Oh my goodness!!!
No, man, it’s not good for me to watch such productions, they make me angry!
I thought only musicals made me feel this way (musicals I wrote about some time ago here, and about which I could still write a lot, considering how many I’ve seen since then…). But look, something else has left me speechless – and more than that, it makes me mad that I wasn’t even a tiny ant in such a production…
SHOWS IN XI’AN
So, I’ve been in China for a few days… I’m offered a VIP ticket with dinner included, to a show called Tang Dynasty Show, as a peace offering for my complaints about the agency that organized my tours in Beijing.
I refuse. Anyway, I really didn’t plan to go to any show during my (only!) two days in Xi’an. I always prefer to explore the city, mingle with the locals in the bustle of the streets, markets, taverns, to visit the main landmarks, the old town, etc.
But guess what? My guide, Selina, when she hears about the refused offer, tells me about another show in the city. Unlike the Tang Dynasty Show, which attracts many foreign tourists, there’s one that’s extremely popular among the Chinese – Legend of the Camel Bell!
Foreigners choose to see the history of the Tang Dynasty set to music, with dance and acrobatics, while enjoying dinner, whereas the Chinese go to see a story connected to the Silk Road, a theme of great historical pride in China and especially closely tied to the city of Xi’an! For it was from here that the camel caravans departed, crossing deserts and mountains between ancient China and the West.
The show is full of symbols and references well known to the Chinese audience, but harder for us, outsiders, to grasp.
Also, another thing: it’s promoted mainly through Chinese channels, in the Chinese language. On popular websites accessed by foreign tourists, it has far fewer English reviews compared to other city attractions.
My guide tells me it’s a show with camels and wolves. What do you mean? Do they use puppets?? Or specially made fake animals?
No, no, live camels, live wolves!!!
Come on, no way! That can’t be real! Okay, camels, let’s say maybe. But wolves?! Are you sure “wolves” doesn’t mean something else?
No, real wolves! Alive!
I can’t imagine how real wolves could “perform” in a show.
So YES! I instantly decide I want to see this show.
THE LEGEND OF THE CAMEL BELL
I didn’t understand what this title was about until I looked it up a bit. The title doesn’t refer literally to a bell, but to the sound of the bells from the camel caravans – a symbol of the journeys and cultural exchanges along the Silk Road.
The ticket to the show is expensive compared to everything else I’ve paid so far during my trip to China: it costs 468 yuan, that’s about 60 euros (end of March 2025).
We’re in a hurry, considering that the show starts at 6:00 p.m. and the day has already been full of sightseeing around Xi’an.
I change clothes in a rush at the hotel, then we drive across the city as fast as possible.
On the way, I “gather” some more information.
The show has been running since 2018 at the Xi’an Huaxia Cultural Tourism Grand Theater, located in an ecological area of Xi’an. It lasts 60 minutes, no more.
Only when we arrive at the location do I see what kind of theater it is. It’s a huge flattened dome, with a capacity of 3,000 spectators.
The clock shows 5:56 p.m. Oh my God, you can’t imagine how we’re running like crazy, me with my tongue practically hanging out! I curse every burger and chocolate I’ve eaten in the past years…
I take photos on the run! I can barely breathe!
We climb the stairs, and my guide hands me over to an usher who tells me where to run. It’s 5:58! I run!
I climb more stairs, an usher sees my ticket and tells me where to sit. I sit down, panting like an old nag after a long race, I grab a tissue and try to chase down the rivers of sweat – face, back, and everywhere in between, and… the show begins!!! It’s exactly 6 o’clock, wow!
The story begins in a village. I don’t know what it’s like on stage, but it’s cold in the stalls. Really cold – jacket cold! Good thing I was smart enough to bring mine.
Since there are some empty seats on my row, right by the central aisle, I move to the first seat so I can take clean photos.
I look around and see only Chinese people! Everywhere, just Chinese, man, not a single foreigner in sight. So yeah, it’s definitely a show for the locals, and me, among them, I’m like the odd creature from another planet 🙂
I watch closely what’s happening on stage – music, pre-recorded dialogue, dance, action.
A choreography with ribbons hanging from the ceiling shows an amazing synchronization of the dancers!
