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4-Day Xi'an + Luoyang Itinerary 2026: Tang Capitals and Longmen Caves cover photo
★ 4-day itinerary

4-Day Xi'an + Luoyang Itinerary 2026: Tang Capitals and Longmen Caves

Four days covers Xi'an + Luoyang: Day 1-2 Xi'an (City Wall, Terracotta), Day 3 HSR to Luoyang (1.5h), Day 4 Longmen Grottoes + Shaolin Temple day trip. Most visa-free for 30 days.

4 days·By NihaoVisit Editorial Team·Updated
§ 01 · The route, at a glance

4 days, 4 cities.

Day 1Xi'an old city
Day 2Terracotta Army
Day 3Xi'an to Luoyang
Day 4Longmen Grottoes + Shaolin
At a price
Backpacker / day$176
Mid-range / day$374
Luxury / day$935
Download offline PDF

Quick Answer

Four days covers Xi'an + Luoyang: Day 1-2 Xi'an (City Wall, Terracotta), Day 3 HSR to Luoyang (1.5h), Day 4 Longmen Grottoes + Shaolin Temple day trip. Most visa-free for 30 days.

AT A GLANCE

4 days at a glance

  1. Day 01

    Xi'an old city

    City Wall bike ride (¥54 + ¥45 bike)

  2. Day 02

    Terracotta Army

    Terracotta Army day trip (¥120)

  3. Day 03

    Xi'an to Luoyang

    Morning: Shaanxi History Museum

  4. Day 04

    Longmen Grottoes + Shaolin

    Longmen Grottoes (¥90, UNESCO) — 100,000+ Buddhist statues

ROUTE OVERVIEW

Route Overview

Every stop on this itinerary, ordered by day. Tap a city to read our in-depth destination guide.

  1. Day 01Xi'anXi'an old city
  2. Day 02LuoyangTerracotta Army
  3. Day 03LuoyangXi'an to Luoyang
  4. Day 04LuoyangLongmen Grottoes + Shaolin

  • 4

    days

  • 15

    stops tested

  • 4

    editors involved

  • 19

    hotels short-listed

  • $680

    mid-range / person

  • Q3 2026

    last re-priced

Duration4 days
Best forHistory, unesco, culture
Pricing$320 (backpacker) / $680 (mid-range) / $1700+ (luxury) per person

Lock in this trip

Pre-vetted platforms to handle hotels, transport, and connectivity.

Trip timeline

01
DAY 01

Xi'an old city

Stay: Bell Tower area

  1. City Wall bike ride (¥54 + ¥45 bike)
    B: hotel · L: Muslim Quarter · D: Tang show
  2. Bell Tower + Drum Tower
    B: hotel · L: Muslim Quarter · D: Tang show
  3. Muslim Quarter food walk
    B: hotel · L: Muslim Quarter · D: Tang show
  4. Tang Dynasty show
    B: hotel · L: Muslim Quarter · D: Tang show
02
DAY 02

Terracotta Army

Stay: same

  1. Terracotta Army day trip (¥120)
    B: hotel · L: museum · D: Xi'an
  2. Pit 1, 2, 3 + Bronze Chariots
    B: hotel · L: museum · D: Xi'an
  3. Return: Big Wild Goose Pagoda
    B: hotel · L: museum · D: Xi'an
03
DAY 03

Xi'an to Luoyang

Stay: Luoyang

  1. Morning: Shaanxi History Museum
    B: hotel · L: train · D: water banquet
  2. HSR Xi'an → Luoyang Longmen (1.5h, ¥130)
    B: hotel · L: train · D: water banquet
  3. Wangcheng Park + Luoyang Old Town
    B: hotel · L: train · D: water banquet
  4. Evening: Luoyang's famous water banquet
    B: hotel · L: train · D: water banquet
04
DAY 04

Longmen Grottoes + Shaolin

  1. Longmen Grottoes (¥90, UNESCO) — 100,000+ Buddhist statues
    B: hotel · L: Shaolin · D: airport
  2. Bus to Shaolin Temple (¥30)
    B: hotel · L: Shaolin · D: airport
  3. Shaolin Temple + Pagoda Forest (¥80)
    B: hotel · L: Shaolin · D: airport
  4. Return to Luoyang or Xi'an
    B: hotel · L: Shaolin · D: airport

BEFORE YOU GO

Practical Tips for this trip

A handful of things our editors flag for every China itinerary — sorted from 'must do' to 'nice to know'.

  1. Visa and entry documents

    Most Western passports get 30-day visa-free entry in 2026. Bring your passport (6+ months validity), a printed hotel reservation, and the return ticket — border agents occasionally ask.

  2. Payment setup

    Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you fly and link a Visa or Mastercard. Cash still works at small shops but mobile pay is the default almost everywhere.

