Huaqing Palace tickets and the Song of Everlasting Sorrow show in 2026

Huaqing Palace tickets in 2026: the plain answer

A Huaqing Palace (华清宫, also called Huaqing Pool, 华清池) gate ticket costs CNY 120. Foreign children 1.2 m or under, or aged 6 and under, get in free. Foreign visitors buy at the ticket office or through the palace's official online channels, and show valid ID to exchange for a ticket before going in.

The Song of Everlasting Sorrow (长恨歌, Chang Hen Ge) is a separate night show with its own tickets, listed at CNY 199-988. You do not need a gate ticket for it. The English site lists four shows a night, from 19:10 to 23:25.

Huaqing Palace ticket price: who pays what

The CNY 120 ticket covers the Imperial Hot Spring Ruins, Furong Lake, Feishuang Palace and Bingjian Pavilion, according to the English Tickets page. The English Visit guides page lists three gate prices.

• Full price: CNY 120.
• Half price, CNY 60: Chinese citizens (including those from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) over 1.2 m tall or aged 6-17, and international students studying in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. A valid student ID is required.
• Free, CNY 0: "Foreign citizens: Children 1.2 m or under in height, or children 6 years old or younger."

That page lists no half-price rule for foreign children or teenagers aged 6-17, and no senior rule for foreign visitors. A Chinese notice dated 2024-12-11 also lets international students use a student card from a school in China. Its free-entry rules for people aged 65 and over, and for children by height, work by scanning a Chinese ID card. They are written for Chinese ID holders, so don't count on them with a foreign passport. The English page adds that special-priced tickets need a valid ID when bought at the ticket window.

The ticket is valid for two days from the date of purchase and allows re-entry. Only one ticket can be bought per valid ID per day.

Can foreigners buy Huaqing Palace tickets? Passport and entry

Yes. The English Tickets page names two ways to buy.

1. At the gate: go to the ticket office at Jinyang Gate (East Gate). There are several windows, and you may have to queue.
2. Online: the page lists the Huaqing Palace WeChat official account (tap "Ticket booking"), its official Douyin account, the Huaqing Palace Fliggy flagship store, the Xi'an Huaqing Palace authorized store on Fliggy, and "major online travel agencies (OTAs)".

Here is the line that matters for you: "Visitors from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, as well as foreign guests, should present their valid identification documents to exchange for tickets at the scenic area's ticket office before entering." The Visit guides page says the same for online buyers: exchange the e-ticket for a paper ticket at the ticket window.

The gate-ticket pages don't say which documents count as valid identification. They also don't say whether foreign cards or foreign phone numbers work in the online channels. The night-show rule does name a passport, so carry yours, and buy at the East Gate office if the apps give you trouble.

Huaqing Palace opening hours

The English home page and Visit guides page agree on the first set of hours below. The English Tickets page shows two other sets, so treat all of them as a guide.

An undated Chinese FAQ gives a summer visiting time of 7:30-18:00 and a winter one of 7:30-17:30. The Chinese visitor FAQ doesn't say which months count as summer or winter. Every page says hours can change with the season, visitor numbers, weather or events, and that the attraction's announcement that day governs. The Visit guides page suggests arriving before 8:00 AM in holidays and summer.

Song of Everlasting Sorrow show times and length

The English Performances and Tickets pages list the same four start times: 19:10, 20:35, 22:00 and 23:25. The English Visit guides page lists the third and fourth shows as 9:00 PM and 10:25, which doesn't match. We'd go with the first two pages. The Performances page also says: "As this is an outdoor performance, refer to the attraction's announcement that day for the actual schedule."

The Performances page says the show runs 65 minutes in ten acts. The Chinese introduction page says 70 minutes. An undated Chinese FAQ says the sessions and times depend on that day's bookings. It also lists 20:10, 21:35, 23:00 and 00:25 for the classic version and 18:30, 19:55, 21:20 and 22:45 for the Ice and Fire version. Those are not the English site's times, so treat them as older.

The stage is at Jiulong Lake. The Visit guides page suggests bringing layers because night shows are cooler.

Which months does the show run? Ice and Fire and November

The English site gives no show months, and it doesn't say which version the 19:10 schedule belongs to. The Chinese pages disagree with each other.

• The Chinese FAQ (undated) says the classic version runs from March to the end of each October.
• The same FAQ says the Ice and Fire (冰火) version runs from December to the end of February. Beyond its dates and the older show times above, the Chinese visitor FAQ doesn't describe how it differs from the classic version.
• The Chinese show introduction says the dance drama plays every evening from April to October.

The official pages list no show for November. That is not the same as saying it is closed: no page says either way. If November is your month, phone the show booking line (below) before you plan around it.

