Why Xi’an Should Top Your China Itinerary

While Beijing and Shanghai tend to dominate many China itineraries, I was specifically drawn to Xi’an for its unparalleled immersion into the country’s rich history and culture. The allure only grew as I researched the myriad marquee attractions surrounding this ancient Silk Road crossroads.

Xi’an served as the prosperous capital for 13 imperial dynasties over 1,100 years, including the famed Tang era when China’s global influence peaked. Its present-day iteration offers the chance to quite literally walk the stone pathways of Chinese civilization at sites like the Terracotta Warriors, Wild Goose Pagoda, the Old City Muslim Quarter, and remnants of the Silk Road itself.

Other enticements included savoring Xi’an’s celebrated gastronomy like tiny dumplings, lamb kebabs and the birthplace of “bread in a crushed and pulled form” – better known as noodles. With convenient high-speed rail links from Beijing and Shanghai, Xi’an proved an ideal hub for forging one’s own exploratory Silk Road journey.

Where to Stay – Angsana Xi’an Lintong

After poring over the various luxury and boutique hotels dotting Xi’an’s historic core and surrounding countryside, I ultimately landed on the Angsana Xi’an Lintong resort for my 4-night stay. Part of the esteemed Banyan Tree brand’s Angsana collection, this picturesque hideaway promised a tranquil sanctuary coupled with unrivaled access to Xi’an’s highlights.

While a bit removed from downtown Xi’an’s bustling environs, the resort’s location just 15 minutes from the Terracotta Warriors excavation site proved immensely appealing. A luxe retreat nestled amid lush gardens, local vineyards and ancient monuments felt like the ideal home base from which to experience Xi’an’s grandest archaeological splendors.

Getting to Xi’an & Around

With international flights arriving at Xi’an Xianyang International Airport from major Asian hubs like Beijing, Hong Kong, and Seoul, getting to Xi’an proved relatively straightforward and inexpensive. I opted for a direct 4-hour Cathay Dragon flight from Hong Kong which touched down around 11pm.

The resort had thoughtfully arranged an airport transfer via private Mercedes sedan. After clearing immigration and customs, I met my courteous driver holding an Angsana placard amidst a knot of other hotel shuttles. Within 45 minutes I was pulling into Angsana Xi’an Lintong, escorted by staff bearing cups of steaming ginger tea.

As for getting around Xi’an, the lack of an efficient metro or subway system during my visit necessitated a mix of transportation options: Arrange private airport transfers and drives to more remote sites like the Warriors through the hotel. In town, it’s best to utilize taxis for shorter jaunts or full-day private guides/drivers. The resort can provide upfront pricing and carefully vet top guides for you.

Angsana Xi’an Lintong Acccommodations

My first impression of the Angsana resort was its striking courtyard-style hotspring spa and free-form swimming pool, which were both lit by moody lanterns when I checked in around midnight. The lobby and guest rooms radiated understated luxury infused with subtle regional touches: carved Han dynasty ornaments, hand-painted murals, and furnishings accented with classic Chinese motifs like bamboo and silk panels.

My spacious Ming-inspired deluxe garden room offered the perfect retreat after long days of exploring. In addition to the plush king bed and cozy reading lounge, room highlights included a deep soaking tub and separate rain shower, aromatherapy amenities, and a private walled garden patio with alfresco bathtub (plus resident bullfrog serenader).

But the true showstopper awaited just beyond the sliding glass doors – sublime views of Xi’an’s iconic Mount Li perpetually looming amidst meticulously pruned willows and pines. I often awoke to mystical scenes of early morning mists cloaking the mountain and monks emerging from the hotel’s adjacent monastery.

Angsana Xi’an Lintong Experiences and Amenities

While the lavish accommodations were more than comfortable enough to relax all day, venturing forth into Angsana Xi’an Lintong unveiled a treasure trove of enriching cultural and adventure experiences. The gateway monument alone – a towering 11-story hilltop pagoda dating back to the Tang dynasty – provided ample inspiration for hiking and cycling outings.

