A 3.5-Hour Two-Day Family Trip to Liuba from Xi'an

Travel Route: Day 1: Xi'an Liuba Old Street - Gaojiao (Most Beautiful Rural Highway) Day 2: Qingren Valley Ziba Mountain Scenic Area - Xiongkou Pasture - Return to Xi'an Departure from Xi'an North suburbs at 9:00 AM on Saturday (10-minute rest at Baoji South Service Area) and arrive in Liuba County at 12:30 PM. Park the vehicle inside the government building of Liuba County (free, just register at the security guard's desk at the entrance). The entrance to the old street is opposite the government building, and the ball-shaped flowers on the street are great for photo-taking. The kids love it. Stroll along the old street and enjoy a lunch. There are cultural and creative stores, Shannan stir-fried restaurants, bookstores & cafes, and inns within the old street. For lunch on Saturday, a popular restaurant required a wait of over 30 minutes, so we settled for a quick meal at a local eatery (Hanzhong hot rice noodles, peanut milk porridge). On the way back to the government building, we stopped at a bookstore for a coffee and bought a cultural ice cream, taking a break before driving to the hotel. We arrived at the hotel 30 minutes later. Park the car about 20 meters in front of the hotel entrance (5-6 charging spots provided). It was Children's Day, and the hotel upgraded us to a family room, which the kids loved. The hotel provides free bicycles, which are perfect for a family ride along the nearby most beautiful highway (with child and pet seats, you can enjoy a happy ride with the family and pets). The hotel breakfast is very generous, filling us up for the day. Not only that, but they also prepared small gifts for us before we checked out. After checking out, we were ready to head to Qingren Valley to check out the suspension bridge in the forest. We arrived at the Ziba Mountain Scenic Area at 11:20 AM, a AAAA-rated scenic area with paid parking at the entrance. After parking, which required a paper ticket to enter the scenic area). Those over 1.2 meters in height need to purchase tickets as required. After entering the scenic area, you can choose to walk to the cable car entrance. It was drizzling that day, with few tourists, so the cable car did not require a queue. Each cable car can accommodate 2 adults, and the entire journey takes about 20 minutes. After getting off the cable car, you need to walk for about 40 minutes to reach the summit. (It's not recommended to go up the mountain on rainy days, especially with small children, as the fog is thick, visibility is low, and the downhill path is slippery, requiring carrying the child.) From Ziba Mountain, it took about 40 minutes to reach the Xiongkou Pasture, which is really beautiful, resembling Xinjiang. Because it had rained, the entire pasture was quite slippery. The milk lake looks light blue from a distance but appears a bit dirty up close. Be careful when taking photos at the lake. After playing at Xiongkou Pasture, we prepared to return to Xi'an. Beware of the road options provided by navigation apps; although the time seems short, the mountain roads are not easy to drive, with steep slopes and many sharp turns. From Xiongkou Pasture to the Xi'an Economic and Technological Development Zone toll gate, the journey took 4.5 hours.