Xi’an Metro Line 15’s Type A trains are China’s “large-capacity model,” offering 15% more passenger space per car than the typical Type B, due to a 0.2-meter width increase. A six-car setup accommodates up to 1,608 passengers. With speeds of 100 km/h—25% faster than standard trains—the journey from Xiliu to Dongzhaoyu takes just 30 minutes, significantly reducing travel time between Chang’an University City and the Aerospace Base.

From the start, Xi’an Metro Line 15 (Phase I) emphasized smooth integration with existing lines. Key interchange stations—Guoduxi (Line 6), Aerospace City (Line 2), and Dongchangan Street (Line 4)—feature “passage + node interchange” modes, with the shortest transfer being just 50 meters. As an “innovation corridor,” Line 15 connects Chang’an University City and the Aerospace Base, linking educational and research hubs like Xi’an University of Posts & Telecommunications with aerospace industrial parks.

Xi’an Metro Line 15 (Phase I) is set to begin operations in the fourth quarter of 2025. As the opening nears, this high-capacity, high-speed line promises to boost development in southern Xi’an with its deep engineering and strong connectivity.

The post Xi’an Metro Line 15 Phase 1 Officially Open appeared first on Hey-Xian.com.

Size, Structure, and Capacity

The station covers 394,000 square meters, with the building itself occupying about 100,000 square meters. It features three main levels: the Arrival level, Departure Platform, and an Elevated Waiting Hall, along with mezzanines to handle passenger flow efficiently. The yard includes 13 platforms and 27 tracks, serving several key rail lines such as the Xi’an–Chongqing High-Speed Rail, Xi’an–Shiyan High-Speed Rail, and Xi’an–Ankang Conventional Rail. Space is also reserved for future intercity routes and maintenance facilities.

Boosting Connectivity and Regional Growth

Expected to handle 36.5 million passengers annually, Xi’an East Railway Station will ease pressure on the existing Xi’an railway hub and support the city’s expanding transportation needs. It will complement Xi’an North Railway Station, which mainly serves northern routes, by focusing on connections to central and southwestern China. Together, these stations will strengthen Xi’an’s role as a major transportation center.

Additionally, the station will also link to Metro Lines 5, 12, 15, and 21, allowing smooth transfers between rail and urban transit. Moreover, the surrounding area is set for industrial upgrading and urban development, making Xi’an East a new economic hub in the city’s eastern district.

The post Xi’an East Railway Station Reaches Key Development Milestone appeared first on Hey-Xian.com.

Flight MU5025 Officially Takes Off

At 2:08 a.m. on June 24, China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5025 took off from Xi’an Xianyang International Airport. This marked the official launch of a new direct route to Istanbul, Türkiye. 

Convenient Schedule for International Travelers

Operated by an Airbus A330, the flight offers a high-quality travel experience with 262 seats onboard. It runs three times a week, on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The outbound flight, MU5025, departs Xi’an at 01:50 and lands in Istanbul at 07:00 local time. The return flight, MU5026, leaves Istanbul at 11:00 local time and arrives back in Xi’an at 01:25 the next day.

This new route is more than just a convenient way to travel, it shows China Eastern Airlines’ commitment to growing its international network and supporting national plans like the Belt and Road Initiative. As Xi’an grows into a major gateway to the west, the new flight highlights its role as the eastern starting point of the Silk Road. At the same time, Istanbul, located between Europe and Asia, continues to serve as a key transportation hub across Eurasia.

Strengthening Trade, Culture, and Tourism

The launch of the Xi’an–Istanbul route is expected to boost economic and trade cooperation, cultural exchange, and tourism between northwest China, Türkiye, the Middle East, and Europe. Passengers can now easily explore Xi’an’s historical wonders and Istanbul’s vibrant blend of Eastern and Western cultures, all on a seamless direct flight.

Looking ahead, China Eastern Airlines plans to expand even further. In July, it will launch two more international routes: Xi’an–Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and Xining–Xi’an–Hong Kong. These additions will offer more travel options during the busy summer season.

China Eastern currently operates 18 international routes from Xi’an Xianyang International Airport, linking the city to 16 global destinations. As new routes are added, the airport is quickly becoming a major international hub. This is improving Shaanxi Province’s global connections and making it easier for travelers to visit the region.

The post Xi’an Opens Direct Flight to Turkey appeared first on Hey-Xian.com.

Do you remember those days when the only coffee drinks you could enjoy were the good old Nescafe cans that you would find in your local chain store? Well, do not worry, those days are long gone for Xi’an! Even though we have a Starbucks on every corner (we even got a Starbucks Reserve!), it isn’t that easy to get a good, delightful cup of coffee that isn’t full of powdered creamer or may even cost you more than you’d pay at home.

