Abendessen und Show des Tang Dynasty Palace in Xian

We chose the Imperial dinner rather than the dumpling option so we can’t really comment on that option. We just watched possibly the worst live show ever and the dinner that went with it was meant to fool foreigners… what “imperial dinner” has salad with mayonnaise, fried battered fish and shrimp to be dipped in tartare sauce and a black peppered steak that’s been velveted to death…. The menu felt like it was more to please a western palate than an authentic Chinese menu, much less an “Imperial” one. What made it worse was that they were rushing us through the dinner for the show and dishes were just plonked one after the other and, in fact, our dessert arrived together with our meat course. The show was torturous - and we are being nice here - compared to the show we watched in Pingyao, Another Glance of Pingyao or the famous productions, Impressions by Zhang Yimou, this was like pulling out nails. They should have stopped at the 4th dance but the dances just went on and on. I dozed off at some point and woke up every now and then, praying it would end. The only change in the dance routines was probably the costumes, and whilst they were nice costumes, but really how long can a show be dragged on? We felt a bit embarassed that we’d been conned into a tourist trap.

This was an add-on our tour guide, Tina, told us about earlier in the day. We went ahead and booked it with her, because it sounded interesting. The dumplings were amazing. Many varieties, all delicious. The show, however, was mediocre. It told some of the history of the Tang Dynasty, which was interesting, but the performances lacked pizzazz. We had good seats, but a tour group arrived late and was seated right in front of us. They were a continual distraction as they were served their dinner DURING the show because they had arrived so late. Overall, I'd opt for a dumpling dinner without the show if I had it to do over again.