Free walking tours in Xi’An

Did the Through the Gates of Time walking tour with YunYun and it was one of the most engaging ways to explore Xi’an beyond just the main attractions. YunYun has a great way of storytelling that makes the city’s long history feel alive and easy to understand. Walking along the Xi'an City Wall and through areas like Shuyuanmen Street and Xiangzi Temple didn’t feel like a typical tour — it felt like uncovering layers of culture, architecture, and daily life. The pace of the tour was very comfortable, especially with shaded streets and a well-planned route. YunYun balanced historical insights with local tips, from cultural context to food recommendations, which made the experience very well-rounded. What stood out most was how she connected different parts of Xi’an’s past — from dynasties to modern-day life — in a way that was simple but meaningful. You leave the tour not just having seen places, but actually understanding them. A great choice if you’re looking for a relaxed, small-group experience with depth and authenticity. For a deeper look at this experience, you can also check my YouTube channel travelwithshreya where I’ve shared more from this trip.

Dafu has such a fun personality and very open and welcoming, as does her family. The food we made was really tasty and nice to learn how to prepare. Great experience and talks. Would highly recommend.

The tour was great, we enjoyed all the food that were introduced to us. We enjoyed it so much that we went back to the restaurants a second time.

Absolutely wonderful hosts

This was a wonderful experience for the whole family. My wife and two small kids joined me and had a great time with practicing the calligraphy

BEST food tour we have ever done...and we have done a lot. You can tell Wenqi spent a lot of time curating and refining the tour and even took into account guest preferences. We learned ALOT and left with happy bellies. It was amazing to tour such a touristy place with a local - ensuring we tasted the best of the best! 15/10 recommend joining this tour.

We had a wonderful time on this tour and will remember it fondly. Wenqi and her parents are so lovely and welcoming. We loved spending time in their home and the food was delicious!

Great guide, very informative and very good level of conversational English. Food was fantastic!!!

We had a great tour amd learned so much about Xi'An! Yunyun is an amazing guide, very knowledgeable and professional, ready to share all about the history of China and its culture. In addition, she also gave us suggestions for the remaining part of our visit, very appreciated! Would definitely recommend to join this tour.

It was a great tour!

Amazing tour. Very informative. Loads of great local recommendations. And even a little gift at the end!

Excellent tour of the Xi'an city with YunYun. Full of interesting information, entertaining and well paced. Highly recommended!!

I absolutely recommend YunYun’s tour. She speaks perfect English, is very knowledgeable, witty and resourceful. We had a great time with her, learnt a lot of interesting facts about the city and its history.

Amazing! I would really recommend this tour.

Molto bello, molto disponibile

Yunyun es una guía estupenda, hace un recorrido muy variado y muy interesante por Xian.

Yunyun ist eine sehr sympathische Reiseführerin, die sich sehr gut mit der Geschichte ihrer Heimatstadt Xi'An auskennt. Sie spricht perfekt Englisch und sogar Deutsch. Ich kann die Tour nur empfehlen.

Very tasty food from Xi’an! Yunyun was an excellent guide and professionally answered all our questions

Very entertaining. You learn a lot about Xi'an and China. The guide is so nice and speaks perfect English! 10/10

Yunyun war ein super Tourguide, sie hatte enorm viel Hintergrundwissen und die Tour war sehr informativ. Ich kann sie jedem als Einstieg in die Besichtigung Xians empfehlen!

Can't recommend this walking tour enough. The route is very pleasant and varied and the guide (Yunyun) is incredibly knowledgeable, friendly and easy to chat to. Her English is close to perfect also. Really loved this tour and the little gift she gave us all at the end!

Very engaging and knowledgeable tour guide. Will recommend to anyone who wants to see a bit of Xian and learn about its history.

Excellent tour, highly recommended, also for families with kids and teens. Ricky is an expert guide, entertaining and resourceful. Well prepared . He shared a lot of insights in a very engaging way. He also offered tips for local experiences and food. Our tour was a great experience thanks to Ricky!

Ricky was the best & funniest tourguide we ever had!

This was a great way to learn more about the food in Xi’an - Wenqi was an awesome guide who took us to less touristy places where the food was really yummy and affordable. She also sent through many other recommendations for us to check out during the rest of our stay. I definitely recommend this tour