XI'AN, China, Dec. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- This article is distributed by the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism. As 2026 approaches and year-end reflection sets in, travelers seeking a New Year's destination made easier to reach under China's 240-hour visa-free transit policy will find an inviting proposition in Shaanxi.

This is a place where the past feels tangible and flavors feel enduring, with traditions coming alive with unusual intimacy during the New Year season.

For a journey centered on culture, start at Baoji's Famen Temple. History here is not preserved behind glass; it persists through living ritual, architecture, and a sense of quiet continuity. At midnight on New Year's Eve, the temple bell is rung 108 times, marking a centuries-old rite that symbolizes the release of the old year and the welcome of the new.

Naturally, any trip to Shaanxi is also defined by its deeply rooted culinary heritage.

In Tongchuan, flavors are straightforward, hearty and deeply satisfying. Yaozhou noodles, hand-crafted to a unique honeycomb texture, offer a pleasing chew, served either with a savory meat sauce or a clear, flavorful broth. Hand-sliced noodles, with their signature spicy and tingling profile, are smooth and resilient — the sort of dish that lingers in memory and invites return. Near Yaowang Mountain, Sun Simiao medicinal cuisine, prepared with local herbs, focuses on wholesome nourishment rather than complexity, delivering a plainspoken, restorative sense of sustenance.

During the Lunar New Year period, the old streets of Yulin pulse with energy and sound. The air carries melodies of Northern Shaanxi folk songs, the spirited movements of yangko dances, and a rolling sequence of local Yulin ditties. These are not staged shows but unrehearsed celebrations spilling into the lanes and alleys, carrying the vigorous spirit of the Loess Plateau — lively, genuine and marked by an easy warmth.

Then, there is Xi'an.

This time, look beyond the city walls and the Terracotta Army. Enter Huaqing Palace and settle into the misty embrace of its historic hot springs. These same waters that once cradled the legendary Yang Guifei now offer warmth, collapsing imperial history into an intimate, bodily experience.

Travelers can rush through crowded cities, or they can choose to slow down in Shaanxi — greeting dawn at an ancient temple, savoring midday street food, and listening to folk songs as evening falls. Here, history is no longer remote; it appears unannounced and stays with you in ways that feel personal rather than performative.

With visa-free entry making the region easier to reach, the journey to Shaanxi begins now. Each city tells its own story, threading the joy and warmth of the New Year through the layered texture of its past.