8 cities
Xi'an
⚔️ Terracotta Army (Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum)
Real-name reservation only; no third-party agents are authorized. The official website and the two official WeChat accounts accept Chinese ID cards and passports alike; enter in your booked time slot and have your original document verified at the gate.
What you need to know
- The entire site runs on real-name reservation. The official ticketing notice is explicit: everyone, including visitors from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and other countries and regions, must book through the official website or the official WeChat accounts.
- Ticket checks are timed: enter only within your booked slot. Daily capacity is capped at 65,000 visitors; ticket sales stop once the cap is reached.
- Opening hours: peak season (Mar 16-Nov 15) admission 8:30-17:00 with the grounds closing at 18:30; off season (Nov 16-Mar 15) admission 8:30-16:30 with the grounds closing at 18:00.
- During holiday peaks, tickets are released in daily batches at 10:00, 15:00 and 20:00 (per the official May Day announcement); on ordinary days, follow the release times shown on the official ticketing site that day.
- The site comprises the Terracotta Army museum and Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum (Lishan Garden); a free shuttle bus runs between the two.
- Official reminder: complete your online purchase before you set out. Admission is free for visitors aged 65 and over, for children aged 16 and under accompanied by a parent, and for visitors with disabilities — but all of them must still book in advance on the official ticketing platform.
How to book
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博物院官网「购票」入口（www.bmy.com.cn）— Official museum website, 'Buy Tickets' entry (www.bmy.com.cn)
Passport accepted
Book and pay with real-name details from your passport (or ID card). Ticket checks are timed: enter within your booked slot and have your original passport verified at the gate.
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微信公众号「秦始皇帝陵博物院」或「兵马俑票务在线」— WeChat official accounts 秦始皇帝陵博物院 (Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum) or 兵马俑票务在线 (Terracotta Army Ticketing Online)
Passport accepted
Book tickets inside the official account; foreign visitors can book exactly the same way.
Sources
🏛️ Shaanxi History Museum
Admission is free, but everyone still needs a timed reservation — the only official channel is the Shaanxi History Museum WeChat official account. Tickets are released 5 days ahead at 17:00 daily and peak slots sell out in seconds; passports and Foreign Permanent Resident ID Cards are both accepted.
What you need to know
- Admission is free but ticketed: the only official booking channel is the Shaanxi History Museum WeChat official account, and the museum states it has authorized no third-party platform, travel agency or individual to sell tickets.
- Tickets are released 5 days ahead at 17:00 daily (tickets for July 6, for example, open up on July 1). Pre-fill your visitor details in advance; the moment tickets drop, open the pre-filled-info lookup and tap Book to grab one. Pre-filling alone is not a booking — unclaimed pre-filled info is wiped automatically at 24:00 every day.
- Respect the quotas: each pre-filled record covers at most 5 people; each document is limited to 1 order per day and 4 orders per 30 days (cancellations included); each WeChat account is limited to 3 orders per 7 days.
- Cancel on the official platform before the ticket-check cutoff for your slot; miss the cutoff and it counts as a no-show, barring you from booking for 180 calendar days from that date.
- Visitors from outside mainland China book with a passport or a Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card of the PRC (Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan documents also work); visitors from mainland China can only use a national ID card.
- Enter by ID-document match check with your original document plus your confirmed order, within your booked slot. If you left the original behind or verification fails, go to the comprehensive service window at the museum's south gate to exchange for a manual entry voucher.
- Opening hours (per the May 6-Nov 14, 2026 schedule): main museum 8:30-19:00, last entry at 18:00; statutory holidays follow official announcements.
- Paid special exhibitions such as the 'Tang Dynasty Mural Treasures' exhibition are ticketed separately — buy online in advance or on site. Buying a paid exhibition ticket does not require re-booking the museum's free admission ticket.
- The Qin-Han branch (Xixian New Area) requires no reservation: enter directly with a valid original ID document. Non-mainland visitors are verified and admitted on site by staff.
How to book
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微信公众号「陕西历史博物馆」— WeChat official account 陕西历史博物馆 (Shaanxi History Museum)
Passport accepted
The only official booking channel. Tickets are released 5 days ahead at 17:00 daily. Choose passport (or Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card) as your document type and book with real-name details; enter by ID-document match check with your original document plus your order.
Sources
ℹ️ General Booking Rules in Xi'an
Every headline venue is real-name reservation only, with zero fallback outside official channels. Foreign visitors use the same official channels with a passport or permanent residence card, and go to the on-site manual service window when verification fails.
What you need to know
- Every headline attraction is real-name reservation only: the authorities repeatedly state that no third-party platform or travel agency is authorized to resell tickets or sell bundled packages, and there is no on-site ticket fallback.
- Release rhythms differ by venue: Shaanxi History Museum opens bookings 5 days ahead at 17:00 daily; the Terracotta Army releases tickets in batches at 10:00, 15:00 and 20:00 during holiday peaks, and follows the times shown on its official ticketing site on ordinary days.
- A passport works directly on both venues' official channels: at the Terracotta Army your ticket is redeemed against your original passport at the gate; at Shaanxi History Museum you enter by ID-document match check with the original document you booked with.
- Know the fallback for document problems: at Shaanxi History Museum, swap your booking for a manual entry voucher at the south-gate comprehensive service window if the original is missing or verification fails (a confirmed order is required); at the Terracotta Army, your passport or other document is checked directly at the gate.
- Check each venue's official opening and visit notices for closing arrangements and statutory-holiday hours; both official websites are updated in real time.