The traditionally tea-drinking country is now trending towards becoming the world’s most promising coffee market for Chinese coffee growers and international coffee chains. Coffee in China is becoming more of a cultural icon, presenting urban Chinese consumers a new lifestyle choice of hanging out at coffee shops with the newest drinks in their hands. Coffee in China was originally introduced by a French missionary in Yunnan as early as 1892 but its only recently that it has been growing on a large scale as it becomes fashionable amongst the middle class and the fast paced city lifestyles.

That being said, the culture of growing coffee is slowly making its way from the East coast of China to further reaching provinces, thus bring us and you the best coffee fixes. Here is a list of some of our favorite coffee joints in Xi’an:

Starbucks Reserve Xi’an 西安星巴克臻选

Address: No.30, South Street, Beilin District, Xi’an City西安市碑林区南大街30号
Style: Leisure.
Main products: Coffee, snacks, cultural and creative products.

Characteristics:

• A large coffee wall with the word “Xi’an” spelled with Starbucks bean cards.
• Creative coffee which is sold only in Starbucks Reserve.

SET

Address: Dahua Er Fang, Xincheng District, Xi’an City 西安市新城区大华二坊
Style: Literary and artistic
Main products: New concept flagship store of Xiangwang bookstore: bookstore, boutique coffee, cultural and creative products, and art exhibition.

Characteristics:

• High quality coffee beans.
• Roasted by the world champion coffee roaster.
• various extraction methods

North Café 北方小咖啡馆

Address: 32 Gunpowder Bureau lane, Hanguang meli，Lianhu District莲湖区含光门里火药局巷32号
Style: The store is small, exquisite, and nostalgic, and the layout is very warm.

Characteristics:

• This shop specializes in coffee and cake, the last one using seasonal ingredients for the cake. 
• We recommend trying their pour-over coffee

1702 Cafe

Address: 2F, outdoor pedestrian street, zone A, China Trade Plaza, Beilin District.  碑林区中贸广场A区室外步行街2层
Style: literary and restoration
Main products: Coffee and furniture.

Shanyou zhi cafe＆meal 山由之cafe＆meal

Address: 

No. 9, Building A, Jinshang Cultural Plaza, No. 66, Xingshansi West Street, Yanta District, Xi’an

西安雁塔区兴善寺西街66号金商文化广场A座9号

No. 4, Defu Lane, Nanyuanmen Street, Beilin District, Xi’an

西安碑林区南院门街道德福巷四号

Time:

11:00-20:00

Style: Rock and fashion
Main content: coffee and traditional pastry

Shudao Café 树岛咖啡

Address: No.7, West Lane， Beilin District\ 碑林区开通西巷7号
Main content: coffee special drinks and desserts
Recommended menu: Bubble Coffee

Characteristic: 

• Comfortable coffeeshop that makes you feel like you’re back in time. 
• Enjoy the rooftop scenery, and play with the cute kitten named Babao

Me coffee Art Space Me Coffee艺术空间

Address: 21 / F, building 5, momoparks， Yanta District 雁塔区MOMOPARKS5号楼21层
Style：European style decoration, retro and nostalgia
Recommended menu：Princess CICI’s afternoon tea set

Characteristic：

• This coffee shop is like a small private museum, with many jewels and porcelain displays in the owner’s collection.

Langmu Coffee Bar 朗慕咖啡Bar

Address : Shop No. 2FSJ-03, 04, Crystal Plaza, Old City, Xinghuo Road, Lianhu District, Xi’an

西安莲湖区星火路老城根水晶广场2FSJ-03、04号商铺

Xi’an Lianhu District Old City Root Gpark B1

西安莲湖区老城根Gpark负一楼

Time: 11:00-24:00

What is special (and weird!): You can play with alpacas and ducks in the shop

Recommended drink: “Knock coffee” (Before drinking, use a small hammer to open the chocolate covered on it)

The post Coffee in Xi’an – The Daily Grind appeared first on Hey-Xian.com.

The project was designed to meet the target of 83 million passenger and 1 million tons of cargo and mail moved through by 2030.

The T5 terminal emphasizes cultural heritage and human-centric design, inspired by ancient Chang’an urban planning and the Daming Palace’s Hanyuan Hall from the Tang Dynasty. It currently boasts the largest traditional Chinese architectural commercial complex in a domestic airport in the country.

The complex is located on the 20.5-meter floor of the main building, inheriting the nine-grid chessboard layout of the ancient Chang’an City. It utilizes modern materials and digital construction technologies to recreate the traditional aesthetics of the prosperous Han and Tang Dynasties.

