How to Have Fun in Xi’an During the May Day Holiday? A Travel Guide Is Here!
“To see a hundred years of China, go to Shanghai; five hundred years, go to Beijing; a thousand years, go to Xi’an.” As the ancient capital of 13 dynasties, Xi’an boasts profound historical and cultural heritage that captivates countless visitors. With the upcoming May Day holiday, many friends are planning a trip to Xi’an. What should you see and how? This guide has everything you need!
To understand Xi’an’s history and culture and deeply immerse yourself in the unique charm of this ancient city, museums, intangible cultural heritage, and live performances are indispensable. In these three areas, Xi’an definitely delivers rich, diverse, and one-of-a-kind cultural experiences.
1. Shaanxi History Museum
The Shaanxi History Museum is China’s first large-scale modern national museum and one of the first AAAA-rated tourist attractions. It is hailed as the “Pearl of the Ancient Capital and Treasure House of China.” Its collection of over 1.7 million pieces presents the complete ancient history of Shaanxi. Among them are 762 first-grade cultural relics and 18 national treasures, including the Western Zhou Dynasty’s “Duoyou Ding,” the Warring States period “Du Hu Fu” (tiger tally) used by the Qin state to mobilize troops, the jade seal of Empress Lü of the Han Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty “Sancai Camel Carrying Musicians.” The museum is recognized by UNESCO as a world-class museum.
Address: No. 91 Xiaozhai East Road, Yanta District, Xi’an
Reservation: Book via the Shaanxi History Museum WeChat public account. During holidays, tickets are released one week in advance, with four time slots per day. As it’s an extremely popular attraction, tickets are very hard to get—plan ahead and book early!
2. Xi’an Museum
The Xi’an Museum is a national first-class museum and a national AAAA-level tourist attraction. It comprises the museum itself, the site of the Tang Dynasty Jianfu Temple, and the Small Wild Goose Pagoda. It is among the first batch of national key cultural relic protection units and has been selected as one of the top 20 museums in the Asia-Pacific region. This urban museum integrates artifact collection, scientific research, social education, and garden leisure.
Stroll through the Jianfu Temple courtyard, feel the ancient trees still flourishing after a thousand years, listen to the “Morning Bell Chimes of the Wild Goose Pagoda”—one of the “Eight Scenic Spots of Guanzhong”—and pause your hurried steps to enjoy a moment of tranquility.
Address: No. 72 Youyi West Road, Xi’an, Shaanxi
Reservation: Follow the Xi’an Museum WeChat public account and follow the prompts to reserve tickets, or visit the Xi’an Museum’s official website to make a reservation.
3. Xi’an Beilin Museum (Stele Forest)
Located beside Wenchang Gate in the Beilin District of Xi’an, the Xi’an Beilin Museum is a national first-class museum, a national key cultural relic protection unit, and a national 5A-level scenic spot. It is also the oldest museum established in Shaanxi. Dedicated to collecting, exhibiting, and studying stelae, epitaphs, and stone carvings from various dynasties, it has become a unique art museum in China. With a history of over 900 years, the museum’s collection spans more than 2,000 years in an unbroken sequence, housing over 4,000 stone stelae and epitaphs dating from the Han Dynasty onward.
Address: No. 15 Sanxue Street, Beilin District, Xi’an, Shaanxi
Reservation: Book tickets in advance via the official WeChat public account, official website, and Alipay. The ticket price is 10 yuan. Enter with your ID card or the e-ticket QR code.
