Recommended Places for Outdoor Camping in Xi’an

There are many great places for outdoor camping in Xi’an. It is highly recommended that you go there to enjoy the scenery! So where are the most recommended camping spots in Xi’an? Let’s take a look together! For more details, please see below.

1、Huangbaiyuan – Natural Oxygen Bar

Huangbaiyuan Scenic Area is the most core area of ​​the Qinling Mountains. It has towering mountains and overlapping hills. It has both the scenery of northern China and the beauty of southern China, merging the charm of the north and the south into one region. Whether it is known as the “Shangri-La in the Qinling Mountains” or the “Jiuzhaigou in the Qinling Mountains”, it is a natural oxygen bar.

User experience:

Just camping is not enough, this time we played the trip from the old county town to Huangbaiyuan.

Take the Xihan Expressway via Yangxian and Foping, enter the Black River Forest Park at Shaliangzi, entrance fee 50 yuan/person.

You can go to Houzhenzi Town along the road in the Black River Forest Park. This is a very famous place, and those who climb Taibai Mountain will also stay here. You can meet many real donkey friends.

Then all the way to the old county town, it is all gravel road, narrow and difficult to walk. There is a farmhouse in the old county town, claiming to be the farthest Xi’an person from the Bell Tower – Wang Sanquan. To get to his house, you have to go through the old county town of Foping, and there is also a section of mud road, which can only be walked on foot, about 30 minutes.

Early the next morning, the real crossing began. Along the direction of Duduomen, the journey will be somewhat difficult, you have to cross a log bridge, and there is basically no decent road. It takes about 8 hours to reach the top of the mountain, and the physical exertion is great. However, there is water there, so you can carry less water. After going down the mountain, it is the camp site – an abandoned ranger station. Pay special attention, there is only one campsite here, it is best to get here before dark.

It takes more than an hour to go down the mountain, but it is easy to get lost, so be careful.

After going down the mountain, cross a river and you will reach the campsite. In late autumn, the river water is icy cold, and the depth is almost knee-deep.

Camping

You may encounter people from other teams at the campsite. A group of people gathered together to camp, like a group of heroes gathering in the Dragon Gate Inn, and you can also have a bonfire party. Get up the next day, finish breakfast and set off towards Huangbaiyuan. The temperature in the mountains is very low, and there will be frost in the early morning, so pay attention to keeping warm.

Passing the Dajiangou Scenic Area, passing through the core area of ​​the Qinling Mountains and the buffer zone of the Qinling Mountains, you can also see takin on the hillside. After leaving Dajiangou, there is a road that can be accessed by vehicles. Contact a car in Huangbaiyuan in advance to pick you up, otherwise you won’t be able to reach Huangbaiyuan at night. After arriving at Huangbaiyuan Town, you can set up tents and camp on the lawn in the square. Get up on the fourth day, you can spoil yourself by hiring a car, passing Erlangba, going to Huayang Scenic Spot in Yangxian, and taking a bus back to Xi’an.

2、Cuihua Mountain – Pitching a Tent in this “Unique Peak of Zhongnan Mountain”

If we talk about the good places to climb mountains around Xi’an, Cuihua Mountain will be the first to come to mind. Why are people so familiar with it? It is located in Taiyigong Town, Chang’an District, Xi’an City, and there are direct buses from the city center. This convenient transportation is the reason.

Cuihua Mountain has beautiful mountains and clear waters. The most fascinating thing is the Tianchi (heavenly pool) on the top of the peak. You can camp by the Tianchi, or you can set up your camp on the large piles of gravel that form a huge scree at the foot of the mountain. Locals have built houses directly on the giant rocks, stable as a rock.

If you want to cross the meadow from the Cuihua Mountain ski resort and then go down the mountain from the Yifangyuan Scenic Area, the whole journey is about 40 kilometers. This crossing route requires a certain amount of outdoor mountaineering experience, and you must also have an experienced local guide to lead you.

【Recommended Travel Time】2 days. Convenient transportation, it is better to stay for a few more days than to go a few more times. Each time you go, you will have different discoveries.

