One famous pit, or the whole mausoleum story?
For a first archaeology-focused visit with a morning ticket, do Terracotta Museum + Lishan Garden. Pit 1 supplies the scale, Pits 3 and 2 explain different military roles, and Lishan Garden shows the tomb landscape and bronze chariots. For a late arrival or a group with limited mobility or stamina, choose an unhurried three-pit visit and return to Xi’an.
Give Lintong a full excursion
Morning timed entry at the Terracotta Museum, three selected pit stops, food/rest, free transfer, Bronze Chariots Museum and one further Lishan stop, then a return with a known backup.
Protect an unhurried army visit
Use the same ticket and North Gate entry, but finish after the pits when the return, health or a fixed evening commitment matters more than a rushed second park. The ticket remains valid for the selected day.
Huaqing Palace or night show
Huaqing Palace requires separate admission. A daytime palace visit or evening show takes time away from Lishan and needs a separate late return. Decide on that before buying the show.
- Xi’an hotelMetro or booked car toward Lintong
- Terracotta North GatePassport inspection → Pit 1 → Pit 3 → Pit 2
- East exit → signed shuttle pointFollow signs to the boarding point west of North Gate
- Lishan Garden East GateBronze chariots → selected pits / mound view
- Xi’an hotelPrearranged legal pickup, or shuttle back → 613/602 → Line 9 → city Metro
This diagram shows the site and transfer sequence; distances and departure times are outside its scope. The museum’s free intersite shuttle is distinct from paid electric carts inside either site and from the public bus to Huaqingchi Metro.
The museum’s own guide suggests about 1.5 hours at each site. Those allowances cover viewing. Add the outbound journey, North Gate approach, security and passport inspection, crowd pauses, meal, shuttle wait, the second site’s admission and the full return. If you can spare only a short afternoon, choose the pits or a different city visit rather than treating both sites as one compact attraction.
Choose a Xi’an hotel base before the Lintong day → Keep the same hotel for the city day and plan the final journey to its exact entrance.
Book one real-name ticket for both sites
Book 秦始皇帝陵博物院 through the museum’s official booking entry or the museum’s listed official WeChat channels. The standard adult price shown by the operator is CNY 120 in both seasons; the ticket is valid on the selected day for the Terracotta Museum and Lishan Garden, with admission at each site. Select a morning entry if you want both. Complete payment and save the issued order with its date, time slot, name and document number. The museum expressly asks visitors to complete online purchase before arrival; capacity can sell out.
Use the passport number and name that match the original, valid passport you will carry. The operator accepts a passport for real-name booking and inspection, including foreign visitors. Save the order details offline and arrive for your booked admission; its detailed instructions say to be at the museum about 30 minutes before your slot. For a pending payment or failed purchase, use the official order lookup or ticket hotline +86 29 8139 9127 to obtain an issued ticket before leaving. The existing Xi’an passport-ticket guide handles the booking and document cases across several museums; this page owns the complete Lintong day.
The operator’s seasonal admission table gives 08:30–17:00 from 16 March to 15 November, with site closing at 18:30, and 08:30–16:30 from 16 November to 15 March, with closing at 18:00. These are normal-season windows; holiday arrangements can replace them. Confirm the issued entry period and the second site’s actual admission before planning a late arrival. For a winter visit, use the seasonal 16:30 last entry; the guide’s general 17:00 line lacks that seasonal distinction. Use the official opening-announcement list, live official booking calendar or the museum’s listed official WeChat, and enter the second site while it is still admitting visitors.
Choose the ticket category offered for your passport in the current official purchase flow. The detailed Chinese policy reserves its under-16 and 65-plus categories for Chinese nationals; older English child-height wording differs. For an unclear entitlement, obtain the operator’s answer before choosing a concession. Leave large bags at the hotel if possible: the museum lists free storage near its ticket hall, but a bag left there obliges you to return to that location after Lishan.
From a Xi’an hotel to the North Gate
- From a Bell Tower or old-city hotel: reach Line 2 at 钟楼 Bell Tower, change at 北大街 Beidajie to Line 1 toward 纺织城 Fangzhicheng, then change to Line 9 for 华清池 Huaqingchi. Allow for the Metro journey and final bus leg. Choose your first train and travel allowance in the Metro app for your booking date.