Several camels (real ones, yes?) also take part in the story. They’re cleverly complemented by many more camels on the huge screen behind. It’s one massive caravan.
The stage design elements are spectacular! I stare in amazement – now at the set, now at the performers, now at the props. Sometimes I can’t even tell if someone is actually singing or if it’s just instrumental, if someone is speaking or… who knows anymore.
To the left and right, at the edges of the audience, there are electronic display panels where you can read translations of some parts of the show – a way to help foreign tourists understand what’s going on. Thank you! 🙂
Suddenly, my heart almost jumps out of my chest! An earthquake???
Not at all! Quite suddenly, the entire audience (yes, including me) starts to rotate! What?!?
Seriously, the whole massive seating area begins moving to the right. So here, it’s not the stage that rotates – we do! We turn until we face the next “scene”, with completely different sets, actors, costumes, and props.
Ballerinas dance on a huge, real staircase; a few acrobats spin through the air; some angel-like girls rise from the floor, performing in front of fountains that also burst from the stage… I don’t even know where to look first!
Night turns into day, a volcano erupts, a sandstorm blows through, snow starts falling all over the stage – an avalanche of truly stunning special effects!
Then, a massive statue rises, and I can’t help wondering – how deep must it be under that stage?!
A giant Buddha towers above us from the middle of the stage. Meanwhile, a few camels continue along their “Silk Road” right among us, the spectators 🙂 It’s quite an experience, I must say.
And just as I’m wondering how on earth to film this set – vertically or horizontally – we all get hit by a surprise:
Two waterfalls start flowing, man!!! Real ones, okay?? Not some image on a screen!
The water gushes with such force that the first rows of the audience get completely soaked!
Here’s a glimpse of that moment, which also includes our rotation – the audience’s – toward the next “scene”:
I can’t stop wondering: will we ever be able to create something like this in Romania??
But wait, my biggest shock was yet to come…
I had noticed, from the very first minutes, some sort of cranes on both sides of the audience stands. I looked to see where the cameras were mounted on them. But there were none.
During one of the acts, both “cranes” start to lower. Then, a staff member walks among us with a warning:
And then… madness begins!!!
Adventurous music, sound effects, and… real wolves start appearing on those platforms, then jump down, into the audience!
Yes, yes, they land on the aisles between the seating rows, then rush toward the stage where, supposedly, they attack the poor people traveling along the Silk Road. And the battle begins!
The trainers have everything under control – the wolves, the fights, everything. It’s an awesome show!
Here’s a video as proof, so you don’t think I faked some photos by adding wolves in 🙂 (The volcano eruption amazed me too! I didn’t expect something even more spectacular to come after that…)
Your blood freezes a little in your veins… What if one of them goes nuts and decides we’re dinner??
In one hour (the show lasts exactly one hour!), we rotate 360 degrees, passing through six different “scenes” and ending up where we started.
Only the main characters remain the same, the ones who embark on the adventure along the Silk Road, a journey full of perils but also with experiences and cultural exchanges that shaped them.
And… hold on tight: the show runs several times a day, with some days having up to 11 performances!!! One after another, dude!
That’s why they have multiple teams performing in rotation.
THE SHOW’S PROTAGONISTS
I read that there are over 200 performers involved!!! Including dancers, acrobats, but also technicians, extras, and animal trainers with the live animals.
Don’t imagine that the protagonists are celebrities featured in magazines or chased by paparazzi. Nope. They’re professionals in dance, martial arts, and acrobatics, who generally come from local art academies.
The focus in these kinds of shows is on the production, not on individuals, so it doesn’t matter that dozens of artists rotate – the show keeps its identity.
My own identity makes me stand out among the spectators leaving the hall at the end of the performance… Asian or not, we all seem thrilled by what we’ve seen. Well, I was also dying of envy! 🙂
At dusk, the theater building looks like a UFO that has just landed in Xi’an.
Xi’an that offered me many pleasant surprises. Here you can read about the unique experiences I’ve had in the city and the odd things I’ve discovered at the food stalls.
And soon – about how I squeezed my way through the crowds to see the Terracotta Army 🙂
