Charming Xiangxi Theatre
Charming Xiangxi Theatre
4
9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.0
61 reviews
Excellent
20
Very good
28
Average
5
Poor
6
Terrible
2
AlanTam25
Beijing, China803 contributions
Nov 2015 • Family
The Charming Xiangxi show has two parts, the indoor session last about an hour, and the outdoor session for about half an hour.
Our tour guide secured three really good seats for us, six row from the stage, right in the middle, so we really enjoyed the indoor part of the show.
Before the show starts, they would host an auction of Chinese calligraphy and painting, and they would donate all the income to local schools. This lasted for about 10 minutes.
Then the best part of the show starts. The show includes some really impressive dance, acrobatics, as well as several songs. All of these are reflections of the tradition, the local culture, and the life of various ethnic groups living in the region. The design of the stage and the lighting are first class.
The outdoor part includes some stunt, but I agree with other reviewers that the organization needs to be improved. As the seats are not numbered, it could become chaotic when the audience moved from indoor to outdoor.
Despite that, if you stay overnight at the Zhangjiajie National Forrest Park, I highly recommend you to see this show.
Our tour guide secured three really good seats for us, six row from the stage, right in the middle, so we really enjoyed the indoor part of the show.
Before the show starts, they would host an auction of Chinese calligraphy and painting, and they would donate all the income to local schools. This lasted for about 10 minutes.
Then the best part of the show starts. The show includes some really impressive dance, acrobatics, as well as several songs. All of these are reflections of the tradition, the local culture, and the life of various ethnic groups living in the region. The design of the stage and the lighting are first class.
The outdoor part includes some stunt, but I agree with other reviewers that the organization needs to be improved. As the seats are not numbered, it could become chaotic when the audience moved from indoor to outdoor.
Despite that, if you stay overnight at the Zhangjiajie National Forrest Park, I highly recommend you to see this show.
Written 13 November 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Maureen S
Darwin, Australia734 contributions
Sept 2013 • Friends
Our guide suggested that we attend this show and we were so thrilled with the amazing performances. The scenes in the show were so colourful and spectacular. The introductions were in English so we were able to follow the performance. The theatre was quite grand with beautiful old timber fittings and seating. We loved the way the show followed outdoors for the last part of the performances. The old negative about the evening were the rude Chinese people sitting behind us who kept talking through out the show. A must see show if in the Zhangjiajie area.
Written 4 November 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
michaelguin
Toronto, Canada11 contributions
Mar 2014 • Friends
To much build up. Best an average by my standards. People talking waking spitting during show. Believe some lip singing. Not interesting .
Written 27 March 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
WeeKee
Singapore, Singapore699 contributions
Sept 2019 • Family
This is not one of those shows with a storyline. It’s more like a variety show with individual set pieces, bits of acrobats, circus, song and dance, perfectly random (bundled together as a regional cultural extravaganza).
Some of the acts are perfectly legitimate and impressive (albeit disappointed by the lack of effort to string them together). But they are the minority. It degraded as it progresses. Zombies? Checked. Flying daggers? Checked. Men lying on broken porcelain and nails on their backs? Checked. Body supporting huge weights and then getting men (and women) to stand on time to prove the point? Audience participation on stage for some cheesy entertainment? Man walking on a gigantic knife? Yes that too.
They even got an award winning calligrapher to peddle his work for 300rmb each, to whoever who wants a piece. Pure commercialization. It gives the fronting director Feng a bad name.
At the end of the day, I guess there are people who enjoy and cheer for crass performances. We didn’t. My recommendation is to give the show meant for local tourists a miss. Then again it’s to the eye of the beholder. I’ve attached the “best bits” of the show, so you won’t be missing anything if you give it a miss.
Some of the acts are perfectly legitimate and impressive (albeit disappointed by the lack of effort to string them together). But they are the minority. It degraded as it progresses. Zombies? Checked. Flying daggers? Checked. Men lying on broken porcelain and nails on their backs? Checked. Body supporting huge weights and then getting men (and women) to stand on time to prove the point? Audience participation on stage for some cheesy entertainment? Man walking on a gigantic knife? Yes that too.
They even got an award winning calligrapher to peddle his work for 300rmb each, to whoever who wants a piece. Pure commercialization. It gives the fronting director Feng a bad name.
At the end of the day, I guess there are people who enjoy and cheer for crass performances. We didn’t. My recommendation is to give the show meant for local tourists a miss. Then again it’s to the eye of the beholder. I’ve attached the “best bits” of the show, so you won’t be missing anything if you give it a miss.
Written 12 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John L
Lima, Peru32 contributions
Mar 2019 • Couples
This show can be skipped but if you want some entertainment for a night in Zhangjiajie is worth a watch. Acrobatics were awesome although some other parts are more artificial and some can even feel a little ridiculous for a person not related with local entertainment.
Written 28 March 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
serenaclaire
Melbourne, Australia822 contributions
Mar 2019 • Couples
If you've never seen a Chinese theatre production before it's worth a look. My photos are not taken from VIP seats the outside show consists of the theatre trying to sell Chinese calligraphy following by dangerous stunts for example walking on fire, walking on a sharp blade and mean putting excessive weight on their body.