The terminal houses a museum showcasing archaeological artifacts discovered during the various construction phases of Xi’an Xianyang International Airport. This is the world’s first museum located within an airport, spanning approximately 6,400 square meters.

The T5 terminal features a “dual-level departure and arrival” model, allowing domestic and international departing passengers to use the same level without needing to change floors. This significantly enhances passenger comfort and travel efficiency.

A multimodal transportation hub was built on the east side of the terminal, linked by an indoor multilevel connection. Terminal 5 is 140 meters from the metro station and 300 meters from intercity rail station, facilitating convenient transfers between air travel and various transportation options like metro, taxis, buses, and shuttles.

The newly completed T5 terminal is currently the first T5 terminal in China, with an area exceeding the combined area of the existing three terminals at Xi’an Xianyang International Airport. As a result, Xi’an Xianyang International Airport will become the largest gateway airport in Northwest China.

The post Xi’an Xianyang International Airport Terminal 5 to Open appeared first on Hey-Xian.com.

Construction of the Xi’an Metro Line 8 began in October 2019 and the line was fully operational by December 2024, marking a construction period of 5 years and 2 months—one of the fastest for a loop metro line in the country. This line is a crucial backbone of Xi’an’s rail transit network and is the only loop line planned for the system. Spanning approximately 50 kilometers and entirely underground, it has 37 stations. Line 8 connects with existing lines at 13 transfer stations, which accounts for 38% of the entire network. This makes it the “King of transfer,” effectively linking the various components of the Xi’an metro network.

Metro Line 8 serves as a vital connection, also referred to as a “golden belt”, spanning between the city’s 2nd and 3rd Ring Roads. It runs through the Yanta, Lianhu, Weiyang, Xincheng, and Baqiao Districts, and links key areas such as the Qujiang New Area, Xi’an High-tech Zone, Xi’an Economic and Technological Development Zone, and Xi’an Chanba International Harbor. This development enables every resident of Xi’an to reach their destinations more quickly and conveniently.

The trains of Metro Line 8 run in a circular route, with the inner loop trains traveling clockwise and the outer loop trains traveling counterclockwise. After entering the station, passengers can distinguish the direction of travel by using the hanging signs above the platform and the route map on the platform screen. The direction can also be determined by checking the next station or passing stations displayed on the platform screen.

After the opening, Metro Line 8 will adopt the unified “distance-based pricing system”. The full-line fare is 6 yuan, and the maximum network fare is 13 yuan. All stations support QR code entry and facial recognition entry.

The post Xi’an Metro Line 8 Officially Opened appeared first on Hey-Xian.com.

But, if a stroll down the average hotpot riddled street leaves you wanting more diverse and exciting vegan options, then this list is for you. The vegan restaurants below have devoted themselves to providing a myriad of tasty vegan options that we think will reinvigorate your lacklustre diet and prove that being a vegan in Xi’an can be easy and exciting．With this list you will have plenty of options of vegan restaurants in Xi’an to eat at therefor, you will not have to struggle with food. You can enjoy the bliss of delightful dishes whilst enjoying the rest of Xi’an.

1. Anduo安多素食

Anduo vegetarian food is near the Guangren Temple in the city walls of Xi ‘an. The surrounding is quiet, and the environment is comfortable. Its decoration is elegant and bright, giving you a feeling of zen. This restaurant offers an extensive menu of began and vegetarian options to suit all. Excellent location, really good services from the attentive staff and a good ambience make this place stand out.

Address: 136 Northwest Road
Chinese Address: 西北一路136号
Opening hours: 10:30-21:30
Tel: 029-87330205

2. Chajian Xiaoyuan茶见小院

This is one of the vegan restaurants in Xi’an that comes with a unique style of retro with a tea room courtyard but still very lively. with a variety of vegan dishes to chose from a lot of their dishes are made from mushrooms. Did we mention they cook all the food using fresh ingredients adding the extra meaning to vegan dishes. This vegan restaurant is ideal for business meetings or a casual hangout with your friends.

Address: 3F, Baihualinju Commercial Street, Wenjing Road
Chinese Address: 文景路白桦林居商业街3楼
Opening hours: 9:00-23:30
Tel: 029-86215223

3. Pusu Tea House普素茶房

The shop was owned by a Buddhist therefore representing a strong sense of Buddhist culture and the mesmerising Buddhist sounds filling the space making the atmosphere pleasant. Pusu Tea House has been open for over ten years and this vegan restaurant in Xi’an proves to be a great place for friends to hangout and for others to discuss business due to the quiet environment. It is an ideal eatery for a date or simple afternoon tea.

