In this article, discover five essential locations selected from our Urbex China Map, which features over 500 abandoned places across China, carefully documented for unique and immersive explorations.

Urbex China in Xi'an offers the most historically deep urban exploration experience in the country. As the starting point of the Silk Road and capital of thirteen dynasties — including the Qin and Tang — Xi'an sits atop more layers of abandoned history than almost any other city on earth. Below the modern streets lie unfinished imperial palaces, burned Tang Dynasty courts, and the ruins of civilizations that shaped the world. Above ground, the modern city has left its own trail of derelict structures alongside the ancient ones.

Why Xi'an Is One of the Most Extraordinary Urbex Destinations in China

Xi'an's abandoned places operate on a different timescale from the rest of China. Where Shanghai and Beijing offer industrial ruins from the 20th century, Xi'an offers unfinished imperial projects from the 3rd century BC — structures abandoned by collapsing dynasties rather than collapsing property markets. The result is an urbex destination unlike any other: a city where the most extraordinary abandoned places are measured not in decades but in millennia.

📍 All locations below are referenced on our Urbex China Map — GPS coordinates, access notes, condition ratings, and explorer reports included.

1. Epang Palace – The World's Greatest Unfinished Palace, Qin Dynasty (Known Location)

The most extraordinary abandoned construction project in Chinese history. Epang Palace was commissioned by Emperor Qin Shi Huang in 212 BC to serve as the ceremonial heart of his unified empire — planned on a scale that dwarfed anything built before it. The main front hall platform alone stretched 1,300 metres east to west. Archaeological research has confirmed it was never completed: the Qin Dynasty collapsed in 206 BC, just six years into construction, leaving a rammed-earth platform 10 metres high as the only visible trace of what would have been the greatest palace on earth.

Crucially, archaeology has also proven it was never burned — it was simply abandoned mid-build, making it one of history's largest construction projects left exactly as it was when the workers put down their tools.

👉 Story: Construction began 212 BC under Qin Shi Huang. Dynasty collapsed 206 BC — six years later. Platform left exactly as abandoned. Never burned. Confirmed by UNESCO as one of the world's most important palace sites in 1992.

🔗 More on Epang Palace: Wikipedia – Epang Palace

2. Daming Palace – The Ruins of the World's Largest Tang Dynasty Court (Known Location)

The greatest imperial ruin in Xi'an. Daming Palace was the political centre of the Tang Dynasty for over 200 years — 4.5 times the size of the Forbidden City and 11 times the size of Buckingham Palace, covering 3.2 square kilometres on the Longshouyuan plateau north of the old city. Seventeen Tang emperors ruled the world's largest empire from here. It was burned and abandoned in 896 AD when the Tang Dynasty collapsed, and lay buried beneath earth for over a thousand years before large-scale archaeological excavations began. The rammed-earth foundations — some still 15 metres high — are now accessible as a heritage park.

👉 Story: Built 634 AD, served as the Tang imperial capital for 222 years. Burned and abandoned 896 AD during the dynasty's collapse. Excavations began in the 1950s. Opened as Daming Palace National Heritage Park in 2010.

🔗 More on Daming Palace: Wikipedia – Daming Palace

3. The Abandoned Silk Road Caravanserai – Shaanxi Outskirts (Exclusive on our Map)

A ruined caravanserai on the ancient Silk Road route west of Xi'an — a waystation where merchants, diplomats, and travellers rested before and after crossing the passes into Central Asia.

👉 Story: Xi'an was the eastern terminus of the Silk Road for over a thousand years. As trade routes shifted and the road fell into disuse, the infrastructure that sustained it — caravanserais, watchtowers, relay stations — was left to the elements.

📍 Exact location available on our Urbex China Map.

4. The Abandoned Factory District – Xi'an Eastern Industrial Zone (Exclusive on our Map)

A derelict industrial complex in Xi'an's eastern suburbs, part of the Maoist-era Third Front construction network that turned the city into a military-industrial hub from the 1960s onward.

👉 Story: Xi'an was a major Third Front Construction city, receiving dozens of military-industrial facilities during the 1960s-70s. As China demilitarised and modernised, many were decommissioned — leaving a layer of Cold War industrial decay beneath the ancient city.

📍 Exact location available on our Urbex China Map.

5. The Abandoned Ghost District – Xi'an New Town Outskirts (Exclusive on our Map)

An unfinished residential district on Xi'an's expanding periphery, frozen mid-development as the property crisis halted construction and left entire blocks of apartments empty.

👉 Story: Xi'an's rapid expansion as a tech and tourism hub drove speculative residential development on its outskirts. When the property crisis hit, projects built ahead of demand were left empty — a modern ghost district in the shadow of one of history's greatest cities.

📍 Exact location available on our Urbex China Map.

Urbex China – Safety & Legal Reminder

Urban exploration in China carries specific risks. Trespassing is illegal, and security has increased significantly around abandoned structures. Always:

• Research each site thoroughly before visiting
• Explore with at least one other person
• Wear protective gear — mask, gloves, and sturdy boots
• Never force access or cause damage to any structure
• Respect the spaces and leave no trace

The urbex code applies everywhere: "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints."

❓ FAQ – Urbex Xi'an

What is the most famous abandoned place in Xi'an?
Epang Palace is the most historically extraordinary — the world's greatest unfinished imperial project, abandoned 2,200 years ago exactly as construction stopped. Accessible west of central Xi'an via public bus routes 301, 324, or 720 to "Epang Palace Ruins" stop.

How do I get to Daming Palace from central Xi'an?
Take Xi'an Metro Line 4 to Yunzhan Road Station or Daming Palace Station. The heritage park entrance is within walking distance. Allow at least half a day to explore the full 3.2 km² site.

What makes Xi'an unique for urbex compared to other Chinese cities?
Xi'an is the only major Chinese city where the most extraordinary abandoned places are measured in millennia rather than decades. Nowhere else in China can you explore an unfinished 3rd-century BC imperial palace in the morning and a Cold War factory ruin in the afternoon.

🎯 Conclusion

Xi'an offers the most historically deep experience in urbex China — a city where abandonment is measured in dynasties, where the greatest unfinished palace in history sits alongside Cold War industrial ruins, and where the Silk Road left behind a trail of forgotten infrastructure stretching west into the desert. Every abandoned place in Xi'an is a layer of the same extraordinary city, peeled back.

Thanks to our Urbex China Map, you get access to over 500 unique locations for a safe and immersive exploration experience — with GPS coordinates, access ratings, photos, and explorer reports for every spot.

🗺️ Explore the full Urbex China Map →