Xi'an is one of China's cheapest big cities for travellers: hostel dorms in the Muslim Quarter run ¥45-70, metro rides cost ¥2-5, and the Tang Paradise fountain show, Big Wild Goose Pagoda square and Daming Palace park charge nothing at all.
The 3.2 sq km Tang imperial palace site north of the walls. The vast outer parkland with Danfeng Gate ruins, foundation platforms and lakes is free daily 08:00-18:00; only the museum and mini-train charge (¥60 combo). Locals fly kites here at dawn.
A working local wet market west of the walls where breakfast stalls sell rou jia mo pork buns at ¥6-8 and bowls of hulatang spicy soup for ¥8. No English, no tourist markup — point at what the person ahead of you ordered.
China's oldest stele museum, 3,000 carved stone tablets from the Han dynasty onward inside a Confucian temple. Entry ¥50 (¥30 in winter, Dec-Feb), and the outer temple courtyards, ancient cypresses and stone sculpture corridor cost nothing to wander.
A restored Ming-Qing lane running west from the South Gate, lined with tea houses, guqin workshops and shaded courtyards. Free to enter and far quieter than the Muslim Quarter — buskers play traditional strings from around 18:00 most evenings.
Skip the main Muslim Quarter drag and cut into Xiyangshi and Dapiyuan alleys where the Hui community actually eats. Lamb skewers ¥3-5 each, persimmon cakes ¥5, a full bowl of paomo bread-and-mutton soup ¥25 instead of ¥45 on the tourist street.
A free-entry courtyard complex east of the wall gathering registered Shaanxi provincial specialities: biang biang noodles ¥12, liangpi cold noodles ¥8, Shaanxi-style cured meats. Built on the old Tang ward layout, open roughly 10:00-22:00.
One of China's four great museums, holding 370,000 artefacts from Zhou bronzes to Tang gold. The basic exhibition is free with passport — book on the WeChat mini-program exactly 3 days ahead at 08:00 sharp, as the daily quota vanishes in minutes.
Asia's largest musical fountain, 200m of jets choreographed against the Tang pagoda. Watching from the public square is completely free — shows run about 20 minutes, typically 20:30 weekdays and 12:00 plus 20:30 weekends, later in summer.
The 13.7km Ming rampart is the best-value paid sight in the city: ¥54 entry, plus ¥45 for a 3-hour single bike hire. A full loop takes 100-120 minutes and passes the four original gate towers and 98 defensive ramparts.
The 165-acre Tang-themed garden charges ¥120 inside, but the lakeside promenade, waterside pavilions and the free evening water-screen film on the outer bank cost nothing. Free public access along the west and north lake edges all day.
A 7th-century hillside monastery in Chang'an district holding the remains of the monk Xuanzang, a UNESCO Silk Road site. Entry is ¥30, and it sits above the Fan River valley with views to the Qinling foothills. Reachable by bus 917 for ¥5.
The pedestrian ring beneath the Bell Tower gives a free ground-level view of the 1384 tower lit up at night — the ¥40 ticket buys you the balcony, but the underpass circle costs nothing and lines up the Drum Tower in the same frame.