Tang Dynasty show Xi'an: tickets, times

Show only or the dumpling banquet?

The ticket we link to comes in two options. Show only gets you a Guest Class seat for the performance. The second option adds the theatre's dumpling banquet, served before the curtain goes up. Both include pickup and drop-off at downtown hotels, both can be cancelled free up to 24 hours ahead, and you can reserve now and pay later. Choose show only if you'd rather eat somewhere else in the city. Choose the banquet if you want the whole evening in one building and a dinner that runs straight into the show.

• Show only: a Guest Class seat, show from 19:30 on a normal night
• Show + dumpling banquet: the same seat, with dinner before the show
• Both: downtown hotel pickup and drop-off, free cancellation up to 24 hours before

What you'll see: The Great Tang Empress

Older descriptions often present the show as a revue of separate court dances. The current production is different. It's a staged drama called Da Tang Nü Huang, roughly The Great Tang Empress, and it tells one story: the rise of Wu Zetian, from entering the palace at 14 to taking the throne. It's framed as the account of her daughter, Princess Taiping. The show runs 60 minutes in five acts. The theatre says its dances are drawn from Tang murals and historical records, mixed with martial arts, calligraphy, Dunhuang elements, Persian dance and Shaanxi's local bowl-tune opera. A live classical orchestra plays throughout, including a solo on a Tang-style panpipe.

Following the story without Chinese

You don't need any Chinese. Real-time English subtitles run through the show. A gong opens the performance, and holographic projection turns the stage into the Tang palace. Look out for the battle scene, called the Campaign, and the closing Ascension to the Throne. After the curtain, you can have your photo taken with the performers. If you want the history first, it helps to know three things. Wu Zetian (624 to 705) is the only undisputed female sovereign in China's history. She became Emperor Gaozong's empress in 655. And in 690 she declared her own Zhou dynasty, with herself as emperor.

The dumpling banquet

A Xi'an dumpling banquet is a long run of small dumplings, each made in a different shape. The theatre's own menu notes list lotus flowers, Buddha's-hand citrons, leaves, frogs, goldfish, butterflies and gold ingots. They're steamed, boiled, pan-fried, deep-fried and baked, with fillings of pork, beef, lamb and seasonal vegetables, plus sweet and vegetarian ones. On the banquet option you get more than ten varieties, served on antique-style tableware, with live music from rare traditional instruments while you eat. The banquet caters for Muslim and vegetarian guests, so mention either need when you book.

Read next: Xi'an's Dumpling Banquet: A Food Tradition Explained

Show times, and nights with two sessions

On a normal night there's one session: dinner first, then the show from 19:30 to 20:30. In peak seasons the theatre can switch to two sessions. The first has dinner from 17:00 and the show from 17:45 to 18:50. The second has dinner from 19:10 and the show from 20:10 to 21:15. If your night moves to two sessions, you're told two days ahead, and if the new time doesn't work you can cancel for a full refund. When we checked dates for late October 2026, the calendar already showed both sessions, so read the start time on your confirmation.

How the ticket works on the night

There's no voucher to swap at a box office. At the theatre, give your booking name to any member of staff and you're shown to your reserved seat. Both options use Guest Class seats, and this ticket doesn't sell seat upgrades. Pickup is from downtown hotels, and you give your hotel during checkout. English-speaking staff look after show-only guests through the evening, and English customer service is available online from booking until the end of the show. On the banquet option, aim to arrive 30 minutes early so dinner doesn't feel rushed.

Getting there on your own

The theatre is at 75 North Chang'an Road, in Xi'an's Beilin district. Its own name is Tang Yue Gong, and in English you'll also see Tang Palace, Tang Dynasty Palace and Tang Music Palace. By Didi or taxi, ask for Tang Music Palace and give the street address. By metro, take Line 2, which runs north to south across the city, to Nanshaomen station. Use Exit C and walk about 500 metres. Trains can be crowded in the evening rush hour, so leave a margin before a 17:45 or 19:30 start.

• Address for your driver: 75 North Chang'an Road, Beilin District
• The same address in Chinese: 唐乐宫，长安北路75号
• Metro: Line 2 to Nanshaomen, Exit C, then about 500 m on foot
• Theatre phone: +86 29 8782 2222

Booking direct, or through this ticket

Tang Palace opened in 1988 and is run by Xi'an Tang Yue Gong Co., part of Shaanxi Tourism Co. It sells tickets itself, through its own website and an official ticketing mini-program, and its pages are in Chinese. Booking direct is the way to get things this ticket doesn't cover. Those include the palace banquet, a multi-course dinner that mixes Tang-inspired and Cantonese cooking, and Hanfu dressing with Tang-style make-up, which takes 60 to 90 minutes and can be paired with the show. This ticket is the simpler route if you want to book in English, pay in your own currency, and have hotel pickup and free cancellation in one place.

Read next: Terracotta Army by Day, Tang Court by Night in Xi'an

Who this isn't for

Skip it if you want a concert of classical court dances with no plot. The current show is one drama about one empress, with battlefield scenes and rivalry inside the palace. If your evening is fixed, say by a late train, check your date first, because the theatre may move you to the 17:45 or 20:10 session. If you want the palace banquet rather than dumplings, or a better seat, book direct, because this ticket offers neither. And if you're staying outside downtown Xi'an, check that the pickup covers your hotel before you rely on it.