On July 1, 2026, Xi’an’s Datang Furong Garden launched its summer “Chang’an Dance and Music Season” with the tagline “Everyone Is a Lead Character.” The program spans three daily time blocks — morning, afternoon, and night — weaving together ICH drum lessons, dual performance packages, a large-scale waterborne live show, and most notably, 100 styles of free hanfu costume change available to all visitors upon deposit.
The garden, originally a Tang dynasty royal park, has positioned itself as Xi’an’s core entry point for “hanfu + Tang culture” summer travel. By offering free hanfu across a hundred designs, it removes the rental cost barrier that often keeps visitors in casual clothes at cultural heritage sites. Once dressed, guests walk through landscapes named “Qujiang Spring Outing” and “Apricot Garden First Banquet,” directly stepping into historical narratives rather than merely observing them.
Morning: Dongcang Drum Society ICH Teaching Sessions
In the morning block, visitors can book observation sessions at the Dongcang Drum Society, a direct-lineage branch of Xi’an Drum Music — a UNESCO human ICH since 2009. Two daily sessions open the rehearsal-teaching process to the public: visitors observe transmission practice, tour the in-house drum music museum displaying instrument forms and score origins, and learn to write gongchepu, the thousand-year notation system that records Tang court banquet music melodies. This “see people, see objects, see living practice” approach marks a new model for ICH living transmission in heritage tourism.
Afternoon: Music Archaeology Double Show Package
The afternoon block bundles two performances into a single ticket. At the Ziyun Tower small theater, the drum drama “Victory March” uses percussion narrative as its thread. At the Fengming Jiutian Theater, the classic dance drama “Dreaming Back to the Great Tang” unfolds a Tang historical panorama on stage. Together, the pair creates a “music archaeology + historical canvas” composite experience — from static instrument exhibits to dynamic theatrical storytelling — designed especially for parent-child educational visits.
Night: Pursuing the Great Tang Water Show and Hanfu Lotus Contest
The night block centers on the large-scale waterborne live performance “Pursuing the Great Tang.” Visitors board boats on Qujiang Lake and glide through live re-enactments of Li Bai’s “Bring in the Wine” and the “Beautiful Ladies Walk” group dance — poem, water-screen projections, and live dancers merging into an immersive Tang night. A companion “Seeking the Most Beautiful Lotus Fairy” hanfu runway interactive event invites costumed visitors to participate in the scene rather than simply watch it.
A surrounding lake market and leisure facilities round out the evening, extending cultural consumption beyond the show itself into a full-night experience economy.
Multi-Site Qujiang Cultural Tourism Matrix
The program is coordinated by Qujiang Cultural Tourism Group, linking Datang Furong Garden with Qujiang Pool Heritage Park, Tang City Wall Heritage Park, Xi’an City Wall, and Qujiang Ocean Polar Park. Multiple guofeng interactive performances run throughout the day, paired with themed markets, creating an all-hours Tang-style summer space that is walkable, viewable, and participatory from dawn to midnight.
With 100 free hanfu costume changes, Dongcang drum ICH sessions, a dual-show afternoon package, and a waterborne night spectacle, Datang Furong Garden has assembled the most complete “hanfu + Tang” summer itinerary in Xi’an for 2026 — a single-day, all-hours chain from ICH study through costume immersion to live performance.