Xi'an 4-Day Itinerary 2026: Mount Hua & Beilin Museum Adventure

Xi'an: China's Legendary Mountain

Feel the grandeur of Mount Hua,

And visit the Forest of Stone Steles Museum, where you can encounter masterpieces of calligraphy!

Xi'an

Day.3&4

The hotel breakfast, booked through our private package, offered so many options that we had a hearty meal on our third morning before heading off to Mount Hua, one of China's most famous mountains.

On our way to Mount Hua, we stopped at a highway rest stop. It was my first time visiting a foreign highway rest stop since Nha Trang. After realizing how great our Korean rest stops were during my Nha Trang trip, I didn't have high expectations for the Chinese ones, but guess what? They're surprisingly good!

I was super worried the restrooms might be unusual, especially after hearing stories from my friend's trip to Beijing. Luckily, it was just a normal restroom! ✨️

As soon as we arrived at Mount Hua, our guide went to buy tickets, which gave us a bit of free time. I took a photo with a cat, and honestly, I absolutely loved it—it was purr-fect!! My friend Jini-jio took this photo for me ❤️ I was so grateful she took such amazing pictures‼️

Looking at souvenirs, isn't that backpack just adorable? I didn't buy it because I thought it would make hiking harder, but Mount Hua wasn't that difficult to climb, so now I really regret not getting it ㅜㅜ

I usually wear my hair up in a bun with a *binyeo* (Korean hairpin) at home, so I checked out the *binyeo* they were selling here. But trust me, you should buy your *binyeo* when you're exploring Datang Everbright City. The quality there is better, and it's cheaper too. ❤️

After browsing, we got the gloves needed for climbing Mount Hua from our guide, who also treated us to coffee. So, after sipping our coffee and grabbing our *gimbap*, we officially began our ascent up Mount Hua!

+Huge thanks to Yoon-nim for taking these cute MZ-style shots! 💚

Since we were doing the West Peak in, North Peak out course, I was delighted to find that we could take a shuttle bus to the West Peak cable car and didn't have to walk! 🍀

After getting off the shuttle bus, we walked towards the cable car, passing through a magnificent gate. I was excited, but when I couldn't see the cable car, I thought, 'Oh no, I'm going to have to walk a long way...' and almost got sad, but then...

Our guide treated us to a slide ride, which meant we could postpone walking up a bit longer! It was both fun and great to save our legs. 💚

I used to think that one cable car was much like any other,

but Huashan's scale was truly next level, LOL.

It was so incredibly cool and majestic, my jaw literally dropped. 💚

And I just love this snapshot amidst the lush green trees! 💚

They gave us time to climb West Peak, so I went with my friend Jinijio.

The red cloth? Or was it paper? Anyway, the one with bells attached was so unique and distinctive.

The views from Manisan, Gahyeonsan, and Sangjusan are beautiful too, but

Huashan is truly in a league of its own! ✨️

I'm a bit fuzzy on whether this is also West Peak, but

my expression looks great here, and since it's my travel diary, I'm just including it for now! ✨️

A quick review of the West Peak summit climb: it wasn't difficult at all!

That's because there were so many people, so we took it slow and steady.

I didn't even have a chance to get tired because I was just following the heads of the people in front of me.

While we were making our way from West Peak to North Peak,

we had gimbap. Since we weren't in Korea,

I honestly expected the gimbap taste to be a bit less authentic, but it wasn't at all?!

The gimbap fillings were incredibly hearty, and the fruit they gave us,

along with the kimchi pancake and rolled omelet, were also delicious.

Maybe it was the incredible scenery, but even the cucumbers and carrots tasted amazing!

By 'incredible scenery,' I mean our dining spot was

literally a place where we could see the clouds.

Isn't that amazing?

While hiking, we even met a cute, plump cat!

I was already completely charmed after seeing West Peak, but...

North Peak... this place is also straight out of a painting! 💚

But that towering peak...

I figured climbing it would be too much for me, so I didn't go, haha.

When you see it in person, it truly feels like you're climbing through the clouds,

it's absolutely marvelous... but I had a feeling I'd be suffering the next day if I went up there (lol)!

Jump shot on the way down the mountain! 💚

Every time I see Unji's posts, I vow to take a jump shot next time,

and after many attempts, today I finally got a jump shot where my feet actually seem to leave the ground!

So I'm sharing it here with a bit of pride. 💚

Huge thanks to Unji for teaching me the jump shot! 💚

And thanks to my friend Jinijio for taking the photo! 💚

The shuttle bus that took us down from North Peak

was a bit small, but it was clean and perfectly fine!

True to China's love for red, I'm not sure exactly what these decorations are, but

our Huashan climb concluded with these vibrant ornaments.

And then, a massage! 💚

To be honest, I wasn't sure how to take photos in here,

so I just closed my eyes and snapped a quick pic when the therapist stepped out, LOL.

I'm so bad at this... I guess I'd make a terrible review blogger for spa treatments, haha!

We came to Henjiwooicheon for dinner, but

there were too many people waiting, so we ended up going to a different lamb skewer restaurant.

This place was a real hidden gem of a restaurant!

The lamb skewers were delicious, and the grilled eggplant, fried rice, and clam dish...

They were all so incredibly tasty that I genuinely want to go back!

I originally planned to have Cha-ji at the store,

but the wait was too long, so I just had it delivered to the lamb skewer place.

It was tasty, but I realized that the Cha-ji at Pudong Airport was the best milk tea of my life!

In the evening, I headed out to the shopping mall to buy souvenirs.

Since there was a supermarket, I bought some snacks there.

I had planned to buy Xifengjiu at the duty-free shop,

but it was so beautiful that I bought it right away, just in case I wouldn't find it at the duty-free.

However, I later found out that they *do* sell this liquor at Xi'an Xianyang Airport duty-free, though it was a different vintage.

And the price was a bit more expensive at the duty-free... 🥹

After enjoying our last breakfast,

we arrived at the Forest of Steles Museum, our final stop,

and the calligraphy and drawings carved into the steles here were truly magnificent.

But personally,

the sculptures were even more impressive!

I would have really regretted it if I had only focused on the steles!

I took a commemorative photo at Xianyang Airport,

I had planned to do a post featuring airports around the world, but couldn't really explore....

The second floor looked amazing, too...

Was it the departure area? Or arrival? Anyway, they said I couldn't go there... haha.

I ended up rushing through immigration... A bit of a shame!

On the way back, a paper ticket! ❤️

And they even stamped the ticket here, which was so cool and unique! ❤️

I took some photos at what looked like a duty-free photo zone, then boarded the plane.

The cucumber in the middle and the beans in the rice made me pause for a moment,

but it was so delicious that I practically licked the plate clean!

For my drink, a beer 🍺

Beer in the sky was absolutely the best. 👍🏻

With the colorful wings of the Asiana Airlines plane,

I'll wrap up my 3-night, 4-day trip to Xi'an, China.

It was pure joy..💗

I truly want to visit Xi'an again.

Xi'an, China Travel Day 3&4 END💜

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Cielso

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