page carries affiliate links; fare is a 2024 figure. The operator route list (see tip above) gives the same route. source
• DiDi is the quick option. A blogger who visited in late 2024 reports a DiDi from the city taking about 40–50 minutes and costing ¥160–220 (2024 prices). Type the museum’s North Gate name (秦始皇兵马俑博物馆北门) as the destination so the driver stops at the visitor entrance. Caveat: Price is a 2024 figure from one blog with affiliate links. source
• Tourist Bus 5 (306) from the railway station. One 2026 guide says Tourist Bus 5, numbered 306, runs from Xi'an Railway Station and takes about one hour to reach the site, and calls it the cheapest direct option if you are staying near the station. Caveat: Departure point is given as the railway station’s North Square only by this blog; the operator’s list uses the Qinfeng depot by Tonghuamen station instead. Blog sells guided tours. source
• Go on a weekday morning. A blogger who visited in late 2024 advises going on a weekday outside public holidays; mornings are generally less busy, and 08:30–11:00 is the suggested window. Caveat: Blog page carries affiliate links; Reddit visitors disagree on morning versus late afternoon (see the timing tip). source
• Carry the passport you booked with. The ticket is tied to your identity, so carry the passport you used to book; you may be asked to show it at the entrance. The Daily Packers blog (updated July 2026) also advises packing water and snacks because food at the site is limited and often overpriced. Caveat: Blog sells guided tours; the official page separately requires the original passport. source
• Audio guides need a deposit. A blogger who visited in late 2024 found audio guides available at the site but needing a deposit almost as high as the cost of a private guide; the deposit was paid by WeChat and took weeks to be refunded, and the blogger suggests paying cash. The same blog quoted a private guide at around €30 (late 2024). Caveat: Single 2024 visit; amounts in euros as quoted by the blogger, no local rate published; page carries affiliate links. source
• Eat after the exit. A blogger who visited in autumn 2024 found only a few food options in front of the entrance and almost none inside the pits area; the main food court, with barbecue, dumplings and noodle soup such as biángbiáng noodles (wide hand-pulled noodles), is outside the exit. Caveat: Single autumn 2024 visit; the blogger notes the on-site offer might change. source
• Skip the public-holiday weeks. The Daily Packers blog (updated July 2026) warns that Chinese national holidays, Golden Week in early October and Chinese New Year bring very heavy crowds, and suggests a weekday outside those periods. Caveat: Blog sells guided tours. The official hours page also lists extended holiday opening and a higher daily cap in National Day week. source
• Same-day tickets were sold at the on-site office. Reddit travellers in February and July 2026 reported buying same-day tickets at the on-site ticket office. Roadlisstravelled (July 2026) paid with cash, a foreign credit card or Alipay. Official rules still require booking online by real name, so book ahead for holidays. Caveat: Southporter and ResponsibleMention21 add that peak periods such as Spring Festival were crowded. A blogger who visited in late 2024 (Müller) and the Daily Packers blog also say tickets can be bought at the site, with online booking safer in peak season. Only Roadlisstravelled names the payment methods. (4 travelers) source
• Bus 306 or the Huaqing Pool route. From Fangzhicheng (line 6) exit A, tourist bus 306 runs hourly and takes about 40 minutes; first bus is at 07:00 and arrives about 08:15. Alternatively change to line 9 to Huaqing Pool, then take bus 613 for about 15 minutes, which runs more often. (2 travelers) source
• Didi door to door. A Didi from central Xi'an to the entrance takes about 40 minutes; book the day before and ask the driver to wait for the return if you plan a morning visit. (3 travelers) source
• Morning versus late afternoon. Advice conflicts: some say arrive at 08:00–08:30 because Pit 1 is hardly passable within an hour of opening, while others found 16:00 calm, with crowds thinning as tour groups leave in the last hour. (5 travelers) source
• Hire an official guide inside, not outside. Official English-speaking guides are hired inside the site, in a building slightly to the right past the main gate, not from touts at the entrance. One commenter who paid a guide outside found the time spent steering to shops. Caveat: The Reddit commenters here differ on details; a blogger who visited in late 2024 was also warned not to hire the first person at the entrance and was offered more guides inside after scanning the ticket. Single comments: Pit 2 and Pit 3 are mostly rubble, and most signs are in English. (5 travelers) source
