POINTS OF INTEREST NOTES
DATE: 3/23/2007
LOCATION: Xi’an, China
NAME: Tang Paradise
ENTRY COST: 50 RMB Entry per person, 150 RMB per person Stage show
RATING: 4-
1 – Avoid, 2 – OK if nothing better to do, 3 – Worth seeing, 4 – Worth special trip, 5 – DO NOT MISS!
DESCRIPTION: Xi’an was the capital of China in more than the Qin Dynasty. The later Tang dynasty (about 1300 years ago) also used Xi’an as the capital and created much of the current city’s nature. Tang Paradise is a brand new theme park (without the rides) that celebrates that history.
Set around a large lake that was supposedly a favorite retreat of the Emperors, the park displays recreations of Tang Dynasty palaces, arts, crafts, and lifestyles. The park is fresh and clean and very well done with good signage in Chinese and English (although the park guide is only in Chinese), musical backgrounds and well lit paths after dark. You need a good 4-6 hours to see all the buildings and exhibits plus another 2 hours if you want to see the main shows.
One show is a rather expensive stage show of 90 minutes. The seating is comfortable and the show itself is enjoyable. It is a typical pageant type show celebrating the historical culture of the period. However, if you were tight on cash and missed the show, you should not feel too deprived. The other show is free. After the sun goes down, they put on a laser water screen show/movie. It was pretty good although not on par with shows like the evening lake show at Epcot. However, it is worth staying for since after dark they light the entire park very effectively turning it into a magical appearing place.
OTHER COMMENTS: If you catch a cab right after the show and head to the park behind the Wild Goose Pagoda, you can catch the spectacular water fountain show there. At night, with lights and music the fountains come alive to create a fountain show that is definitely world-class.
Visit Tang Paradise from early afternoon until dark to get the most out of it.
|