Written 25 March 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Egle B
Dubai, United Arab Emirates22 contributions
Apr 2018 • Friends
It’s a nice night spot option. The first part of the show amazed us, but the second part and the end of it (outside the building) was boring and full of weird presentations (Chinese holding tons of concrete with their belly and this kind of stuff). Nice, but keep your expectations under control. Anyway, I still recommend the visit. The building is beautiful and very authentic Chinese stile.
Written 9 April 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
8Jane1717
Hobart, Australia178 contributions
Dec 2017 • Family
This show was mesmerizing, it introduced story related to the five main aboriginals in Zhang Jia Jie. I would recommend you to buy the tickets in the front row (mine was seventh row) in order to have a better view of the show. The show was sequential and they will encourage engagement from the audiences involved throughout the show with prizes to be won. It was unique that there were indoor and outdoor show, remember to walk out fast for the outdoor show as this show was always flooded with audiences.
Written 27 January 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nashboroguy
Zhangjiagang, China292 contributions
Aug 2017 • Friends
It seems a little pricey, but most shows like this are. This show was remarkable. The theater is wonderfully designed. It is divided into three sections (A,B,C). You can save yourself some money by getting tickets in the C section, front sides. The C section in the back may be too far from the stage, especially if you are taking video or pictures.
Without providing spoilers, the three kids in the show are outstanding and have a great back story. Actually, every performer was outstanding. Some performers you could tell was enjoying themselves more than others. I guess that is to be expected doing three shows a night.
The stage backdrops were visually stunning. Although the sound in the theater was very, very loud (sensitive ears beware), the music was inspiring and fun. There are some English subtitles shown on the large screens on either side of the stage to help with understanding. The performers and the show does a great job being self-explanatory.
I highly recommend this show if you are in the area. A great couple of hours spent enriching your cultural understanding of some of the ethnic groups within this part of China.
The outdoor portion of the show was a bit cheesy and uninteresting. I think it is mostly used to help captivate the audience so you will buy the CDs of the show as the women dressed in ethnic garb hawk the merchandise.
Without providing spoilers, the three kids in the show are outstanding and have a great back story. Actually, every performer was outstanding. Some performers you could tell was enjoying themselves more than others. I guess that is to be expected doing three shows a night.
The stage backdrops were visually stunning. Although the sound in the theater was very, very loud (sensitive ears beware), the music was inspiring and fun. There are some English subtitles shown on the large screens on either side of the stage to help with understanding. The performers and the show does a great job being self-explanatory.
I highly recommend this show if you are in the area. A great couple of hours spent enriching your cultural understanding of some of the ethnic groups within this part of China.
The outdoor portion of the show was a bit cheesy and uninteresting. I think it is mostly used to help captivate the audience so you will buy the CDs of the show as the women dressed in ethnic garb hawk the merchandise.
Written 20 August 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Paris H
Brisbane, Australia26 contributions
Aug 2017 • Solo
I purchased tickets about 10:30am on the morning of the show that evening. There's three performances: 6pm, 730 and 930. The cheapest ticket is 228元 with no discount available for students or the elderly. I sat on the lower tier and that was fine. There doesn't seem to be any benefit to paying an extra 80元 for a seat in a more central section. The 730 show was sold out so I went to the 6pm which was about 4/5ths full.
The show was good. The microphones and music are insanely loud. I should have listened to the reviewer here who advised that earplugs would be a good idea.
There are two performers who sing (very well but super loud) and the rest just dance and lip sync. The acrobatics really are the highlight of the show. Ignore the out of time choreography and the headache you are experiencing and watch the acrobatics, archery and knife throwing. The show seems to be centred around the Miao minority group and their customs and dances.
If you have little ones, there is a "zombie/march of the dead" scene which some may find scary because of fake dead people and scary music. I wasn't with children there, my comment is based off the other wailing/screaming children I heard in the crowd. On the upside, there is a scene where a dancer pulls like 20 umbrellas out of her costume which is fun for the whole family.
As other reviewers have mentioned, the second half is outside. It is called off during rain because there's firewalking (amongst other things) and it's not undercover. Moving everyone outside allows the theatre to sit the next session. As the 6pm session was not sold out and the weather was overcast, it wasn't hard to get a vantage point.
There's not much else to do in WuLingYuan at night so this isn't a bad night out (1.5 hours) if you want to spend the money.
The show was good. The microphones and music are insanely loud. I should have listened to the reviewer here who advised that earplugs would be a good idea.
There are two performers who sing (very well but super loud) and the rest just dance and lip sync. The acrobatics really are the highlight of the show. Ignore the out of time choreography and the headache you are experiencing and watch the acrobatics, archery and knife throwing. The show seems to be centred around the Miao minority group and their customs and dances.
If you have little ones, there is a "zombie/march of the dead" scene which some may find scary because of fake dead people and scary music. I wasn't with children there, my comment is based off the other wailing/screaming children I heard in the crowd. On the upside, there is a scene where a dancer pulls like 20 umbrellas out of her costume which is fun for the whole family.
As other reviewers have mentioned, the second half is outside. It is called off during rain because there's firewalking (amongst other things) and it's not undercover. Moving everyone outside allows the theatre to sit the next session. As the 6pm session was not sold out and the weather was overcast, it wasn't hard to get a vantage point.
There's not much else to do in WuLingYuan at night so this isn't a bad night out (1.5 hours) if you want to spend the money.
Written 14 August 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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