• Plan the re-entry before you leave the ticketed area. The ticket is checked three times across the terracotta museum and Lishan Garden, and visitors leave by the East Gate. Signposting is weak, and a tour guide walked a group out of the ticketed area so they could not go back in. Caveat: The three checks and East Gate exit are from the operator page; the group locked out is one Reddit account. (2 travelers) source
• Foreign seniors pay full price; young children are free. Seniors aged 65 and over are free only if Chinese nationals, so foreign seniors pay the full ¥120. Children of non-Chinese nationality 1.4 m or shorter are free but still need a ticket booked in advance and must come with their parents. Caveat: From the operator’s Chinese and English ticketing pages; the English page words the child rule as “under 1.4 meters (inclusive)”. Two 2024 posters (兵马俑小花, 煜玖玖) say the same: free policies are for Chinese citizens only, foreign 65-and-over pay full price, and children under 1.4 m are free; they also say foreign children over 1.4 m and under 16, and foreign full-time students, buy a student ticket, which the official page does not state for foreigners. (2 travelers) source
• Booking asked for a Chinese phone number in 2024. The official website may ask you to register with a Chinese mobile number. A foreign traveller in 2024 borrowed a relative’s number, pre-typed the visitor details in a document to paste in, and also booked through the 秦始皇陵博物院 WeChat account as the other channel. Caveat: One account from May 2024 (两宝妈); two unnamed commenters (2024-08, 2025-05) report the same problem and no one reports a way around it. No 2026 account found, so the current rule is unknown. source
• Use a Chinese name in the name field if English fails. When one 2024 helper booked on the 秦始皇陵博物院 WeChat account for two foreign relatives, the name field would not take an English name, so she typed a made-up Chinese name and entered the passport number correctly to finish payment. Caveat: One account from July 2024 (煜玖玖); an unnamed commenter in August 2024 said an English name worked and another got a garbled-character error. The passport is checked at the gate, not the name text. source
• Lishan Garden first or the pits first: visitors split. Three visitors went to Lishan Garden first and then rode the free shuttle from the pit car park to the pits, to avoid the morning tour-bus crowds; three others did the pits first and took the shuttle to Lishan afterwards. In Lishan, the ¥15 battery cart makes a one-way loop through 9901 (百戏俑 pit), the Bronze Chariot hall and the 0006 civil-official pit, with a stop at the emperor’s tomb mound that is get-off only. Caveat: Lishan first: 人间甜甜圈 (2025-11), Whitney妙妙屋 (2025-09), JUNJIE (2026-05). Pits first: biu (2026-03), 三个格子 (2025-06), 桃李不言 (2026-04). Unnamed commenters on JUNJIE’s post (2026-06, 2026-08) say in off-season the pits first is fine and Lishan can be skipped. Lishan checks tickets until 17:00 (peak) or 16:30 (low season). The ¥15 battery cart price matches the operator’s page. (5 travelers) source
• Walk the pits in the order 1, 3, 2, then the exhibition hall. Four visitors walked Pit 1 first, then small Pit 3, then Pit 2, and finished in the exhibition hall, so you never walk back. The hall has restored coloured figures. Caveat: 人间甜甜圈, 三个格子, JUNJIE and biu all give 1-3-2; 三个格子 and biu also praise the exhibition hall. 铁流1979 (2025-05) gives the same order. (4 travelers) source
• Official guides: ¥60 each, with a refundable deposit. The official guide desk is inside the museum on the left as you enter the Pit 1 hall, after the second security check. Three 2025 visitors and one April 2026 visitor paid ¥60 per person in groups of ten plus a ¥500 headset deposit refunded on return; in March 2026, biu paid ¥90 for a group of 1–5 plus ¥8 per headset at a desk in the first gate. Caveat: Prices conflict: 三个格子, Whitney妙妙屋, 人间甜甜圈 and 桃李不言 say ¥60 per person at the desk on the left of Pit 1; biu (2026-03) describes a different desk under an electronic screen in the first gate, ¥90 for 1–5 people covering the three pits. Which desk is the museum’s own is not stated by the operator. (5 travelers) source
• Ignore guide offers on the bus, road and first gate. People who board bus 613 at Huaqingchi, or call themselves “official guides” on the road and outside the first gate, are not the official desk; one account describes the bus driving into a museum car park and urging passengers to get off. Stay on until the stop directly opposite the museum entrance. Caveat: JUNJIE (2026-05), 三个格子 (2025-06) and 桃李不言 (2026-04) each describe the offers; 桃李不言 says offers at the first gate cost ¥30–40 and a group desk inside the second gate ¥90 per person, and calls them unofficial. Two unnamed commenters in 2026 repeat the bus story. (3 travelers) source
