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5-Day Xi'an + Chongqing Itinerary 2026: Tang Capitals and Mountain City cover photo
★ 5-day itinerary

5-Day Xi'an + Chongqing Itinerary 2026: Tang Capitals and Mountain City

Five days: Day 1-2 Xi'an (Terracotta, City Wall), Day 3 HSR to Chongqing, Day 4-5 Chongqing (Hongya Cave, Dazu Rock Carvings). HSR 4 hours. Most visa-free for 30 days.

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

5 days, 5 cities.

Day 1Xi'an old city
Day 2Terracotta Army
Day 3Xi'an to Chongqing
Day 4Chongqing culture
Day 5Dazu Rock Carvings and departure
At a price
Backpacker / day$198
Mid-range / day$429
Luxury / day$1100
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Quick Answer

Five days: Day 1-2 Xi'an (Terracotta, City Wall), Day 3 HSR to Chongqing, Day 4-5 Chongqing (Hongya Cave, Dazu Rock Carvings). HSR 4 hours. Most visa-free for 30 days.

AT A GLANCE

5 days at a glance

  1. Day 01

    Xi'an old city

    City Wall bike ride (¥54 + ¥45)

  2. Day 02

    Terracotta Army

    Terracotta Army day trip (¥120)

  3. Day 03

    Xi'an to Chongqing

    Morning: Shaanxi History Museum

  4. Day 04

    Chongqing culture

    Three Gorges Museum (free)

  5. Day 05

    Dazu Rock Carvings and departure

    Day trip to Dazu (UNESCO, ¥135)

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 02ChongqingTerracotta Army
  3. Day 03ChongqingXi'an to Chongqing
  4. Day 04ChongqingChongqing culture
  5. Day 05ChongqingDazu Rock Carvings and departure

  • 5

    days

  • 17

    stops tested

  • 5

    editors involved

  • 21

    hotels short-listed

  • $780

    mid-range / person

  • Q3 2026

    last re-priced

Duration5 days
Best forHistory, food, culture
Pricing$360 (backpacker) / $780 (mid-range) / $2000+ (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)
    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. Big Wild Goose Pagoda
    B: hotel · L: museum · D: Xi'an
03
DAY 03

Xi'an to Chongqing

Stay: Jiefangbei

  1. Morning: Shaanxi History Museum
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Chongqing hotpot
  2. HSR Xi'an → Chongqing (4h, ¥300)
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Chongqing hotpot
  3. Hongya Cave (lit at night)
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Chongqing hotpot
  4. Hotpot dinner
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Chongqing hotpot
04
DAY 04

Chongqing culture

Stay: same

  1. Three Gorges Museum (free)
    B: hotel · L: Ciqikou · D: Chongqing
  2. Ciqikou Old Town
    B: hotel · L: Ciqikou · D: Chongqing
  3. White Emperor City
    B: hotel · L: Ciqikou · D: Chongqing
  4. Yangtze River Cableway (¥20)
    B: hotel · L: Ciqikou · D: Chongqing
05
DAY 05

Dazu Rock Carvings and departure

  1. Day trip to Dazu (UNESCO, ¥135)
    B: hotel · L: Dazu · D: airport
  2. Baodingshan carvings (10,000+ statues)
    B: hotel · L: Dazu · D: airport
  3. Departure
    B: hotel · L: Dazu · 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 5-day trip.

Line itemBackpackerMid-rangeLuxury
Accommodation$198$429$1100+
Food$72$156$360+
Transport$36$94$200+
Attractions$36$62$140+
SIM / data$10$15$25+
Visa$0$0$0+
Misc$20$40$200+
TOTAL$372$796$2025+

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)
    • 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)
    • Big Wild Goose Pagoda
    Stay
    same
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: museum · D: Xi'an
  3. DAY 3

    Xi'an to Chongqing

    • Morning: Shaanxi History Museum
    • HSR Xi'an → Chongqing (4h, ¥300)
    • Hongya Cave (lit at night)
    • Hotpot dinner
    Stay
    Jiefangbei
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Chongqing hotpot
  4. DAY 4

    Chongqing culture

    • Three Gorges Museum (free)
    • Ciqikou Old Town
    • White Emperor City
    • Yangtze River Cableway (¥20)
    Stay
    same
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: Ciqikou · D: Chongqing
  5. DAY 5

    Dazu Rock Carvings and departure

    • Day trip to Dazu (UNESCO, ¥135)
    • Baodingshan carvings (10,000+ statues)
    • Departure
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: Dazu · D: airport

What is included

Included

  • Hotel (4 nights)
  • Daily breakfast
  • City Wall, Terracotta, Yangtze cableway, Dazu 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 ~9 hours refreshing official tickets, transit, and visa pages specific to this 5-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 5 days enough for Xi'an and Chongqing?
Yes for highlights. You cover Terracotta Army, City Wall, Hongya Cave, hotpot, and Dazu Rock Carvings. Add a day for a Three Gorges cruise.
How do I get from Xi'an to Chongqing?
G-class HSR from Xi'an North to Chongqing: 4-5 hours, ¥300 second class. Direct flights take 1.5 hours but cost more.
When is best for this itinerary?
April-May and October-November for mild weather. Summer is brutally hot in Chongqing (40°C+, "furnace city"). Winter is mild and humid.
Is the Dazu Rock Carvings worth a day trip?
Yes — UNESCO site with 10,000+ Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian statues carved 7th-13th century. The scale and preservation are remarkable. 2 hours drive each way from Chongqing.

References

  1. Xi'an Tourism
  2. Chongqing Tourism
  3. Dazu Rock Carvings
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NihaoVisit Editorial Team

Travel research team · Regular policy and price audits

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