Qianling Mausoleum & Tang Bo Art Museum

Please take metro line 1 to Hanchenglu Station and get out from Exit D. The West Bus Station will be right in front of you. Take a coach for Qianxian there and you will arrive at the destination in around 50 minutes.

Upon arrival, take bus no. 2 or hail a taxi to go directly to the Qianling Mausoleum. It is the joint tomb of Emperor Gaozong of Tang (628 - 683) and Wu Zetian (624 - 705) - the only female emperor in Chinese history. Additionally, you can also find mausoleums of other royal family members and officials inside.

When you finish visiting there, reverse the trip back to Xi’an West Bus Station. Then, take metro line 1 from Hanchenglu to Tonghuamen, where you can change to line 3. Get off at Yanxingmen Station and leave from Exit C. Walk eastwards along Jiangong Road for 800 meters (880 yards) and turn north to go along South Gongyuan Road for 250 meters (270 yards) to Tang Bo Art Museum, which displays Shaanxi folk art and ancient paintings of China.

After having a good time in the museum, your one-day independent Xi’an tour will comes to an end. You may either go back to your place to have some rest, or take metro line 3 to the north square of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda to enjoy the stunning musical fountain and the night scene of the tower.

Tour Highlights:

Qianling Mausoleum

The construction work of this mausoleum was started in 684 and it took 23 years to complete. Here rest the Emperor Gaozong - the third emperor of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) and his empress Wu Zetian who is also the emperor of Tang during 690 - 705. Besides, there are 17 accompanied tombs of princes, princesses, and court officials. Among them, mausoleums of Princess Yongtai, Crown Prince Zhanghuai, and Prince Yide have already been unearthed and some of the precious items discovered inside, including tri-colored glazed potteries, painted figures, and murals, are displayed at the exhibition hall in Qianling.

Another attractive sight is the 61 life-size stone figures of tribal chiefs on the two sides of the Zhuque Gate. These statues wear different clothes but all cup their hands in front of chest to show their respect to the two emperors.

Tip: There are sightseeing buses shuttling between Qianling Mausoleum and its accompanied tombs of Yongtai, Zhanghuai, and Yide. The bus fare is CNY 30 per person and is not included in the entrance ticket of Qianling.

Tang Bo Art Museum

This art museum can help you gain a better understanding of the traditional Chinese paintings and Shaanxi folk art. Here you can admire representative paintings from Prehistoric Period to the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) and plenty of local artworks, including farmers' paintings of Huxian County, shadow puppets of Huaxian County, paper-cutting of northern Shaanxi, as well as Mashao facial masks and clay sculptures of Fengxiang. Backpackers can also learn calligraphy and paper-cutting there, and enjoy the elegant tea ceremony.

Cost:

Qianling Mausoleum entrance fee	March - November: CNY 122 December - next February: CNY 82
Tang Bo Art Museum entrance fee	CNY 50
Xi’an - Qianxian bus fare	CNY 25.5
Fare of Qianxian bus no. 2	CNY 1
Qianxian - Qianling taxi fare	CNY 15
Hanchenglu - Yanxingmen metro   fare	CNY 5