• From the gate to Pit 1 is a 10-minute walk or a ¥5 cart. After the second ticket check it is about 1 km, roughly a 10-minute walk, to Pit 1. A ¥5 battery cart sold just inside the gate takes you there and saves about 500 m. Caveat: JUNJIE (2026-05) puts it at about 1,000 m and 500 m saved; Whitney妙妙屋 (2025-09) and 两宝妈 (2024-06) say about 10 minutes on foot; biu (2026-03) rode the cart. The cart price matches the operator’s page. (4 travelers) source
• After the exit, expect a long walk to the bus. Beyond the exit gate the shopping and restaurant street to the car park and bus stop is long, about 2 km, and sellers keep calling out. 人间甜甜圈 turned right at the exit without taking the steps and walked to a restaurant near the exit to hail a taxi; the free shuttle back to Lishan Garden leaves opposite the Qin Shihuang statue. Caveat: JUNJIE (2026-05) and Whitney妙妙屋 (2025-09) give about 2 km (about half an hour); an unnamed commenter (2026-04) says the right-hand small path used in 人间甜甜圈’s post is no longer open. Whitney also suggests crossing a “visitors keep out” sign and claiming to be a villager; do not do that. (4 travelers) source
• Bus 613 or 602 from Huaqingchi Exit C. From Huaqingchi station Exit C the bus stop is about 30 m ahead. Bus 613 costs ¥5, runs without stops and takes about 15 minutes; bus 602 costs about ¥2. To go back, board opposite the museum entrance. Caveat: biu (2026-03) took 613 from the stop 30 m from Exit C (the operator’s route list says 197 m), 15 minutes, ¥5, about 1 h 25 min door to door from Yongningmen; JUNJIE (2026-05) gives ¥2 for 602 and ¥5 for 613 and says 613 is more frequent; 三个格子 (2025-06) says 613 runs nonstop. (3 travelers) source
• Be at the first gate around 08:15 for a quiet Pit 1. The first gate opens about 08:15 and does not check tickets; queue on the left, then run to the second gate for the 08:30 passport scan, buy the ¥5 cart ticket at the booth on the left, and reach the third gate (security) before the crowd to see Pit 1 nearly empty. Caveat: Mostly 桃李不言 (2026-04), one account of two visits; 人间甜甜圈 (2025-11) also found the pits quiet at midday and tour groups arriving by 13:30. Off-season tickets were easy to get the day before; in peak season the operator says book online. (2 travelers) source
• Exhibition hall and the post office are easy to miss. After Pit 2, the exhibition hall has restored coloured figures and needs no guide; the post office on the way out stamps cards free, with a special terracotta-army postmark. Caveat: 三个格子 (2025-06) found the free stamps and postmark (own stamps; she bought none); biu (2026-03) and JUNJIE (2026-05) recommend the hall. (3 travelers) source
• Pit 2 has a new exhibition and two visiting routes. Pit 2’s hall now has a revamped exhibition with ten themed groups, moving-image screens, XR scenes and light projections in the pit. The north area is a deep-visit route; the south area is a quick route with light-box panels. Caveat: From the museum’s news item of 2 October 2026, which says the upgraded hall opened to the public for a trial opening on 1 October and will stay open long term. Pit 2 stayed open to visitors during the works. source

Sources

• Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum
• Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum
• Xi’an Cultural Heritage Bureau (published 2026-09-24)
• Markus Müller (published 2026-04-03)
• The Daily Packers (published 2026-07-03)
• DevelopmentLow214 (published 2026-02-18)
• Southporter (published 2026-02-26)
• ResponsibleMention21 (published 2026-02-28)
• hutcho66 (published 2026-02-28)
• worldspy99 (published 2026-02-28)
• Mima-x2 (published 2026-03-19)
• Affectionate-Gap-345 (published 2026-07-04)
• GZHotwater (published 2026-07-04)
• Ok-Contribution-3541 (published 2026-07-04)
• Roadlisstravelled (published 2026-07-04)
• -YellowFish- (published 2026-07-04)
• displacergeese (published 2026-07-04)
• random_agency (published 2026-07-04)
• Moist-Chair684 (published 2026-07-26)
• 桃李不言 (published 2026-04-01)
• 两宝妈 (published 2024-06-28)
• 兵马俑小花 (published 2024-03-29)
• Everythingbothnothing (published 2024-04-25)
• 煜玖玖 (published 2024-07-31)
• JUNJIE (published 2026-05-26)
• biu (published 2026-03-24)
• 人间甜甜圈🍩 (published 2025-11-23)
• Whitney妙妙屋 (published 2025-09-30)
• 三个格子 (published 2025-06-17)
• Wikipedia
• Wikipedia
• Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum (published 2026-10-02)

More places

• More in Xi’an: Grand Tang Dynasty Ever-bright City, Shaanxi History Museum (main building)
• Book ahead: what to reserve before you go