Datang & Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an
Fountains, Tang night lights and the newer southern base on the metro

What sets this district apart from the city centre is that it is open and unhurried: wide roads, wide pavements, wide plazas. You can walk from the Big Wild Goose Pagoda south through Datang Everbright City to Tang Paradise in a single line, without the elbow-to-elbow crush of the Muslim Quarter. Daytime is quiet and bright — good for the museum and the pagoda. After dark the crowds pour in for the lights. It is the district in Xi'an whose character changes most clearly with the hour of the day.

• 1
  For night-lights and Tang-dynasty atmosphere

  Night lights · Tang theme · Datang Everbright City

  Datang Everbright City at night is the image many people now picture when they think of modern Xi'an — Tang-style buildings lining both sides of a street nearly two kilometres long, the whole district washed in gold. There are living statues (performers in Tang costume standing perfectly still), street performers, and food and craft stalls. It is all free to enter. The best photographs come in the early evening, when the sky is not yet fully dark but the lights are already on.

• 2
  For history and antiquities

  Shaanxi History Museum · Tang dynasty · Silk Road

  The Shaanxi History Museum holds hundreds of thousands of artefacts spanning from prehistory to the Tang dynasty, including tomb murals from Tang princes and princesses that you will not see anywhere else. The one catch is that you must book in advance (details below). And the Big Wild Goose Pagoda nearby is where Xuanzang actually translated Buddhist scriptures in the 7th century — not a recreation, but the real site.

• 3
  For travellers who want a newer, larger hotel room

  Modern hotels · pools · W / Westin / Shangri-La

  Qujiang is where the newer international hotel brands have clustered — W Xi'an sits about 500 metres from the pagoda, The Westin Xi'an is directly opposite the pagoda within the Grand Tang Everbright City complex, and Shangri-La Xi'an is in the newer Qujiang sub-district. Rooms here tend to be larger, with pools and full gyms. It suits travellers who value newer-hotel comfort over an old-city-centre address.

• 4
  For gardens and live performance

  Tang Paradise · garden show · lakeside

  Tang Paradise (Datang Furong Yuan) is a large recreated Tang-style imperial garden on a lake in the south-east of the district, with pavilions, bridges and a water-and-light show in the evening. It suits travellers who want to stroll slowly through a period setting without fighting crowds. It is a ticketed park, unlike Datang Everbright City, which sits outside the gates and is free.

The strongest argument for staying in the Datang area is newer hotels at better value. The luxury properties here tend to have larger rooms, full pools and gyms, and rates that are often better than the cramped luxury hotels inside the City Wall. The location also puts the pagoda, the fountain and Datang Everbright City within walking distance — wake up to the pagoda, walk out to the lights in the evening, no taxi required.

The trade-off is that it is a way from the old city centre. If you want to walk out of your hotel and reach the Bell Tower, the Muslim Quarter and the traditional restaurants immediately, this district means a 15–20 minute metro ride. For travellers who plan to spend all day exploring the centre on foot, a base inside the walls makes more sense — compare the two at the Xi'an where-to-stay guide.