Xian Cooking Class and Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum

Meet your local guide in the lobby of Bell Tower Hotel in Xian a little before 8:30 p.m. 

Then set off to explore the ever-popular morning food market to buy the freshest local ingredients needed for your cooking lesson. Food markets can be a daunting place when you don’t speak the language or even recognize some of the food on offer, but you'll have an expert guide to lead the way and introduce you to some of the delicious staples of Chinese cooking.

Next, drive to the home of a local family that will show you how to cook a traditional Chinese lunch. The menu will consist of two classic Chinese dishes of your choice (you’ll have six options to choose from, including kung pao chicken, sweet and sour pork and mapo tofu). Enjoy a lesson in dumpling wrapping and noodle making, which will come in very handy when showing off your new chef skills to friends back home.

After helping your hosts with the meal and learning some of the basics of Chinese cooking, we’ll sit down and eat together. This is a great opportunity to talk to local people about everyday life in Xi’an.

After our very special lunch, we will bid farewell to our new friends and head over to one of China’s most famous and important archaeological sights; the awe-inspiring Terracotta Warriors. Built over 2,000 years ago to guard the first Chinese emperor in the afterlife. The 8,000 soldiers and horses have been painstakingly sculpted, and remarkably, it is said that no two soldiers’ faces are the same. Your guide will introduce you to the story behind the warriors and their place in the story of the Quin Dynasty. We’ll also make a stop at the museum, which offers some fascinating examples of what the warriors would have looked like when they were first completed all those centuries ago.

After a memorable day, get drop back off in Xian around 4:30 p.m.