Xi’an: Tang Dynasty Dinner and Show

Exploring Asia Overview
Cathay Pacific B777-300ER Business Class San Francisco to Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific Lounge Review: The Cabin at HKG
Cathay Dragon A330-300 Business Class Hong Kong to Beijing
Lodging Review: Regent Beijing Hotel
Beijing: Dongcheng District
Beijing: The Great Wall
Beijing: Run-ze Jade Garden
Beijing: The Sacred Way of the Ming Tombs
Beijing: The Legend of Kung Fu
Beijing: Tiananmen Square
Beijing: The Forbidden City
Beijing: Hutong Tour via Rickshaw, Tea Tasting, Flying to Xi’an
Lodging Review: Hotel Shangri-La Xi’an
Xi’an: Qing Dynasty Terra Cotta Warriors
Xi’an: Tang Dynasty Dinner and Show
Xi’an Wrap-Up, Flying to Lhasa, Lhasa Home Visit
Lodging Review: Shangri-La Hotel Lhasa
Lhasa: Jokhang Temple and Barkhor Market
Lhasa: Canggu Nunnery and Sera Monastery
Lhasa: Potala Palace
Leaving Lhasa and Flying to Chongqing
Viking Emerald
Shibaozhai Temple
Cruising the Three Gorges
Three Gorges Dam
Jingzhou City Walls Tour
Wuhan: Hubei Bells Performance and Provincial Museum
Shanghai: Shanghai Museum
Lodging Review: Fairmont Peace Hotel, Shanghai
Shanghai: Old Shanghai and Yuyan Gardens
Lodging Review: The New Otani Tokyo Hotel
Tokyo: City Tour
Mt. Fuji and Hakone Tour Returning by Shinkansen
ANA Suites Lounge Review, Tokyo Narita
All Nippon Airways B777-300ER First Class Tokyo Narita to Houston

After our trip to see the Terra Cotta Warriors we stopped for lunch at a restaurant that “just so happened” to be inside a building that also housed a shop selling jade and beautifully lacquered furniture. Yes, it was basically another tourist trap but they did have some lovely things and I ended up buying a couple of tiny jade figures, just to commemorate the trip.

Once back at the hotel we had the late afternoon to ourselves. In the evening some of us chose to attend the Tang Dynasty Dinner & Show as an optional excursion. We were taken by bus to the theater where we enjoyed Cantonese cuisine before the show.

The story is based on the life of Mei-niang who was born in 624 AD. As a young teen she was the concubine of the Taizong Emperor but when he died, she was sent to a nunnery for several years.

Mei-niang is just one of several lovely young women trying to catch the eye of the emperor

She had known the future Emperor Gaozong while she lived in the palace and once he took over, she became his first wife and when he died, she became Empress Wu Ze-tian in 690 AD.

Dancing with the emperor

Her story is told in five acts from being selected as a young woman to her ascension to the throne. It’s quite dramatic with lots of dancing and amazing costumes.

After her husband dies, Mei-niang becomes Empress

The Empress ascends the throne

I thought the show was well worth seeing. Those of us who had paid for dinner had better seats than those who had only come for the show, so my recommendation would be to do both activities. The food was good and there was plenty of it so even if everything wasn’t to your taste there was still plenty of other things to eat.

This is a fun evening and I managed to learn a bit about a historical figure that I had known nothing of before this performance.