4. Xi’an Chai Kiln Culture Museum
The Xi’an Chai Kiln Culture Museum is the first museum in China dedicated to Chai Kiln ceramics in a thousand years. “Chai Kiln” is historically the only porcelain named after an emperor’s surname. Renowned as “blue as the sky, bright as a mirror, thin as paper, and resonant as a chime,” it is honored as “the foremost of the Five Great Kilns” and “the Emperor of Chinese Porcelain.” The museum covers an area of 500 square meters and houses over 360 sets of artifacts, making it the museum with the largest collection of exquisite and unique Chai Kiln pieces in China, and it has achieved more than ten firsts in the field of Chai Kiln research in China. Its treasures include the “First Celadon Pot of China—Carved Double-Dragon Double-Phoenix Pot,” the “First National Flower Pot of China—High-Relief Three-Peony Double-Spout Pot,” the “Most Curious Pot of China—Harmony Set Pot,” the “First Celadon Cup of China,” and the “Gold-Rimmed Willow Stripe Bowl,” among other rare masterpieces.
Address: East side of Kaiyuan Square, Grand Tang All Day Mall, Xi’an
Admission: Free, no reservation needed.
In addition to museums, watching a spectacular performance is also the most convenient and direct way for visitors to get to know a city. As a capital of tourism performing arts, Xi’an offers a rich variety of visual and auditory delights through its unique shows.
1. Unbounded Chang’an
The show that has garnered the most attention in Xi’an is undoubtedly “Unbounded Chang’an,” directed by Zhang Yimou and produced by Sha Xiaolan. Shortly after its official opening in 2023, it topped the “2023 Shaanxi Popular Quality Cultural Tourism Performance Chart TOP1” and was recently honored as an “Annual Typical Case” at the First Shaanxi Intangible Cultural Heritage Ceremony. It is a must-see cultural performance for anyone traveling to Xi’an.
In “Unbounded Chang’an,” Shaanxi’s distinctive intangible heritage elements—such as Qinqiang Opera, Huayin Old Tune, shadow puppetry, rod puppetry, and the Terracotta Warriors—come together. Here you can witness the perfect fusion of traditional intangible cultural elements with modern stage technology, and feel the profound connotation of “boundless time and space, boundless art.”
The performance comprises eight creative segments in different styles, themes, and dimensions: “Harmony,” “Rainbow Raiment,” “Shadow Figures,” “Myriad Phenomena,” “Chang’an,” “Reunion,” “Symbiosis,” and “Legend.” Utilizing Shaanxi’s most classic intangible cultural heritages such as shadow puppets, puppets, and Qinqiang Opera, it explores the most authentic Shaanxi artistic expressions. Created with highly dramatic stage design and cutting-edge stage technology, it ingeniously combines tradition and the future, culture and technology, infusing traditional elements with new artistic vitality.
In this year’s Spring Festival Gala, director Zhang Yimou’s piece “A Fresh and Novel Approach” amazed audiences by bringing the “Chang’an” chapter of “Unbounded Chang’an” directly onto the gala stage. The interactive visual effects presented on site were equally delightful, with dancers using their bodies to form various types of noodles. The use of interactive and projection technologies allowed intangible heritage noodle performances from different spaces to share the frame with dance, highlighting the rich and diverse culinary cultures of different regions. Come experience this “Spring Festival Gala Same Style” wonderful performance in person!
Address: Chang’an Joy - Belt and Road Cultural Arts Center, Xi’an International Trade & Logistics Park
Ticket Price: from 288 yuan/person (prices vary by seating area)
2. The Song of Everlasting Sorrow
The live historical dance drama “The Song of Everlasting Sorrow” is based on Bai Juyi’s narrative poem of the same name, recreating the poignant love story between Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and Yang Yuhuan from over 1,300 years ago. The 70-minute performance, spanning 10 scenes, uses natural scenery, classical music and dance, poetic narration, and other techniques to immerse the audience in the tender love story that unfolded at the foot of Mount Li and within Huaqing Palace, evoking the rich cultural atmosphere of the flourishing Tang Dynasty.
