Tongchuan Travel Guide: Medicine King Mountain, Yuhua Palace and the Yaozhou Kilns
Tongchuan, a former coal city about 68 km north of Xi'an, became an easy day trip when the Xi'an–Yan'an high-speed railway opened on 26 December 2025: the fastest trains from Xi'an North take 27 minutes. Three things are worth the ride. Yaowangshan, Medicine King Mountain, is where the Tang physician Sun Simiao lived, with Buddhist cliff carvings and a stele forest. Yuhua Palace was a Tang summer palace where the monk Xuanzang spent his last years translating sutras. And the Yaozhou kilns at Huangbao produced the finest northern celadon of the Song. Pick one or two for a day.
Getting in and where to stay
The high-speed line from Xi'an North runs about 38 trains a day in its first phase; check 12306 for times. Tourist shuttle buses from Tongchuan station run to Yaowangshan in about 40 minutes and to Yuhua Palace in about 55 minutes, for roughly ¥10–15. Older branch lines and expressways also link the city with Xi'an.
Most visitors come for the day from Xi'an. If you stay, Yaozhou District suits Yaowangshan, and the new town suits the station.
Places worth visiting
Yaowangshan (Medicine King Mountain)
About 1.5 km east of the Yaozhou district centre, this hill is where Sun Simiao, the Tang doctor revered as the Medicine King, lived in retreat and is remembered. The North Cave holds his main hall and steles carved with medical prescriptions. The cliff-carving area, also called the Stone Buddha Caves, has 28 niches with 45 figures dating from the Northern Zhou to the Qing. The stele forest keeps inscriptions from the Northern Dynasties onward. Allow three hours with the climb.
Listed tickets are ¥70 from 1 March to the end of November and ¥50 from December to February, half price for students. People over 65 and some other groups enter free.
Yuhua Palace
Tang Gaozu built a detached palace here in 624, and Taizong enlarged it in 647 as a cool summer retreat, deliberately plain, with thatch over the tiles. In 648 Taizong received Xuanzang here and asked about his translations. In 651 the palace became Yuhua Temple, and in 659 Xuanzang moved here from Chang'an to finish translating sutras, saying that only here could he finally get the work done. By the 740s it was in ruins; Du Fu wrote a poem about rats scurrying over old tiles in a palace whose builder no one remembered. Today it is a wooded valley scenic area with palace foundations, rock caves and Xuanzang memorials, and it stays cooler than Xi'an in summer. It is the farther of the two hill sites from the station.
Yaozhou kilns at Huangbao
The kilns at Huangbao town began in the Tang and peaked under the Song, when they made wares for the court and the valley was known as the "ten-li kiln field". Yaozhou was the largest of the northern celadon kiln systems, famous for olive-green glaze over deep carved decoration cut with a slanted blade, so the patterns read like low relief. The kiln site is a national protected site, with a museum telling the story. Check opening days before you go, and it makes a good rainy-day choice.
The city
The old town in Yintai District grew up around the coal mines that made the modern city. It is a working city rather than a sightseeing one, but useful for lunch and transport.
When to come
April–May and September–October are best for the hill walks. Summer is hot in the valleys, which is when Yuhua Palace's shade pays off. Winters are cold and dry; the kiln museum works in any season. Weekends bring Xi'an day-trippers.
Eating in Tongchuan
This is Guanzhong food country: hand-pulled and biangbiang-style noodles, flatbreads and simple Shaanxi home cooking. Eat in Yaozhou District after Yaowangshan, or back in Xi'an in the evening.
How to arrange the route
- Morning: early train from Xi'an North, shuttle to Yaowangshan.
- Lunch: noodles in Yaozhou.
- Afternoon: Yaozhou kiln museum, or Yuhua Palace if you started early, then the train back to Xi'an.
With two days, give Yuhua Palace a whole morning on day two. Heading north, Yan'an is on the same high-speed line.
What to cut if short on time
For a half-day, choose Yaowangshan. Yuhua Palace is the first to drop because it is the farthest out; the kiln museum is the rainy-day swap.
Things to confirm before you go
- Train times from Xi'an North on 12306.
- Shuttle bus times and the last return from each site.
- Current tickets for Yaowangshan and Yuhua Palace.
- Kiln museum opening days.
Frequently asked questions
Can I visit Tongchuan as a day trip from Xi'an?
Yes. The fastest high-speed trains take 27 minutes, and shuttle buses run from the station to the sights.
Who was Sun Simiao?
A Tang physician revered as the Medicine King. Yaowangshan, where he lived, has his hall and prescription steles.
What is Yaozhou ware?
Northern celadon from the Huangbao kilns, known for olive-green glaze over deep carving, at its peak in the Song.
Sources
The facts in this article were checked against the following sources, retrieved September 29, 2026, and rechecked on October 21, 2026.
- Tongchuan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongchuan
- 铜川市 (Chinese Wikipedia) https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/铜川市
- 玉华宫 (Chinese Wikipedia) https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/玉华宫
- 耀州窑 (Chinese Wikipedia) https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/耀州窑
- Xi'an–Yan'an high-speed railway opening (China Railway, December 2025) http://wap.china-railway.com.cn/xwzx/zhxw/202512/t20251229_151125.html
- Yaowangshan tickets and site areas (Ctrip) https://you.ctrip.com/sight/tongchuan907/52663.html
- Tongchuan scenic area introductions (Tongchuan 12345) http://www.tc12345.gov.cn/info/5662
Ticket prices are listings; check the official notice before you go.
All photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under CC licenses or public domain; re-use requires attribution.
- tongchuan-yaowang.jpg from File:药王山 - panoramio.jpg, by 流風, CC BY-SA 3.0
- tongchuan-yuhua.jpg from File:玉华宫岩洞 - panoramio.jpg, by dayu490301, CC BY 3.0
- tongchuan-city.jpg from File:Yintai, Tongchuan, Shaanxi, China - panoramio.jpg, by 薄兰安, CC BY 3.0