Xi'An was about a 12 hour overnight train from Beijing. It took us about 3 days to get train tickets as at the station they always said 'sold out" or if your familiar with this one "no tickets for you...come back 10 days" We got them through a travel agent and had to pay a commission, of course. Xian was a neat city as an entire wall surrounds it with a bell tower in the center. It's home to many Chinese Muslims and walking around the "Muslim Quarter" was a very different style to see in China. Our highlight in Xi'An was definitely the Terracotta warriors. After booking a tour and having them take us to 3 de-tours including a silk factory we finally got to see them. It really was incredible to see what they have uncovered and left in tact since 1975 when a farmer working in a well discovered them. These had been there buried for centuries. And there still working on the site as there are expected to be thousands more of these soldiers.