Tang Dynasty City – XiangYang 唐城-襄阳
The Empty Ancient City
With so many tourists jumping from major city to sprawling metropolis, it is hard to get off the beaten track in China. Unwittingly, travelers skip over many hidden gems which are mere stopovers between provincial capitals.
Located in Northwest Hubei, the town of Xiangyang (襄阳) is home to over 2 million people but is considered a small town by Chinese standards. Xiangyang is home to one of the best-kept secrets in all of China, a massive mock Tang Dynasty city (618-907 AD)
In this ginormous movie set tourists are free to not only explore the city streets and markets, but also have free reign to enter any of the towers, houses, palaces, and temples. With an obvious lack of tourists due to its remote location and recent construction, you are truly immersed in a massive showcase of ancient Chinese architecture.
An Active Movie Set
Other than being an up and coming tourist attraction, Xiangyang’s Tang city has been the location for several TV shows such as The Rise of Phoenixes (天盛长歌) and Colorful Bones (艳骨) as well as movies like Legend of the Demon Cat (妖猫传).
Tourists are free to explore all corners of the city, except, of course, certain areas closed off for filming. In these select locations, actors and extras not currently used in the scene can be found lounging nearby or eating at one of the restaurants located in the marketplace. Most of the actors are open to talking to tourists and posing for photos, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the shooting of the scene.
An Ancient Chinese Playground
This extensively elaborate city is so much more than just a movie set, it transports its visitors into a bygone age of Chinese history which can only be found in movies.
What makes this city truly remarkable is that all of the buildings can be entered and explored. Unlike, fake storefronts and cardboard scenery which may come to mind when thinking of Hollywood, this movie set could be a fully operational city if it only had the villagers.
Unlike many of the other famous tourist destinations in China, this playground of ancient Chinese buildings is practically devoid of tourists. Efforts have been made to try and attract more people with advertisements in the nearby megacities, but for the time being, guests will have all of this Tang Dynasty dream world to their own.
All of the movie set’s temples, palaces, houses, and markets are built and decorated to make one truly feel like they have stepped back in time. The city even offers costume rentals for those looking to take embracing Chinese culture a step further. The local tourists can be found dramatically posing in gardens and by palace gates in their flowing Tang Dynasty dresses, bringing their fantasy of being an Empress of China to life.
Disney China
One thing which may deter people from visiting the Tang City movie set is that it lacks authenticity. While it may not be an actual 700-year-old ancient city, it is, however, a real movie set.
For those who are familiar with Chinese tourist sites, they recognize that even the most historic of destinations have lost any traces of their original glory long ago. Just because a hundred-year-old palace or temple has been reconstructed does not make the sight any less breathtaking to behold. Many sites around China, such as the Porcelain Tower and the Yellow Crane Tower, have been destroyed long ago and have only just recently been rebuilt.
Xiangyang’s Tang City is one of the only places in China where you can find such a large density of traditional Chinese architecture without having dreary skyscrapers looming in the distance. For those wanting to truly feel the romanticized China which we often play out in our imaginations, the gates to the Tang Dynasty are open.
Grand Palaces and Fake Blossoms
Being a carefully designed cinematographic movie set, every angle of Tang City is just itching to be photographed. With vantage points from towering pagodas and the massive city walls, tourists will find themselves constantly finding new perspectives of this tranquil ancient capital.
Behind the moat and over the imposing city walls lays the imperial garden. With the nearby palace adorned with its curved roofs and gold trim, the lush gardens with a splash of pink cherry blossoms perfectly offset the dramatic background.
After closer inspection, you will find that many of the flowers are plastic fakes, which is understandable since cherry blossoms are known to bloom only once a year during a short time frame. Even amongst a field of plastic petals, selfie snappers and photographers alike are drawn to how the artificial flowers add to the romantic landscape of the city.
How to Get to Xiangyang
Although quite far from any major cities, Xiangyang is easily accessible by both train and bus. From Wuhan (武汉), Xiangyang is 302 km away and can be reached in only 3 hours by train. From the western capital of Xi’an (西安), Xiangyang is 511 km away and can be reached in 8 hours.
After arriving at Xiangyang Train Station you can take bus 24 to Xiangyang West (襄阳西站) and transfer to the Tourist Bus (旅游环线) or you can also take the same bus 24 to Xinagfan Avenue Liberation Bridge (襄樊大道解放桥站) and switch to bus 505 or 305. The final stop to get to the Tang City is called (襄阳唐城影视基地). For those wanting to avoid any hassle, a taxi from the train station to the movie set should cost no more than 29 RMB.
Tickets to visit the movie set cost 90 RMB.
You can read more about the Tang Dynasty City here!