Song of Everlasting Sorrow tickets: price, where to buy, how to collect

The English site lists the show at CNY 199-988 and gives no normal-night price list. The only seat table is headed "National Day Price (10.1-10.5)", so here it is as an example for the 2026 National Day holiday (1-5 October), not as a usual price. VIP A was 988, VIP B 888 and VIP C 588. The other areas, by show:

The Tickets page also lists a "12.12" combo ticket at CNY 388 for a separate show about the 1212 Xi'an Incident.

Rules for the show ticket

• Show tickets are sold separately and need no gate ticket.
• Booking is real-name. There are no refunds or exchanges after booking. If severe weather or equipment failure cancels a show, the scenic area may cancel without liability and says it will notify you.
• Children under 1.3 m enter free, one per adult, with no seat. Children 1.3 m and above pay the adult price. This is not the gate-ticket height of 1.2 m.
• Collect your seat voucher after 15:00 on the day. Show your original ID card, passport or other valid identification at the designated window of the East Gate ticket office, or scan for an electronic voucher. With no original ID card, show a photo of your ID in person. Tickets are not issued if the person and ID don't match.
• Queuing and security checks start 1 hour before each show. The first show enters through the West Gate. The second, third and fourth enter through the East Gate.

The English Tickets page has its own Buy now button for the show. The undated Chinese FAQ lists the 华清宫景区 WeChat account and mini program, the palace's Douyin stores and the Fliggy store 陕西长恨歌票务旗舰店 for show tickets. The undated Chinese FAQ also lists the Taobao store 西安华清宫旅行社专营店, and says these official channels sell shows within 10 days, including the same day. The English page doesn't list Taobao. The Chinese contact page gives 029-83818888 as the show booking line.

How to get to Huaqing Palace from Xi'an

The easiest way is the metro. Take Xi'an Metro Line 9 to Huaqingchi (华清池) Station and leave by exit B or C. The Visit guides page puts Wangjing Gate (West Gate) a 3-5 minute walk away. The Xi'an Metro fare search, queried on 2026-10-05, gave these fares to Huaqingchi. Fares can change.

• Zhonglou (Bell Tower): 7 yuan.
• Xi'an Railway Station: 7 yuan.
• Xi'an North Railway Station: 9 yuan.

The Terracotta Army museum's directions give the changes. From Xi'an Railway Station: Line 4 to Wulukou, Line 1 to Fangzhicheng, then Line 9. From Xi'an North: Line 2 to Beidajie, Line 1 to Fangzhicheng, then Line 9. For the stations themselves, see our Xi'an railway stations guide.

There are two other ways. Tourist Bus No. 5 (Route 306) runs "from downtown" and stops at Huaqingchi Station, but the page names no starting stop. By car, navigate to "Huaqing Palace"; the home page names six parking lots, A to F, and the drive from downtown Xi'an by expressway is about 40 minutes. The guide also lists a private transfer with city hotel pick-up and drop-off. The palace's English Visit guides and home pages don't give metro journey times, last metro times or a taxi fare.

Terracotta Army and Huaqing Palace in one day

Yes, and the palace recommends it. Its Visit guides page says: "Huaqing Palace and the Terracotta Army are both on the same tourist route in Lintong. We recommend visiting them on the same day, as they are only a 15-minute drive apart."

Without a car, the museum's directions say to take Line 9 to Huaqingchi (exit C), then bus Lintong You 613 or Lintong 602 to the Terracotta Army stop, 170 m from the site. The museum's directions don't give the fare, journey time or last departure for those buses. The Terracotta Army has its own booking, so read our Terracotta Army tickets guide first.

Last admission to the palace is 17:40 on the home page set, and the first show is 19:10. We'd do the Terracotta Army in the morning, the palace in the afternoon, and the show in the evening. The fourth show starts at 23:25 and runs 65-70 minutes, so a full day can end after midnight. If you'd rather not juggle bus changes, we can arrange a private car or a local guide for the day. We can also help you plan it and tell you how to book the tickets, but we don't book Huaqing Palace or show tickets.

Is there a cable car up Mount Li?

The palace's English Visit guides page doesn't mention a cable car, a price or hours. Its full-day route says to "take the scenic area shuttle bus/walk up Mount Li" (骊山), and it suggests 2-3 hours for the mountain. To ask about a cable car, call the visitor centre (below).

Phone numbers and address

• Visitor centre, help and complaints: +86-29-83812004 (English Tickets page; the Chinese contact page lists 029-83812004).
• Song of Everlasting Sorrow booking line: 029-83818888 (Chinese contact page).
• Guided tours: 029-83811162 (Chinese contact page).
• International hotline: +1-646-362-8606, call-in hours "21:00-14:00(+1) (Washington Time)" (English Visit guides page).

The palace is on Huaqing Road, Lintong District, Xi'an. The English pages give the number as 3, and the Chinese contact page says 陕西省西安市临潼区华清路38号 (No. 38). The two disagree, so use the map pin for "Huaqing Palace" rather than a house number. See also our Xi'an travel guide.