Address: No. 38 Huaqing Road, Lintong District, Xi’an (inside the Huaqing Palace Scenic Area)
Ticket Price: from 218 yuan/person (prices vary by seating area)
3. Chang’an Twelve Hours · The Banquet of Ultimate Bliss
During the Tang Dynasty, the trend of outings and banquets was very popular, and every banquet featured song and dance performances. The most spectacular banquet performance in the Chang’an Twelve Hours theme block, “The Banquet of Ultimate Bliss,” takes place daily at 15:00 and 20:00 in the atrium on the north side of the block.
“The Banquet of Ultimate Bliss” consists of three parts: Tang Dynasty Outing Banquet, Qingping Tune, and the Grand Tang Atmosphere. It includes traditional acts such as courtesan performances, acrobatics and variety shows, lion dances, and more. You can also witness the grand scene of Yang Guifei descending from a swing and Emperor Xuanzong appearing with his entourage to meet her, receiving the reverence of the people—bringing to life the lively streets of Tang Dynasty. Watching “The Banquet of Ultimate Bliss” lets you immerse yourself in the bustling street scenes of the Tang era.
In addition, within the Chang’an Twelve Hours block, there are non-stop performances throughout the day, including “The Hu Ji Wine Shop,” “Dance of the Rainbow Raiment and Feathered Dress,” “Everlasting Longing,” and “The Song of the Pipa,” allowing you to dream back to the glorious era of the Great Tang.
Address: Inside Chang’an Twelve Hours, Mandi Plaza, east of Grand Tang All Day Mall, Xi’an
Ticket Price: Adults 128 yuan/person; Children/Students 68 yuan/person
This thousand-year-old ancient capital, Xi’an, not only boasts a profound historical and cultural heritage but has also nurtured a rich variety of intangible cultural heritage projects.
1. Yisushe Block
Yisushe, originally named “Shaanxi Lingxue Society,” is a renowned training school for Qinqiang Opera. It is ranked alongside the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre and the Royal Opera House in London as one of the world’s three oldest theatrical societies. As a representative performing art of the Xi’an region, Qinqiang Opera, with its sonorous and impassioned singing and unique performance style, is deeply loved by visitors. At the Yisu Grand Theater, Yisushe Theater, Yisushe Centennial Museum, and the China Qinqiang Opera Art Museum, you can enjoy spectacular Qinqiang performances and experience the charm of traditional opera.
Address: Zhonglou (Bell Tower) area, East Street, Xi’an
2. Shuyuanmen Pedestrian Street
Shuyuanmen Pedestrian Street is an important gathering place for Xi’an’s intangible cultural heritage. The antique archway at the entrance isolates the hustle and bustle of the city, and strolling through, you’ll find ancient architecture, former residences, calligraphy, and intangible cultural heritage—as if stepping into a world brimming with cultural atmosphere. Here you can meet numerous literati and calligraphers, admire their exquisite calligraphy and painting skills, or have face-to-face exchanges with inheritors of intangible heritage such as paper-cutting and clay sculpture, experiencing the joy of hands-on heritage crafts.
Address: East side of Yongning Gate, Beilin District, Xi’an
3. Gao Family Mansion Shadow Puppetry
The Gao Family Mansion is located on Beiyuanmen Muslim Snack Street. It is a brick-and-wood courtyard house that began construction during the Chongzhen period in the late Ming Dynasty, took initial shape during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, with the main structure completed in the Qianlong period, and the entire compound finished by the Daoguang era. The mansion features a variety of cultural arts including Shaanxi-style folk paper-cutting, shadow puppetry, puppet shows, and Han and Tang dynasty song and dance.
Address: No. 200 Beiyuanmen, Xi’an, Shaanxi
As the ancient capital of 13 dynasties, Xi’an has witnessed the most splendid and magnificent golden ages of Chinese civilization, imbuing the city with confidence, openness, and inclusiveness. For those visiting Xi’an during the May Day holiday, take the time to explore the ancient streets and alleys, step into a theater to enjoy a spectacular performance, and make your trip to Xi’an even more enriching and memorable.