- Finish the road leg: at Huaqingchi, follow the museum’s current transport notice toward the signed 临潼游613 Lintong You 613 or 临潼602 Lintong 602. The operator lists the 秦俑村 Qinyongcun or 秦兵马俑 Qin Bingmayong stop according to bus. Take the museum-bound service, alight at its listed stop and continue on foot to North Gate.
- At the museum: follow the pedestrian signs to 秦始皇兵马俑博物馆北门 Terracotta Museum North Gate. The ticketing page calls this the museum’s only entry gate and describes a one-way North-in, East-out route. Allow the signed walk, security queue and passport inspection before your slot. From a parking-area drop-off, follow the North Gate pedestrian signs.
For a hotel around 大雁塔 Dayanta, the museum also lists a Line 3 → 通化门 Tonghuamen Exit D → 秦风发车场 Qinfeng departure field → scenic direct bus approach. Arrange an operating outward service and a usable return for this branch; the museum page supplies the route rather than a dated timetable. Use the Metro Line 9 + final public-bus chain as the fallback. A booked licensed car may be simpler for several travellers, a child or limited walking, but agree on the second site’s pickup plan before boarding it. Driving directly from the hotel to a Pit 1 map pin can put you at an exit or a parking area rather than North Gate.
Save these Chinese pins offline: 兵马俑博物馆北门 (museum entrance), 丽山园东门 (second-site entrance and shuttle point), and 华清池地铁站 (public-transport transfer). The museum’s official route page lists the public connections, but gives no reliable same-day last departure; look that up separately before committing to Lishan.
Pit 1, then a different question in Pits 3 and 2
After North Gate inspection, use the current signs for the pit buildings. A workable learning order is Pit 1 → Pit 3 → Pit 2, adjusting if staff direct another one-way flow or a queue makes a hall temporarily impractical. In Pit 1, pause at a clear rail view to grasp the width and repeated ranks; then look down at where restored figures, broken fragments and untouched earth sit together. The hall is an active archaeological display, not a complete army standing in every trench.
Pit 3 is smaller and has been interpreted as a command area. Its value is the contrast: a compact arrangement and different function. Pit 2 shows how archers, cavalry, chariots and infantry could form different units. Inspect a few figures and their equipment closely rather than trying to read every label while walking. A guide or audio explanation is useful if you want context, but it is optional; agree on the operator, language, price and duration before paying a person who approaches you outside.
Plan a real water, toilet and meal stop before the second park. The operator lists a visitor service area and medical room near Pit 1, as well as wheelchair and stroller loans at its North Gate visitor centre, subject to availability and return terms. The published guide lists accessible channels rather than a complete step-free itinerary through the halls, shuttle boarding points and Lishan paths. Ask staff for an end-to-end route that suits your group. Indoor halls can still be crowded and Lishan adds outdoor walking; a slower party can enjoy fewer stops well.
Leave the first museum via the signed East exit. If you intend to visit Lishan, find the free museum shuttle rather than buying an unrelated road transfer. The operator’s detailed ticket page says to use the Terracotta parking area after exiting; its earlier relocation notice names a boarding point west of the museum North Gate. Follow the current shuttle signs from the exit and ask the museum desk if the walk between those descriptions is unclear. Keep your same-day order and passport ready for Lishan admission.
Lishan Garden is more than an add-on bus ride
- Lishan East Gate
The free shuttle takes you to 秦始皇陵考古遗址公园（丽山园） Lishan Garden; its East Gate is the named shuttle point. Present the same order and original document for Lishan admission. The garden is the mausoleum setting around the burial mound, with satellite burial pits and the 秦陵铜车马博物馆 Bronze Chariots Museum. The imperial tomb chamber remains closed to visitors.
- Bronze Chariots, K9901 and K0006
Use the site map to choose the Bronze Chariots Museum first, then K9901 and K0006 if those halls are open and you have walking time. The bronze carriages show a different scale and craft from the life-size army. K9901 and K0006 broaden the story toward court performance and officials rather than another battle line. View the mound from the permitted paths instead of expecting entry into the tomb. The museum’s 2021 notice says the old bronze-chariot hall at the Terracotta Museum closed when the new one opened inside Lishan Garden; older diagrams that leave the carriages at the pit site are outdated.
