Beijing & Xi'an in 5 days?

Travel Info
Okay, here's the plan. I just want to see 4 places in China:
1. Great Wall of China
2. Tiananmen Square
3. Forbidden City
4. Terracotta Warriors

I believe the first 3 are in Beijing and the 4th is in Xi'an. Can I go to all those places in 5 days? I am gonna do this on my own instead of going on organized tours. Please give your inputs. Thanks a lot!

Travel Tips

no problem, and you can also get one day free.

day 1. Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City
day 2.Great Wall of China
take the night train to Xi'an , got a softsleeper.
day 3.Terracotta Warriors

trust me, i am a tour guide in beijing.
no need to join a tour group, if that you do not have enough time spend on the places, most time just go with the guide for shopping. no problem if you want , i can be your personal guide for free. and also i can get a car from my friend. i just want to learn more english, so you can get what you want , i can get what i want .
if you have any questions just contact to me. i can help you.
alan198192@yahoo.com
0086-13910872782
Others

It might be worthwhile talking some more with Alan, particularly about pricing and a detailed itinery. I'd suggest get one of the guide books (they are a worthwhile investment), such as 'lonely planet or frommers etc) that will enable you to compare prices of tours, and give you some more ideas about itinery (for instance there are at least five different sections of the Great Wall near Beijing with quite different 'features').

But essentially Alan has mapped out as good as itinery as I've seen. If you can get to the sights without being 'sidetracked' to the the gift shops (the too-frequent result of booking on a 'tour') then you'll have lots of time and have a wonderful time as well.

Doing it on your own is ok (better), but you need a lot of planning to get around Beijing and out to the Great Wall without wasting time, if there is someone who is reliable and can help you (and speaks the language!) in Beijing it would make life easier. But check things out before you get there.
I just came back from China and your schedulaed is very doable.
We saw the square, and forbidden city in one day with time to spare for shoping and other attractions. The following day we went to the great wall and the ming tombs also with time to spare. Travel to Xi'An spend some time around and saw the terracotta warriors the following day. Is only a 1.5 hour flight from Beijing to Xi'An. Enjoy your trip.
Only if you travel by air, not train. The train is almost a days ride each way.
Each of these attractions is worth a good days time and walking, may be except for Tiananmen Square ( make very sure you have comfortable shoes, seriously ) .
So 4 days for 4 locations which leaves you 1 day for round trip to and from the 2 cities. But I would recommend you budget more time for Xian, it's a historical city with more to offer than you might know.
Yes you can do it but Beijing only should have 5 days.

The Great Wall, you should go to one of the newer sites. The Mutianyu is nice and that alone will take a day.

Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City are one day.

If that's all you want to see of Beijing I guess three days is enough.

You should still visit the Summer Palace (yi he yuan) and the Temple of Heaven (tian tan). I would also highly recommend the yonghe gong, the only Lama Buddhist Temple in Beijing.

Xian to see the Terra Cotta Soldiers is enough time. You should also go to the Banpo Museum though, but you could probably do that in time. Xian is also the only city in China that still has a city wall intact downtown. That could be done at night.

Have fun!
I have been to china several time and I have found a site that helps me when I am going to new places there. Check out www.itsaboutchina.com . I have done it with private tours and it was not that much more and got to see lots. check out and email the tour guides at that site for help. They were great to me
bob
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