Xi'an Mother-Daughter Trip Guide (2026): Day 1 Highlights

Mom and I's Xi'an Trip Day 1

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Mom and I's Xi'an Travel Itinerary / China Immigration Process / Datang Everbright City

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To make sure we returned before any arguments could start, we planned a 3-night, 4-day trip

to Xi'an, China.

First off, on a Saturday morning in October, Incheon Airport was

absolutely packed!

And it wasn't just people heading to Xi'an; there were tons of people flying Asiana to

other destinations.

What would we have done if we hadn't checked in on mobile early that morning?

My mom tends to be a bit sensitive,

and while she struggles with packed schedules, she also has an urge to get things done quickly.

I'm a total 'P' (perceiver type in MBTI), so I just plan the things I *really* want to do, and spend the rest of the time soaking in new experiences,

stopping to look at everything and traveling without being too constrained by time.

Given our personalities, it was obvious we'd end up bickering,

but we actually started the trip quite peacefully, without any arguments.

🛕

🌞

Unlike Shanghai, Xi'an doesn't have a ton of newly built, flashy,

luxurious hotels,

so, the choices weren't overwhelming when I first booked.

However, all the Xi'an hotels we booked above were absolutely wonderful!

Both Mom and I were extremely satisfied.

I pride myself on finding great hotels,

and though we stayed at different hotels each day over the three days, they all had unique styles and were fantastic.

We balanced this with just the right amount of tours and outings, and managed to have a great time!

First off, our 3-night, 4-day Xi'an itinerary is detailed in the post below...

They say September, October, and November have the best weather in Xi'an, China,

so we planned our trip for mid-to-late October accordingly.

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It wasn't hot...

nor was it as warm as Shanghai.

It was about the same temperature as Seoul, but since it had just rained when we visited,

it was much colder than we expected.

It felt colder than Seoul, even! I even saw locals wearing light padded jackets.

Anyway, we hopped on the plane and took off!

I took an early morning flight,

but I didn't eat breakfast, so when are they serving food?

I was so hungry I thought I'd go crazy!

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I was so incredibly hungry that I even changed the screen in front of my seat to this.

Feed me, food!

And of course, the turbulence was so bad they delayed meal service...

I was so hungry and sleepy,

I asked for a beer as my drink.

Normally they'd pour it for you, but perhaps worried the can would explode,

they gave me the whole can, so I finished it.

I fell asleep listening to some sleepy music (an Oasis concert....?).

It was a little over a 3-hour flight,

and I woke up midway.

Oh, right! I had already taken care of some things in Korea beforehand,

like the China electronic arrival declaration and setting up internet access.

My mom needed to watch YouTube in China,

and a 4GB eSIM from Usimsa seemed to be quite enough.

(Because we had so little downtime at the accommodation............we'd crash as soon as we got back.)

Installing an eSIM on a Galaxy is different from an iPhone, so I was a bit nervous,

but it installed just fine.

Still so hungry!

Landed safely!

Since I had already completed the China electronic arrival declaration beforehand,

I felt totally at ease.

Now all I had to do was go out and find the pickup vehicle

that the hotel sent for our first day in Xi'an...

It took about 40 to 60 minutes to finally get out and into the car.

When I went to pick up our checked luggage,

only our suitcase was still circling alone on the carousel....

That's because

there had been an issue during immigration.

My mom, who was entering China for the first time, was anxious, so she went through immigration first.

After she cleared it, it was my turn.

Xi'an isn't quite like Shanghai, where a lot of young (foreign) people visit.

It's more of a city for group tours with older folks, so maybe because of that,

the Chinese gentleman at immigration saw my passport with so many China stamps,

and got excited, asking me if I was traveling and how long I was staying.

He enthusiastically asked me if I was traveling and how long I was staying,

then stamped it with a *THWACK*!

But then...

his expression suddenly turned sour, and he started calling over other staff, mumbling something.

He told me to wait right there.

????

But if there was really a serious problem with me,

I would've been dragged into an immigration interrogation room. Since he just told me to wait right in front,

I figured it couldn't be anything major.

However, 20 minutes felt like 10 years, and my mom was getting so anxious,

seeing her fidget, I started to feel the heat too!

They didn't tell me what the problem was, just eventually said I could go.

In my opinion, he probably mistakenly stamped the front of the passport,

when there were already other China entry/exit stamps at the back.

So he was probably thinking, 'Oops, I stamped the wrong place? Is this okay?'

That's what it seemed like to me.

Anyway, somehow, after all that, we finally met the driver

who the hotel sent to pick us up on our first day!

Even though we were delayed, he didn't rush us and waited patiently ㅠㅠㅠ

It was great to save on taxi fare from the airport to the hotel, and even better not to have to wander around the airport looking for the DiDi taxi stand.

It was so good not to get lost navigating the airport.

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[ If you're traveling to China with your parents,

to avoid getting lost searching for a DiDi taxi at the airport,

I highly recommend booking a hotel pickup or car in advance! ⤵️]

If I were traveling solo, I wouldn't mind wandering around to figure things out,

but with Mom, she tends to get anxious and rush me,

so it was wonderful to have everything arranged so smoothly.

Unlike Shanghai,

Xi'an's tourist attractions and city center aren't all clustered together.

Instead, they form something like three distinct triangular areas.

There are roughly three main areas to visit,

and each one is quite a distance away, about 30 minutes to an hour by car.

On our first day, we booked accommodation near Xi'an's Grand Tang Everbright City,

and a staff member from our first Xi'an hotel was actually waiting for us where the pickup vehicle dropped us off.

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Grand Tang Everbright City was visible from our room at a glance,

and the interior of the room itself was quite

a stylish and impressive space.

I contacted the hotel via WeChat in advance to arrange airport pickup from Xi'an airport,

and it was wonderful how they paid attention to all the small details beforehand.

However, we didn't actually look out at Grand Tang Everbright City from the window as much as I expected.

That's because our room was on the second floor,

and we kept making eye contact with all the people walking by outside!

With our accommodation right in front of Xi'an's Grand Tang Everbright City like this,

it truly is *the* tourist hotspot of Xi'an!

As you walk along the street, vendors constantly try to get you to wear traditional clothes for photos,

and there are countless street stalls selling all sorts of delicious Chinese snacks.

However, Mom wasn't particularly fond of being outside....

but she absolutely loved our Xi'an accommodation!

As soon as we checked into our Xi'an accommodation on the first day,

we immediately rushed off to see "The Great Qin" show about Qin Shi Huang.

We had plenty of time, yet no time at all!

Oh, the hustle and bustle of modern life!

Mom noted that they use a lot of those toned-down brown colors

here.

And truthfully, it felt like it wouldn't be quite right to dress as brightly or flashily

in Xi'an as one might in Shanghai! ✨

Anyway, this is the show we went to see.

It was a performance worth every penny.

It really gave off the feeling of 'This is China!!!!'

That kind of vibe?

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After the show, we went straight to a restaurant

right next to our Xi'an hotel,

but it wasn't good ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

It seemed like a local Shaanxi dish,

but it wasn't to our taste….

Mom kept saying, 'This isn't

how Chinese food usually is, it's actually delicious!' and with that,

Day 1 of our Xi'an trip concluded.

(Oh, by the way, Xi'an was one of the Chinese cities I've visited

where the most ordinary people and shopkeepers spoke English.)

#Xi'anTravel

#ChinaXi'anTravel #Xi'anWithMom #Xi'anGrandTangEverBrightCity #Xi'anCityCenterAccommodation #Xi'anGrandTangEverBrightCityHotel #Xi'anGrandTangEverBrightCityAccommodation #ChinaXi'anAccommodation