A HIJACKER armed with explosives was shot dead yesterday after he took 10 Australians hostage on their tour bus in China.

The man let nine of the 10 go but he held a 48-year-old NSW woman and an interpreter for a terrifying two hours until a sniper shot him dead.

#The Australians, all travel agents on an educational tour, were taken hostage in the city of Xian - where the main attraction is the Terracotta Army - in Shaanxi province in north-west China. The man, Xia Tao, reported to be a factory worker, boarded their bus at 10.52am and demanded transport to the airport.