I spent many restorative hours in the signature Angsana Spa indulging in local treatments like the Xi’an Songfen “Dreaming of Fragrance” facial and mineral pool soaks heated by natural hot springs bored into the resort. Cultural immersion opportunities included everything from traditional Tao Pan whiskey toasting ceremonies to cooking lessons making Shaanxi “biangbiang” noodles and roujiamo “burger” wraps.

The resort’s highlight was undoubtedly its sublime Angsana Gallery, an exquisite museum encompassing 4,500 square meters. Here, immaculately curated antiquities and relics from Xi’an’s golden ages educated and enchanted through multimedia exhibits showcasing everything from ancient porcelains and terra cotta miniatures to cultural demos like calligraphy.

Chihān Ancient Town Heritage Village

Just outside the resort gates awaited a final unanticipated attraction: the wonderfully preserved heritage village of Chihān. I spent many blissful hours wandering this forgotten 11th-century hamlet’s stone-paved alleyways, souvenir markets and mom-and-pop shops barely changed since the Tang era. Or savoring steaming bowls of handmade noodles and soups at al fresco eateries operating within courtyard homes straight out of a period drama.

But my favorite Chihān splendor revealed itself just as I was about to depart. Deep within the village core laid the incongruously magnificent 600-year-old Huaqing Hot Springs complex, a vision of imperial indulgence crowned by a succession of steaming jade and gold baths where Xi’an dynasties retreated for pampering eons ago. I left feeling like I’d uncovered China’s most decadently preserved historical gem.

With its profound immersion in ancient culture and unrivaled amenities, Angsana Xi’an Lintong ultimately transcended even lofty expectations as the ideal luxury launchpad for unearthing Xi’an’s iconic wonders. The hardest part was eventually bidding farewell to its meticulously crafted hideaway from the modern world – though the memories and lessons gained would remain indelibly etched into my soul.

Tips for Your Xi’an Angsana Stay:

• Book rooms overlooking Mount Li – pagoda or garden views
• Participate in authentic culinary and cultural experiences
• Visit the sprawling Angsana Gallery for hands-on history
• Don’t miss the nearby Chihān Ancient Town and Huaqing Pools
• Take advantage of airport/site transfers with resort vehicles and guides
• Build in plenty of downtime at the spa and natural hot spring pools
• Download apps like Google Translate for easier communication

Whether you’re embarking on an in-depth Silk Road odyssey or scratching the surface of Xi’an’s imperial splendors, make Angsana Xi’an Lintong your base. This rarefied enclave provides the ultimate sanctuary for recharging between archaeological adventures – while also immersing you in the heart of Chinese heritage. It’s a winning combination that will leave your mind, body and spirit forever transformed. I hope you like my Pre-trip Planning & Angsana Xi’an Lintong experience.

The post Pre-trip Planning & Angsana Xi’an Lintong appeared first on Mums Travels.

We ruled out Bali as we have been there several times and wanted something different.  We literally checked up on the Indonesian cities that Silkair (SQ’s sister airline that flies the region) flies to and finally decided to go to Yogyakarta.  We love to take photographs and the mystic of Borobodur attracted us.   We managed to redeem tickets to Yogyakarta for middle of August, a high season for Borobodur. Another plus point the exchange rate was really attractive then. SGD1 was about IDR10k when we went!

Then where to stay?  I am a Hyatt Platinum member due to my frequent business travel.  So I had accumulated some Hyatt points.  Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta is a category one hotel, i.e., require the least number of points for a night’s stay.  I decided to redeem 3 nights stay at the club room.  So we were ready to go!  No cost yet so far except for airline fuel surcharge!  Yippee!??

I surfed the net and decided that we must do a sunrise Borobodur and Sunset Prambanan and Boko tour.  Everything else will need to be worked around these two activities.  Many on tripadvisor recommended renting a car with a driver.  Much cheaper than joining a tour and very flexible.  But I didn’t want just a driver.  I wanted a proper guide to explain to us the meaning of the carvings on the temples, and stories behind the temples and the gods.  Just looking at the carvings would have been totally meaningless to us.  I contacted the Hyatt tour desk and we agreed on an afternoon Prambanan and Boko tour on the day of our arrival and a sunrise Borobodur tour the next day.  Cost for the two private tours for the two of us was IDR2.7M (~SGD270).  Hyatt was only charging IDR200k (~SGD20) for return airport transfer, so we took it too.