- Walking time and a shorter visit
Lishan’s displays are spread across a larger outdoor landscape. The museum estimates about 1.5 hours here and describes a walk of about an hour among the three named halls in its relocation notice. The optional electric carts within each site are paid services, separate from the free shuttle between sites; ask gate staff for the fare, boarding point, direction and accessible boarding options. If heat, rain or walking distance is limiting, take the Bronze Chariots Museum and one nearby permitted view, then leave enough time for the return. After a late admission, choose nearby exhibits and keep the return allowance intact.
Return from the exit you actually use
- Public-transport return from Lishan:
go back to the Lishan Garden East Gate shuttle point and use the free museum shuttle to the Terracotta Museum boarding/parking area. Find the public 613 or 602 in the Huaqingchi direction using the current stop sign or staff directions. At 华清池 Huaqingchi, take Line 9 back to 纺织城 Fangzhicheng, then Line 1 toward the city. For a Bell Tower hotel, change at 北大街 Beidajie to Line 2 and get off at 钟楼 Bell Tower. For Dayanta, Line 1 to 通化门 Tonghuamen and Line 3 toward Dayanta is one Metro option. Set your departure from Lishan against the final bus and Metro connections for your date; the museum route page lists connections without a current last-service timetable.
- Car return:
a prearranged licensed driver or ride-hail can collect your group at a legal point agreed for the site where you will finish. The museum’s notice says public parking at Lishan East Gate is limited, so agree on a precise legal pickup pin and collection time with the driver. If the pickup fails there, use the free museum shuttle back to the larger Terracotta parking area and arrange the collection there. Give the driver the hotel’s Chinese name and exact address.
- If you stop after the pits:
return directly from the Terracotta exit/parking area. Here, locate the public bus toward Huaqingchi or your agreed legal pickup and reverse the city chain above. In either plan, allow road, Metro and station time before a same-day flight, train or theatre reservation. Arrange the return alongside the outward journey.
Change the day without losing the way home
Retrieve an issued ticket
Use the museum’s order inquiry or call ticket support. If the date is sold out, choose another day or use the Xi’an city guide for an old-city or southern-museum day. Use advance online admission for the Lintong visit.
Do the pits well
Compare the live second-site admission deadline with the shuttle queue and your return. If Lishan is no longer feasible, slow down at the pits and go back to Xi’an. The two-site ticket is valid for the selected day only.
Choose the final road leg
At your hotel, select an operating Huaqingchi 613/602 service or an outward-and-return pair on the Tonghuamen scenic bus for your date. If neither fits, arrange a licensed car with the correct North Gate arrival and final-site pickup.
Ask at the gate, then switch
Use the museum visitor desk to locate the operating free shuttle and its final boarding. If Lishan pickup is unavailable, shuttle back to the Terracotta parking area for public transport or a legal car. Call visitor help on +86 29 8139 9174 if needed.
For children, a wheelchair user or anyone with limited stamina, secure the ticket and transport first, choose fewer exhibits, ask staff about the accessible route and borrowed-equipment return, and protect the city return. Use a paid electric cart or guide for the part of the visit it covers. Plan each site’s admission and the transfer separately, with extra time and staff guidance on accessibility.
Use the museum’s live notice for your visit date
The museum’s ticket, visitor, collection and shuttle information was checked on 29 September 2026. For winter, use the seasonal 16:30 last-entry table rather than the guide’s undifferentiated 17:00 line. Use the live official ticket calendar or listed official WeChat together with the museum’s opening-announcement list for your date; this list alone does not establish that every recent notice is present. The operator’s transport page supplies the Metro and public-bus connections but no dependable last-service timetable. Visit order and transfer allowances are editorial.
- Official visitor guide: the two sites, seasonal checks, free shuttle and passport entry · Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum
- Opening-announcement list; check the official booking calendar and WeChat too · Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum
- Detailed ticketing: CNY 120, timed booking, North Gate, same-day ticket and service points · Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum
- City-to-museum Metro and final-bus connections · Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum
- Museum directory of the pits and Lishan Garden exhibits · Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum
- Bronze Chariots Museum relocation and named shuttle boarding points · Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum
Return to the Xi’an city guide to fit Lintong among the Wall, old streets and southern museums. The existing foreign-passport museum guide remains the purchase and document reference; this article covers the journey through both Lintong sites and back to the city.