Xian: Tang Dynasty Dinner Show & 16-Course Dumpling Banquet

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.00 (6 reviews)

Free cancellation

1/8

Duration2h–3h

GroupUp to 15

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Dinner and Dance in Xian's Golden Age: What a Tang Dynasty Banquet Actually Looks Like

You arrive at the Shaanxi Grand Opera House for a 16-course dumpling dinner where each piece is shaped to match its filling, while Tang Dynasty dancers and musicians perform the history of Xian's golden age around you. Private transfer from your hotel is included, as are all entrance tickets and the full meal. The evening takes roughly three hours total, and you return to your hotel afterward without arranging additional transport.

2h–3h

Step-by-step itinerary

Tang Dynasty Dinner Show and Dumpling Banquet

Attend Tang Dynasty dinner show
Enjoy 16-course dumpling banquet
Watch traditional dance and music
Observe colorful Tang dynasty costumes

The Experience

"So these dumplings are shaped like animals?" Your server nods and sets down a plate where each piece tells you what's inside before you taste it — a chicken-shaped one holds chicken, a duck-shaped one holds duck. Sixteen courses arrive this way, each one a small sculpture with a different filling, and you're sitting in the Shaanxi Grand Opera House in Xian watching dancers in silk costumes move across the stage behind the tables. This is the dumpling banquet, and it's not what you make at home. It's what the imperial court ate, or something close enough that the difference doesn't matter when you're actually there.

The Tang Dynasty show runs while you eat, which sounds chaotic but works — the performance fills the space around you without demanding you stop. Dancers in elaborate robes move through scenes that show what made Tang dynasty Xian the richest, most powerful city in the world at the time. The music is live, the costumes are detailed enough that you notice new colors each time you look up from your plate, and the whole thing has the feeling of being let into something old and specific rather than a show designed for tourists. Your guide (or the staff, depending on the package) explains what you're watching without talking over it. The performance runs through the evening, so you're not rushing through either the food or the spectacle.

Private transfer means you don't navigate the city or wait for a group — the driver picks you up from your hotel and brings you back after, which matters if you're tired or traveling with luggage. Xian's a sprawling city, and the opera house sits in a particular corner of it. The whole experience takes the evening, so plan accordingly if you have other plans that night. Dinner starts around 6 or 7 depending on the season, and the show runs roughly two hours. Everything is included: the meal, the tickets, the transport. You show up at your hotel at the arranged time, and the rest is handled.

What’s included

Your evening includes a 16-course dumpling banquet dinner, private hotel transfer from and back to your accommodation, entrance tickets to the Tang Dynasty Show at the Shaanxi Grand Opera House, and the full performance running during your meal.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Lily's Private Tours

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to eat something specific to Xian and see the city's history without arranging separate transport or tickets — the private pickup and fixed schedule remove the logistics, leaving you free to focus on the meal and the performance.