Address:No. 138 Jianxi Street, Wenyi Road Street (near Wenyi North Road)
Chinese Address: 文艺路街道建西街138号(近文艺北路)
Opening hours: 9:30-24:00
Tel: 029-87855677

4. Zen Freedom禅自在素食茶香

This restaurants comes with an elegant, quiet and tasteful environment. It is the perfect place to have meetings or go on a date. A bonus of this vegan restaurant in Xi’an is it offers meditation in store. A combination of meetings, public welfare classes and accommodation can be found here and it is all at an affordable price.

Address:2F Tiandiyuanjiezuo Plaza, No.4 Fenghui South Road, Yanta District
Chinese Address: 沣惠南路4号天地源杰座广场2楼
Opening hours: 10:00-22:00
Tel: 029-89623888

 5. Tian Long · Bao Yan Vegetarian restaurant

天龙宝严素食馆

This restaurant in Xi’an is famous for its vegetarian meaty taste. Many tourists come here for its fame especially because it is only one of the few to perfectly replicate the taste of meat whilst being vegetarian. Its dim sum is distinctive, sweet but not greasy. The plus point of this restaurant is the portions of food are quite large, so be sure to ask your waiter before you order.

Address：Xingshan West Road 55 north Daxingshan Temple
Chinese Address: 兴善西街55号路北大兴善寺內
Opening Hours: 10:30-20:30
Tel: 029-85266880

 6. SU MANXIANG 素满香

This vegan restaurant in Xi’an offers various kinds of healthy soups. It has initiated the need for recycling by allowing one customer to only take one piece of tableware. It is a suitable place for office workers to enjoy their meal.

Address：Shangjian road people paradise residential area North 12 shops
Chinese Address: 尚俭路民乐园住宅区北区12栋商铺
Opening Hours: 11:00-20:00
Tel: 029-87363368

7. SHANGDAO  Vegetarian 上道素食 

The restaurant is hidden in the Palace of longevity and immortals. Its decoration is of primitive simplicity and elegance. The ingredients often come from temple dishes. This vegan restaurant serves desserts that do not include eggs or milk, making it suitable for vegan lovers. This restaurant can be called a summer resort in the hot summer months,

Address：12 Beihuo Xiang, Beilin District, Xi ‘an city, Shaanxi Province
Chinese Address: 陕西省西安市碑林区北火巷12号
Opening Hours: 09:30-20:30
Tel: 18629149618; 18092590406; 13891962221

For some more suggestions of vegetarian and vegan spots in the city, we suggest you checkout www.sushileida.com and which has a great feature allowing you to search pretty much every city in the world for vegetarian and vegan restaurants.

The post Vegan Restaurants in Xi’an appeared first on Hey-Xian.com.

Xi’an City is home to some of rich cultural relics both under and over the ground. With over 3,100 years of history a visitor to the city will quickly come to know there is a lot more than one can probable digest in one vacation.

Today Hey-Xian shares with you some interesting facts about Xi’an, some will blow your mind and some with give you an insight into different perspectives.

1.

The Terracotta Warriors of Xi’an are a collection of over 8800 statues representing the brave and impressive army of China’s first Emperor – Qin Shi Huang. In total, 8000 soldiers,500 horses, 150 cavalry horses and 130 chariots remain buried with the emperor with the belief that this army would protect the emperor in his afterlife.

2.

The Xi’an City Wall was built in order to protect the city, which is why the thickness of the wall is greater than its height and has 18 gates!
西安城墙厚度大于高度, 西安城墙共有城门18座.

The southwest corner of the city wall is architecture to be round whilst the rest are square. 西安城墙西南角楼是圆形的，别的角楼都是方形的。

3.

Have you wondered why the Yongning Gate (south gate) is always closed?
永宁门（南门）为什么老不开？

According to Chinese beliefs, the south is where the god of fire resides therefore in households, the stove would not face the south to avoid fire. With the Yongning Gate (meaning long lasting peace) remaining closed suggests a sign of praying to the god of fire to keep peace and no fires.

4.

Xi’an has its own leaning tower of Pisa. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda leans to one side as it dips about one meter to the west due to lacking ground water. The structure was heavily damaged in the 1500s by an earthquake. However, in the recent years the replenishment of groundwater is slowly bringing the pagoda back to its original position.

5.

There are around 200-700 Japanese words that sound similar in pronunciation to Xi’an’s’ dialect. For example, “yes or no” is pronounced as “dei si ga” in Japanese and “dei si” in Xi’an dialect.
日语中有200-700个音接近西安方言读音。比方日语中把“是不是”念：dei si ga 西安人叫：dei si。

6.

