What to pack for Xi'an: a consolidated, season-by-season checklist

Pack light, pack in layers, and don't treat the list as a mission — Xi'an is a city of 13 million with a convenience store on every corner, so the cost of forgetting something is usually a 10-yuan fix, not a ruined day. The two things genuinely worth getting right before you fly are your seasonal clothing (the temperature swing across the year is large) and the small essentials kit that Chinese travel specifically asks for: tissues, a mask, a refillable bottle, and your passport.

Everything below pulls the scattered packing advice from across the site into one checklist. Start with the season you're travelling in, layer the essentials on top, and you're done. For the weather context behind each season, see best time to visit; for the health side of the AQI and water advice, see health & safety.

Xi'an's temperature range across the year is extreme — January lows average around −5°C, July highs sit at 32°C and routinely clear 35°C — so the clothing list really does change with the month. A rough guide:

Season	Typical weather	What to pack
Spring (Mar–May)	4–26°C across the season; March can be windy and dusty	T-shirts, a light fleece or jacket, one warm layer for cold March mornings, sunglasses, a mask for dust days
Summer (Jun–Aug)	32°C days, 35°C+ common, strong sun; July muggy and wet	Breathable, loose clothing that covers shoulders for sun and temples; sun hat; sunscreen; refillable bottle; a light rain shell for July
Autumn (Sep–Nov)	16–25°C in September, cooling to 3–12°C by November; September rainy	Layers — short sleeves under a jacket; an umbrella all month in September; a warm layer by November
Winter (Dec–Feb)	highs ~5–8°C, lows ~−5°C; very dry, occasional haze	Down jacket, warm mid-layers, gloves, scarf, warm shoes; a KN95 mask for bad-air days

Two patterns to plan around. First, daily temperature swings run about 10°C year-round, so spring and autumn mornings are noticeably colder than the daytime average — always carry a layer you can shed. Second, indoor heating in winter is fierce and summer air-conditioning is aggressive; dressing in layers you can peel off indoors stops the constant sweat-and-chill cycle. See best time to visit for the month-by-month detail.

Xi'an sits in the Wei River valley, and from roughly November to February stagnant air can push the AQI into the 150–250 range for days at a time. Spring occasionally adds blowing dust. It's a reason to pack, not to cancel — handled properly, winter is one of the city's best seasons.

• Pack a handful of KN95 or FFP2 masks. From AQI 150 upward (the "unhealthy" band) a proper mask makes a real difference for everyone, and an essential one for children, older travelers and anyone asthmatic. Bring them from home or buy cheaply at any Xi'an pharmacy (药店, yàodiàn — look for the green cross).
• Have an indoor swap ready. When the air is bad, move the day indoors rather than gritting through it on the City Wall. Our indoor rainy-day itinerary doubles as the bad-air itinerary — the Forest of Steles, the Shaanxi History Museum and the Great Mosque are all largely under cover.
• Check the AQI each morning. IQAir is the standard app; budget a data connection for it by sorting your internet, eSIM and VPN before you arrive.

Full health context, including the AQI bands and what counts as sensitive, is in health & safety.

China's mains supply is 220 V at 50 Hz — not the 110 V of North America. That matters for what you plug in, not just the shape of the plug.

• Plug shape. The official standard (GB 1002-2024) is Type A (two flat parallel pins, US/Japan style) and Type I (three flat pins, Australia/China style, the two live pins angled). A Type A plug fits almost every socket in the country; a Type I plug fits modern sockets; and a Type C Europlug (two round pins) slides into most wall outlets too. If your devices use any of those, you likely need no adapter at all. UK Type G, Indian, South African and other plug shapes do need one — a basic universal adapter is enough.
• Voltage. Read the small print on every charger before you plug it in. Phone and laptop chargers are almost always rated 100–240 V, 50/60 Hz and work fine. Older hair appliances, curling irons or 110 V-only shavers will be damaged on 220 V — leave them, or bring a dual-voltage model. USB devices are safe, since the adapter handles the conversion.
• Power bank. A long Terracotta Army morning or an afternoon on the wall will drain your phone faster than the day allows, especially if you're navigating, translating and photographing at once. Carry a power bank you trust.
• Data and apps. Sort your connectivity before you land — see the internet, eSIM and VPN guide. A working data connection is what makes the essential apps (maps, payments, translation, AQI) usable, and they're what make Xi'an navigable.

The handful of small things that matter every single day in China, none of them obvious from a Western packing list:

• Pocket tissues and hand sanitizer. This is the big one many travelers learn the hard way. Public toilets in China — especially at older sights, stations and small restaurants — frequently do not supply toilet paper. Carry a pocket pack of tissues and a small bottle of sanitizer on every outing. Squat toilets (蹲厕, dūncè) are still common at the same older venues (hotels, malls, museums and the metro use Western seated toilets), so bring what you need.
• A refillable bottle. Tap water in Xi'an isn't potable — locals boil it. A refillable bottle makes sense, filled from your hotel room's kettle or hot-water dispenser, or topped up with bottled water that costs a few yuan from any convenience store. In summer, carry more water than you think you'll need; dehydration creeps up on the exposed brick of the City Wall.
• Your passport. China operates real-name (实名) ticketing at major attractions — your passport number is tied to the ticket, and the passport itself is checked at the gate. At the Terracotta Army and the big museums, your passport is your ticket, so carry it every sightseeing day. Keep a phone photo of the photo page as backup.
• Payment. WeChat Pay and Alipay dominate; set them up before you arrive using our money and payments guide. A small float of cash yuan is a useful backup for stalls and tips, not a necessity.
• A small umbrella or rain shell from June through September, and especially in July and September — the two rainiest months.

Shoes are the one piece of gear that genuinely affects the trip. You will walk far more than the trip plans suggest. The Terracotta Army is an enormous site — three pit halls plus the museum, easily 10,000 steps — and the City Wall is a 14-kilometre loop if you walk it, or a bracing bike ride if you rent. Worn stone, polished brick and uneven paving are the norm. Bring your most comfortable, broken-in walking shoes; do not break in new shoes on this trip. In summer, shoes that breathe; in winter, something warm with grip for the occasional icy patch.

Pack one modest outfit for religious sites. Temples and the Great Mosque ask for covered shoulders and knees — shorts, short skirts and tank tops will get you turned away or quietly glared at. A light long-sleeved shirt and long trousers or a long skirt in your day bag covers it. Women are not required to cover their hair in the Great Mosque courtyards. Our etiquette and customs guide has the broader do's and don'ts.

The honest version: less than you think. Xi'an is a major Chinese city and you can buy almost anything cheaply and quickly — umbrella, slippers, toiletries, an extra mask, a light fleece, even a cheap power bank. Overpacking is the more common mistake, especially in summer when you'll be carrying everything in the heat.

What is genuinely worth bringing from home rather than sourcing in China:

• Prescription medications in their original packaging, with a copy of the prescription and enough for the whole trip — some common Western drugs (including certain codeine- or pseudoephedrine-containing products) are controlled or unavailable in China.
• A KN95 or FFP2 mask if you're travelling in winter and want a known brand, though pharmacies stock them.
• Your own universal adapter if your devices use non-Chinese plugs.
• Comfortable, broken-in shoes in your size — harder to replace on short notice than a t-shirt.

Everything else, buy there if you need it. For the money side of small purchases, see trip cost; to fold this list into a plan, the 3-day itinerary is a good scaffold.