We were all set to go!

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Pre-Trip Planning

The Northern Lights is all the rave these days and DH and I have been thinking of going to Northern Europe to catch it.  But somehow there doesn’t seem to be much in Finland or Norway except the lights and I always worry that if I can’t catch it, I’d have realty wasted the trouble and money for making that trip.  Then over a business lunch, a client told me about his trip to Iceland and I was wowed by his photos.  Such dramatic landscape and the chance to see the Northern lights too.  I raved about it to my sister (DSis) and her husband (DBIL) and we just decided that maybe we should just go for it.

So I got the contact of the Iceland local travel agent from my client and got in touch with Heimir of Touring Iceland.   We communicated through emails and Heimir worked out an itinerary for 8 days for us with 2 free days in Reykjavik.  We decided to add on several optional activities to our tour too:

1. Vatnshellir cave
2. Snow mobile ride on Langjökull
3. Ice cave

Total cost of the tour came up to ISK1.600,000 which worked out to be about SGD22,000 for the 4 of us.

We decided to go in March (1-12 March 2017) to still get the winter landscape but yet have longer daylight.    Better for photography.

Next came the airfare.  We decided to take Finnair as it was the shortest in flying time and with 2 long stopovers in Helsinki allowed us to take the oppportinity to explore Helsinki too.  We managed to get very good price for our economy class tickets at just less than SGD1,300 pp.  DH and I decided to fork out an additional EUR50 pp per journey for extra legroom seats for a more comfortable journey.

On our free days in Reykjavik, DBIL did some research and suggested a day trip to Westman Islands.  The other day was for us to go to the Blue Lagoon to enjoy the hot springs.  We booked the Westman Island tour with Eagle Air.  The Blue Lagoon required prebooking as well and we just booked direct on their website.  But we regretted booking it only 2 weeks before the day that we wanted to go.  We had only 8am morning slot or evening slots to choose from.  We went for the morning slot.  The massages were also fully booked by then.  So advice is to book much earlier if you want to go.

Another thing to make sure you have on a trip to Iceland, and especially a winter trip is good hiking shoes.  I got mine from Amazon which had lots of choices.  I picked a pair of Merrill winter hiking boots.  It had good groves and reviews on the internet was good.  A previous reviewer had also wore it on a winter trip to Iceland and had given a good review.  The different colors were priced differently.  I bought the dark brown park at USD79.80.  I would normally have picked a black pair but was not prepared to pay more just for the colour since I don’t think I’ll be using it much.  DH has a pair of winter hiking boots already which is also from Merrill.

Our winter hiking boots

These boots are great. During the trip, they stayed completely dry in snow, slush, mud etc. They also kept my feet warm and were easy to wash as the lower parts are all rubber-like material. The groves of the base were great and managed well even in thick snow. But on icy roads and glaciers, they still need added crampons.

DBIL bought DH and I a hiking stick each for the trip for Christmas!  ????. They proved useful on our hike up the slippery slope to see Svartifoss on that wet day!  He bought them from the China online merchant, Alibaba’s AliExpress.

Then we were the ready to go!

Overall, we had a great, albeit tiring 10 days trip.  We had great weather for the whole trip, which Heimir said was really unusual.   The scenery was amazing.  Such untouch wilderness.  Heimir was great.  He was professional and took pride in his work, adjusting our itinerary along the way according to the weather forecast and we got to see all that we had planned to see in the best weather condition possible for us.  Heimir was simply great!  Highly recommended.

We enjoyed our trip.  I hope your will enjoy reading my sharing in my upcoming posts!

K

Update 14 Dec 2017 : We just found out for Heimir’s wife, Pora, that he passed away in July during an emergency surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain after a fall. It was barely 4 mths after he took us around his beautiful country. This came as a shock as Heimir is such an active and jolly man. Deepest condolences to Pora. Heimir, R.I.P. We’ll always remember you and your beautiful country!

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