Xi'an City Wall ticket price: what the official site says
Short answer: you buy an admission ticket first, then go up the wall at one of its 8 gates. Bike rental is a separate step on top: ¥45 for 2 hours on a single bike, with a ¥200 deposit you can pay in cash. The wall's official website does not list the admission price on the pages about gates, bike rental and transport, so this page does not quote one.
Those pages also say nothing about passports or foreign visitors. They don't say whether a foreigner buys at a window, online or in an app, or which ID is needed. Any price you see in travel media is not from those pages. Ask about the admission price at the ticket window of the gate where you go up. The South Gate north entrance has a ticket hall (南门北口售票厅).
Some of the price text on those pages is for locals only. A student card costs ¥35 for Xi'an local students (primary, middle school or university up to bachelor level) who show a student card. A residents' card costs ¥60 for Xi'an locals who hold a valid local ID. Neither is written for foreign tourists, so don't count on them.
Which gate to use to get up on the Xi'an City Wall
The wall has 8 access points. The official site says you can pick the nearest one, buy a ticket there and go up. The table shows which gates have a bike rental point.
| Gate | Bike rental point |
|---|---|
| East Gate, Changle Gate (长乐门) | Yes |
| South Gate, Yongning Gate (永宁门) | Yes |
| West Gate, Anding Gate (安定门) | Yes |
| North Gate, Anyuan Gate (安远门) | Yes |
| Heping Gate (和平门) | None listed |
| Wenchang Gate (文昌门) | None listed |
| Hanguang Gate (含光门) | None listed |
| Shangde Gate (尚德门) | None listed |
If you want to ride, use one of the four main gates. If you only want to walk or look, take whichever is closest to your hotel. For a night visit, the South Gate is the one to pick, because it is the only gate with listed hours (see below).
Xi'an City Wall opening hours and going up at night
The only scenic-area hours on the official site are on the homepage: South Gate 8:00-22:00, with a maximum capacity of 110,000 people. No hours are listed for the other seven gates, and no last-entry time is given. If you plan around any other gate, ask there first.
Night is possible in the sense that the bike page's route suggestion says you can go up the wall at night to see the old city's night view. Put that together with the South Gate hours and the rental rules and you get this:
- Bike rental is open 8:00-19:00. The South Gate closing time is extended to 22:00.
- After 19:00, all renters return their bike at the South Gate rental point.
- The page suggests returning before 21:30.
If your ride ends after 19:00, return the bike at the South Gate rental point. The pages don't say that every gate stays open in the evening, and we don't claim it.
Xi'an City Wall bike rental: price, deposit and time limit
| Single bike | Tandem bike | |
|---|---|---|
| Rental price | ¥45 per 2 hours | ¥90 per 2 hours |
| Deposit | ¥200 | ¥300 |
The page says the deposit can be paid in cash (可现金支付). It doesn't say which other payment methods the rental points take. It also doesn't say whether the ¥45 and ¥90 prices include wall admission. The ride flow starts with "buy a city wall admission ticket", so budget for the ticket separately.
One rental is 2 hours. The page gives the wall's perimeter as 13.74 km and says it can normally be ridden within two hours. That is the only time estimate on the page. There is no walking time, and nothing on what happens if you keep the bike longer than 2 hours. Other travel sites give different rental times and deposits; go by the wall's own page: 2 hours, and ¥200 or ¥300.
The pages also don't say whether you need a phone number or an ID to rent. Ask at the rental point what they need from you.
How to rent and return a bike on the Xi'an City Wall
- Buy a city wall admission ticket at your gate.
- Go up the wall. Rental points are on the East, West, South and North gates.
- Go to the bike rental point, pay the rental and the deposit, and keep the deposit slip. The page asks you to keep it.
- Ride. You may ride only on the wall.
- Return the bike at the nearest gate rental point.
You don't need to return the bike where you rented it. Rent at the West Gate and drop it at the North Gate if that is where you end up. The one exception is after 19:00, when everyone returns at the South Gate.
A route the wall suggests
The official route goes South Gate, West Gate, North Gate, East Gate, then back to the South Gate. The page points out three things along the way:
- The South Gate is the best-preserved gate. Its gate tower, arrow tower and main tower are all intact, and they enclose two courtyards (the page calls them 瓮城). The moat is in front of the gate tower, and its drawbridge is still there.
- At the North Gate you can go up into the arrow tower and look out through the lookout and shooting holes.
- At the north-west corner is Guangren Temple (广仁寺), which the page calls the only Tibetan Buddhist temple in Shaanxi.
How to get to the Xi'an City Wall by subway or bus
The wall sits inside the city, and the official site says you can reach the 8 gates by several routes. Its transport graphics, which carry no date, show this:
- South Gate (Yongning Gate): Metro Line 2, Yongning Gate station (永宁门站). The graphic also lists dozens of bus routes.
- North Gate (Anyuan Gate): Metro Line 2, Anyuan Gate station (安远门站). It also lists dozens of bus routes.
- East Gate and West Gate: the graphics list buses only, with no metro.
- Heping, Wenchang, Hanguang and Shangde gates: the official pages give no transport.
The pages give no walking times or station exits. For the easiest trip, use the South Gate or North Gate and the metro. If you are still working out how to reach the city, see Xi'an Xianyang Airport to the city and Xi'an railway stations.
Luggage storage and the medical room
Luggage storage is at the South Gate north-entrance visitor service centre (南门北口游客服务中心), during scenic-area opening hours. The storage terms say that items left more than 3 days may be disposed of without notice to the owner. The medical room is inside the South Gate north-entrance ticket hall and is open 10:00-18:00.
Fitting the wall into your Xi'an trip
Going by the 13.74 km perimeter, the official page says the wall can normally be ridden within two hours, which is one rental. That leaves the rest of the day for other sights. For the city overview, see the Xi'an travel guide. If the Terracotta Army is on your list too, read how to book Terracotta Army tickets as a foreigner. We can help you plan the day and tell you how to buy tickets.