Located in Qianxian county, Xianyang City, the Qianling Mausoleum is the only tomb that has not been stolen and has been preserved the best of the eighteen tombs of the Tang Dynasty. It is the joint tomb of Emperor Tang Gaozong Li Zhi and Empress Wu Zetian.

7.

Xi’an Beilin Museum houses the national first-class cultural relic – Tang Jingyun Bell. This bell rings on every New Year’s Eve.

8.

The witty words on a Taoist epigram “Ni Lai Le Me” attracts many tourists to the City God Temple on West Street. The epigram means “Have you got your just deserts?” implying that justice has long arms.

9.

Ever wondered why the subway construction in Xi’an takes so long?

It is because there are very many cultural relics! Over 130 ancient tombs were discovered along the Metro Line 2 and over 200 artefacts were unearthed.

10.

Xi’an current name is from 1369 and means Western Peace. Xi stands for Western and An stands for peace.

From architecture, culture to history, Xi’an has it all.
 Xi’an city is one of the only cities with a history spanning over 3 millenniums making a visit to this city a must!

The post Interesting Facts about Xi’an appeared first on Hey-Xian.com.

We have picked 7 nearby camping spots for you to help you escape the city…

Camping at Qinling Scenic Spot 秦岭风景区

Qinling Mountain is the back garden of Xi ‘an. If you camp here, you can enjoy the stars, sunrise and sunset. Camping at Antler Beam is recommended. Hanzhong’s Longchi is also a popular campsite.

Address：

Xi ‘an Section of National Highway 210, Chang ‘an District, Xi ‘an, Shaanxi

陕西省西安市长安区二一零国道西安长安区段

Huanbaiyuan Scenic Area 黄柏塬

Huangbaiyuan scenic area as the most central hinterland of the Great Qinling, is a natural oxygen bar. There was only one campsite, an abandoned forest farm, and you had to go up the hill towards The Dudu Gate, and then you could go down and find the campsite. At the campsite, you may meet other teams and have a bonfire party. The temperature in the mountains is very low, there will be frost in the morning, pay attention to keep warm.

Address:

Taiyang Highway, Taibai County, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province

陕西省宝鸡市太白县太洋公路

Price （Ticket of Forest Park）: 

From 60RMB/ per person

Camping at Cuihua Mountain 翠华山

You can camp by tianchi or set up camp on a boulder. If you want to cross the meadow from the Cuihua Moutain Ski resort, you need to find an experienced guide. After visiting the mountain, we recommend to get out at the entrance and walk the whole way to the lakes, then go up to the rocks and check out the cave. After that, you can take a hike to the top point to enjoy the view.

Address：

Taiyi Palace Town, Chang ‘an District, Xi ‘an, Shaanxi

陕西省西安市长安区太乙宫镇

Cuihua Mountain entrance ticket:

64RMB per person

Tip:

Bring your own picnic or if not eat at the local noodle place in the village which is about one and a half hours from the starting point.

Shaohua Mountain 少华山

Inflatable mattresses are recommended for camping in The Shao Hua Mountains. For a more comfortable camping experience, you can also bring a damp proof mat. Camping at night near the springs where the locals get their water is a good idea. But in places like this, you encounter the noise of a herdsman’s horse grazing all night.

Address:

Yuan Zhai Village, Lotus Temple Town, Huazhou District, Weinan city, Shaanxi Province

陕西省渭南市华州区莲花寺镇袁寨村

Price：

Ticket：50RMB/per person

Horse riding：35RMB/h

Time: 

8:30 am on Saturdays and 13:00 pm on Sundays

Bus Ticket Price:

 95 yuan for one way, 180 yuan for round trip

（Xi’an bus station has a two-day tour between Xi’an and Guanshan ranch）

Zibai Mountain紫柏山

Walking into the mountain, you can prepare enough food, along the way there are shops to buy food. Arriving at the top of the mountain will be a vast and misty scene. You can visit Zhangliang temple on the first day, camp in the courtyard of the hotel on the left of Zhangliang temple in the evening, camp in Xifeng on the second day, and see sunrise in the morning of the third day.

Address：

Liuhou Town, Feng County, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province

陕西省宝鸡市凤县留侯镇

Tips

Don’t forget to bring essentials with you, like toilet paper, hand sanitizer (if that sort of thing worries you), bug spray and battery packs – but most things (like instant hot pot) can be picked up in transit from the bigger towns. Most importantly, take everything with you when you leave. 

The post Camping Near Xi’an appeared first on Hey-Xian.com.