VacationSelector
Swayambhunath with its prayer flags, Kathmandu
KathmanduSwayambhunath with its prayer flags
The Bell Tower of Xi'an under a blue sky, Xi'an
Xi'anThe Bell Tower of Xi'an under a blue sky

Photos: Kathmandu by Nabin K. Sapkota, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Xi'an by xiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0, cropped.

Kathmandu or Xi'an?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Kathmandu for

  • prices
  • nature and the outdoors
  • shopping

What lies behind each score is written up on Kathmandu’s own page.

Choose Xi'an for

  • getting around
  • families
  • day trips

What lies behind each score is written up on Xi'an’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Kathmandu and Xi'an are level on 4.
Food & drink. Kathmandu 55, Xi'an 70: Xi'an leads by 15 points.
Culture & sights. Kathmandu 82, Xi'an 81: Kathmandu leads by 1 points.
Nightlife. Kathmandu 36, Xi'an 42: Xi'an leads by 6 points.
Nature & outdoors. Kathmandu 70, Xi'an 62: Kathmandu leads by 8 points.
Day trips. Kathmandu 56, Xi'an 80: Xi'an leads by 24 points.
Good for families. Kathmandu 20, Xi'an 48: Xi'an leads by 28 points.
Getting around. Kathmandu 25, Xi'an 66: Xi'an leads by 41 points.
Shopping & style. Kathmandu 55, Xi'an 50: Kathmandu leads by 5 points.
Affordability. Kathmandu 97, Xi'an 80: Kathmandu leads by 17 points.
Live music & performing arts. Kathmandu 28, Xi'an 40: Xi'an leads by 12 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Kathmandu 45, Xi'an 40: Kathmandu leads by 5 points.
0255075100

What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Kathmandu and Xi'an.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Kathmandu
48match

Wins on prices and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.

Xi'an
Best match
55match

Wins on getting around and families with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Kathmandu in July

29 °Cdaytime high
20 °Cnight-time low
384 mmrain in the month
4 hsunshine a day
14 hdaylight a day

Xi'an in July

33 °Cdaytime high
23 °Cnight-time low
96 mmrain in the month
6 hsunshine a day
14 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0100200300400JFMAMJJASOND
KathmanduXi'an

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Kathmandu: 1991-2020 normals, Kathmandu Airport (4.7 km from centre). Xi'an: 1991-2020 normals, Xi'An (4.4 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureKathmanduXi'an
Official languageNepaliPutonghua
CurrencyNepalese Rupee (NPR)Yuan Renminbi (CNY)
SocketsCM230 V, 50 HzACI220 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideLeftRight
Time zoneUTC+5:45UTC+8
Emergency numberPolice 100, ambulance 102, fire 101Police 110, ambulance 120, fire 119
Elevation1,300 m405 m
Main airportTribhuvan International Airport (KTM)4 km from centre38 non-stop destinationsXi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY)26 km from centre178 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year-6 days

By the numbers

MeasureKathmanduXi'an
City population845,76712,952,907
People per km²17,1211,283
Museums within 10 km99
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km12

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Kathmandu or Xi'an somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.