Huaqing Palace & Hot Springs

For over a thousand years, emperors came to the hot springs at the foot of Mount Li (骊山, Lí Shān) to soak. The springs run a constant ~43 °C, and the site peaked in the 8th century, when Emperor Xuanzong (唐玄宗, Táng Xuánzōng) built a palace here and spent winters with his beloved consort Yang Guifei (杨贵妃, Yáng Guìfēi) — the most beautiful woman in the empire and, depending on who's telling it, the reason it nearly fell. Their romance ended in 756 when mutinous soldiers forced the emperor to have her strangled during the An Lushan rebellion. Bai Juyi's poem "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" (长恨歌, Chánghèn Gē) turned the tragedy into China's defining love story; more in our short history of Xi'an.

What you actually see: excavated Tang-era bathing pools — the Nine-Dragon Lake, the emperor's Lotus Pool, and the Haitang Pool (海棠汤, Hǎitáng Tāng) built for Yang Guifei herself — set in landscaped gardens with the mountain rising behind.

Then there's the second, stranger story. In December 1936, Chiang Kai-shek was staying in the Five-Room Hall (五间厅, Wǔjiān Tīng) here when his own generals moved to arrest him — the Xi'an Incident (西安事变, Xī'ān Shìbiàn). He fled up the mountain in his night clothes and was found hours later in a rocky crevice (a pavilion, 兵谏亭, marks the spot). The bullet holes from that night are still preserved in the hall's window frames. The kidnapping worked: it forced the Nationalists and Communists into a united front against Japan.

One honest framing: the pools and bullet holes are genuine; the halls around them are modern rebuilds. Come for the stories and the gardens, not for standing architecture.

Make it the second half of a Lintong day. The standard play: Terracotta Army at opening (8:30), lunch in Lintong town, then Huaqing Palace for the afternoon — it's two stops back toward the city on metro Line 9. Doing it in reverse drops you into the Army's midday bus crush.

On site (2–3 hours): start with the Tang pools around the lake, then the Five-Room Hall and the Xi'an Incident exhibits, then — if your legs are willing — take the cable car partway up Mount Li for views over the Wei River plain. The beacon tower on the summit is where King You of Zhou supposedly lit fake alarms to amuse his consort, a stunt that cost him his kingdom; it's a climb, not a stroll.

The evening show: "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" (长恨歌) stages the Xuanzong–Yang Guifei story on the lake itself, with the mountain as a lit backdrop — water stages, fire effects, hundreds of performers. It now runs year-round: the standard edition from roughly April to October, and since 1 December 2024 a winter "Ice & Fire" (冰火《长恨歌》) edition (December to February) that layers snow, ice and fire effects onto the same stage — three shows a night, starting earlier (around 18:30) than the summer version. Tickets from about ¥238 either season; it's one of the few Chinese mega-shows that lives up to its billing. Book ahead in peak season; show-only visitors don't need a day ticket.

Avoid weekend afternoons, when the Terracotta Army crowds spill over, and midday summer visits — the gardens have shade but the pool courtyards don't.

The palace sits in Lintong District, about 30 km east of downtown Xi'an, directly on the Terracotta Army route.

• Metro Line 9 to Huaqing Pool (华清池) station, exit C — the entrance is a few minutes' walk. From the Terracotta Army, it's two stops back toward the city. This is the cheap, traffic-proof option; see our getting around guide.
• Taxi/DiDi from downtown takes 40–60 minutes depending on traffic.
• On a combined day: most visitors do the Terracotta Army first and finish here — our 3-day itinerary lays the day out hour by hour.

• The famous pools are display-only. If you want to actually soak, the hot-spring hotel inside the grounds sells bathing separately — pleasant in winter, skippable in July.
• Show logistics: the evening performance starts around dusk (multiple showings in peak season). If you're seeing it, either stay in Lintong for dinner or budget a long, slow day — the last metro back is your friend, check its time.
• Food: on-site options are forgettable. Eat in Lintong town between the two sights.
• Payments: tickets and the show are easiest via WeChat Pay or Alipay, or on Trip.com if you want English.
• Weather: summer afternoons are hot in the open pool courtyards; in winter the steaming pools against bare trees are atmospheric, and crowds vanish.
• Kids: the boat ride on the lake and the fish in the pools land better with children than the history does.