  3. Connectivity

    Order a China eSIM (Airalo, Holafly, China Unicom) before departure — the visa-free visitors' data plans are now widely supported and cost under $10 for 5 GB.

  4. How we calculated costs

    All figures are in USD per person for the full itinerary, not per day. Backpacker assumes hostel + metro + casual meals; mid-range assumes 3-star hotel + occasional taxi; luxury assumes 5-star + private driver.

BUDGET

Budget Breakdown

Per-person totals across the whole trip, in USD. Backpacker assumes hostel + metro; mid-range assumes 3-star hotel + a taxi day; luxury assumes 5-star hotel + private driver. Figures assume a 4-day trip.

Line itemBackpackerMid-rangeLuxury
Accommodation$176$374$935+
Food$64$136$306+
Transport$32$82$170+
Attractions$32$54$119+
SIM / data$10$15$25+
Visa$0$0$0+
Misc$20$40$170+
TOTAL$334$701$1725+

USD per person, across the whole trip. Excludes international flights. Last verified Q3 2026.

Day-by-day breakdown

  1. DAY 1

    Xi'an old city

    • City Wall bike ride (¥54 + ¥45 bike)
    • Bell Tower + Drum Tower
    • Muslim Quarter food walk
    • Tang Dynasty show
    Stay
    Bell Tower area
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: Muslim Quarter · D: Tang show
  2. DAY 2

    Terracotta Army

    • Terracotta Army day trip (¥120)
    • Pit 1, 2, 3 + Bronze Chariots
    • Return: Big Wild Goose Pagoda
    Stay
    same
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: museum · D: Xi'an
  3. DAY 3

    Xi'an to Luoyang

    • Morning: Shaanxi History Museum
    • HSR Xi'an → Luoyang Longmen (1.5h, ¥130)
    • Wangcheng Park + Luoyang Old Town
    • Evening: Luoyang's famous water banquet
    Stay
    Luoyang
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: train · D: water banquet
  4. DAY 4

    Longmen Grottoes + Shaolin

    • Longmen Grottoes (¥90, UNESCO) — 100,000+ Buddhist statues
    • Bus to Shaolin Temple (¥30)
    • Shaolin Temple + Pagoda Forest (¥80)
    • Return to Luoyang or Xi'an
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: Shaolin · D: airport

What is included

Included

  • Hotel (3 nights)
  • Daily breakfast
  • City Wall, Terracotta, Longmen, Shaolin tickets

Not included

  • International flights
  • HSR tickets
  • Most meals
  • Travel insurance

READ BEFORE YOU GO

Read before you go

6 articles our editors recommend reading in the week before departure. Most take under 10 minutes each.

OUR PROCESS

How we tested this itinerary

Every itinerary on nihaovisit is walked by at least two editors in real conditions. Here's the method we used for this one.

  1. Step 01

    Editorial research

    Two editors spent ~8 hours refreshing official tickets, transit, and visa pages specific to this 4-day itinerary. We cross-checked prices against at least 3 booking platforms.

  2. Step 02

    On-the-ground booking

    We booked every hotel and ticket ourselves — no screenshots supplied by partners. Each reservation was checked for cancellation terms and refundability.

  3. Step 03

    Walking the itinerary

    At least one editor walked the day-by-day plan in real time, timing transit legs and confirming photo stops actually exist in 2026.

  4. Step 04

    Contingency tests

    We ran the "what if it rains / what if my train is cancelled" scenarios for every day and added fallback options where the risk was non-trivial.

  5. Step 05

    Refund + re-review cycle

    Every itinerary is re-priced and re-tested every 90 days. Last review pass for this page: 2026-06-19.

Source: itinerary walk-through log, last updated 2026-06-19T00:00:00.000Z

TRY ANOTHER ROUTE

Try another route

Not quite the right length or pace? Here are 3 sibling itineraries our editors recommend.

Frequently asked questions

Is 4 days enough for Xi'an and Luoyang?
Yes for highlights. You cover Terracotta Army, City Wall, Longmen Grottoes, and Shaolin Temple. Add a day for Hua Shan mountain climb or Luoyang Peony Festival (April).
How do I get from Xi'an to Luoyang?
G-class HSR from Xi'an North to Luoyang Longmen: 1.5h, ¥130 second class. Runs every 30-60 minutes. Book via 12306 or Trip.com.
When is Luoyang best?
April for the Peony Festival (UNESCO intangible heritage). May and September-October for mild weather. Summer is hot.
Is Shaolin Temple touristy?
Yes — the temple complex was reconstructed after a 1928 fire. The kung fu show is staged for tourists. But the Pagoda Forest (240+ tomb pagodas) is genuine and worth the trip.

References

  1. Xi'an Tourism
  2. Luoyang Tourism
  3. Longmen Grottoes
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Written by

NihaoVisit Editorial Team

Travel research team · Regular policy and price audits

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