3、Shaohua Mountain – “One Man Can Guard the Pass, Ten Thousand Men Cannot Open It”

Shaohua Mountain Forest Park is located on the Xi’an-Lintong-Huashan tourism route. Shaohuagu (Shaohua Valley) at the foot of Shaohua Mountain is known for its deep valley, beautiful water, strange rocks, and lush forests. There are ponds and pools all over the valley, waterfalls hang high, strange rocks stand tall, and they are scattered and layered. Along a narrow stone-paved path, we continue to move forward, and the endless scenery is hidden in the depths. The climate in the valley changes significantly with the sunlight. One step away, it is as if you are separated from winter and summer.

When camping in this mountain, you need to prepare for warmth. A special reminder, when camping, use the foamed kind of ground mat, if you want comfort, use an inflatable mat, it is definitely comfortable. You also need a moisture-proof mat.

4、Guanshan Mountain – A Vast Plain

Guanshan Grassland is like the “borderland within the Great Wall”. In spring, the grassland is yellow-green, in summer, the flowers are in full bloom, in autumn, the trees are dyed in various colors, and in winter, it is covered in snow. Camping on Guanshan Grassland will give you a sense of returning to nature.

You can set up camp on the grass by the stream. Looking out, your heart will instantly feel open and expansive. It’s very interesting, but you need to pay attention to moisture-proofing. If you can camp near the spring where the locals get their water, it’s also a good choice. After setting up your home, you can also cook. However, in such places, you will usually encounter the horses from the herdsmen’s families grazing all night long, with their bells jingling, especially on nights when even the chirping of crickets is absent, it feels like they are right beside you.

You will inevitably worry about the horses stepping on your tent all night.

【Recommended Travel Time】2 days or more. Since the scenery is so beautiful, why not stay for a few more days?

5、Zibei Mountain – The “First Mountain” of the Qinba Thousand-Mile Plank Road

Zibei Mountain is located in Liuba County, in the southern foothills of the Qinling Mountains. It is said that “after returning from Huangshan Mountain, you won’t look at any other mountains; after returning from Jiuzhaigou, you won’t look at any other water; after returning from Zibei Mountain, you won’t look at any other grass”. The meadow sinkhole of Zibei Mountain is particularly attractive.

You can climb Zibei Mountain from both sides. One side is from Fengxian County, climb from the north gate of the broken house, about a 3-4 hour journey. The other side is the one I’m introducing here, entering from Zhangliang Temple. It is about 8KM from Zhangliang Temple to the entrance of the Zibei Mountain Front Mountain Scenic Area, about a 2.5 hour walk.

On the first day, you can visit Zhangliang Temple and camp there. You can set up your tent and camp in the yard of the guest house on the left side of Zhangliang Temple that night, and then enter the mountain the next day. You can also go early and camp at the open space at the entrance of the Zibei Mountain Scenic Area to rest. However, when camping by the road, be prepared to be awakened by passing vehicles at night.

Hike into the mountain, you can prepare enough food, and there are shops along the way where you can replenish your supplies. You can climb from both the front and the back scenic areas. The front mountain scenic area is all steps, and it takes about 2 hours to reach the top of the mountain. It is recommended to enter from the back mountain. Continue along the winding mountain road, about 2KM to the top of Guanghuas Mountain, there is a tree-shaped signboard of Zibei Mountain National Forest Park. From then on, continue down the mountain, and the scenery along the way is picturesque.

Walk about 6KM and you will reach the Zhkou Stone Village. After a 2.5 hour hike, you will see the schematic diagram of the Zibei Mountain Scenic Area. The village to the right has farmhouses, where you can stay with the villagers. Because of the special geological structure of Zibei Mountain, the sinkhole and stone crevices, there is basically no water source on the top, so you can replenish some water by the way.

After walking about 3KM, you will reach the ticket gate of the back mountain scenic area. Buy tickets to enter the mountain. Inside the scenic area, there is a cable car on the right, which takes you directly to the top of the mountain. Go left for about 5KM to the parking lot at the foot of Xifeng Mountain, about a 2.5 hour hike. Then go up the mountain to Xifeng, about a 1 hour hike. The mountain road is dangerous, so few cars usually go up there.

When you arrive at Xifeng, it is a whole different world up there. It is relatively flat, and there are many places to camp. You can choose a patch of grass. You can set up your tent, cook, take pictures, sleep, and watch the sunrise. On the third day, you can set off on your return journey and take a car back to Zhangliang Temple from the foot of the mountain.