It's worth the trip to see the Terracotta warriors-they are amazing! It's a little difficult to get there by train on certain days so make sure you check ahead of time.

All the main sights outside of the city can be reached by public bus.  Grab a good travel guide to find out which ones, and stay alert on your way there.

A remarkable city historically .... a major point on the Silk Road in China and the starting point westwards ... just being there makes you feel you are on the Silk Road adventure ...of course, Xi'an is now otherwise small and dusty and, from a tourist viewpoint, synonymous with the Terracotta Army - a bewildering archaelogical find... hundreds of human-sized terracotta warriors discovered accidentally by a local man who, incidentally, is still there (at least was there when I went in 1998) and is a bit of an institution himself ... he is a simple person, you can click a photo with him, look at him, and talk to him if you know Chinese ... Xi'an is on the train route from Beijing to the South and a changing point for heading west to Urumchi or Lhasa, southeast to Hunan or Canton, or southwest to Szechwan or Yunnan ... the train ride itself is fascinating in this region, co-passengers chat away over swig after swig of vodka or mug after mug of green tea, and bite after bite of assorted foods brought with them or bought along the way... food and drink are often shared and, depending on the folks in your compartment, you may discover unique slices of Chinese life ... from folks headed on long tough journeys to Central Asia, to genteel Chengdu elders, to Cantonese couples or singles...

Two days are enough: one for the Terracotta army (you have to catch a bus to get there, about 1 hour), one for wandering around the city, see the Bell and the Drum tower, cycling on the city walls. If you want you can do a day trip to climb the Hua Shan (very hard).

Well... From Xi-an there is a direct bus to Terracotta Warriors. It does not cost much . Warriors unfortunately did not impressed me much. Totally different thing is with Xi'an itself. The city is gorgeous - especially at night.

Take a plane from Beijing if you are short of time and go to see the terracotta army, its worth it

Xi An is usually insert in travel trip to china, famous for its terraccotta soldiers.
In my opinion the city is dirty, traffic is crazy, and there are teens better place to see in China.
Airport is far away: consider 1 hour. So if you ar enot drilled by the "soldiers" just avoid Xi An for your first trip to China. From other side ther are, if you have to go there, you'll appreciate frinadly people and a bit of anciety that in China is disappearing.

Amazing City steeped in History and the Capitol City of the first Chinese Empire of the Qing Dynasty.

Highlights without a doubt are the Terraccotta warriors and cycling around Xian City walls for history, a visit to the Aincient Mosque and medicine market where you will find all sorts of weird and wonderful things to eat for your health (provided you like scorpions, geko and horse penis with a side helping of Hedgehog.

The city is situated on the Yellow river and is an overnight train journey from Beijing so is worth taking provisions and alcohol.

It is amazing to see the old city on one side with the new build up part of it outside the old city walls.

Strongly recommend the Xian Hotel and also tring out a Chinese Hot Pot but using chopsticks is a must so it will be good to get some practice in.