BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- For travelers looking to dive deep into Chinese culture and history, ancient-style theme parks across the country have become an excellent choice. Offering rich immersive experiences, these parks have emerged as some of China's most popular attractions, particularly among young people.
Last week, 32-year-old Tao Jiji had an unforgettable visit to Millennium City Park in Kaifeng, central China's Henan Province. She cheerfully described the trip as "an absolute blast" on social media.
"The moment I walked into the theme park, I was given a role for the day and a free traditional costume," Tao said. Clay bowl in hand, the impeccably made-up lady slipped into a patched traditional robe with tattered cuffs and took on the part of a beggar, completing small tasks to earn replica ancient Chinese currency.
At the park, visitors can join live shows, interact with performers, and trade for food, boat rides and other items using replica money. "This is so much fun," Tao posted, adding that her three-day stay at the park was "fully packed with immersive experiences."
Modeled after Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival, a renowned ancient Chinese painting, the park vividly recreates the bustling street scenes of Bianliang, now known as Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), capturing the era's economic prosperity and cultural vibrancy.
Each day, the park stages more than 200 performances and runs over 20 immersive programs that let visitors experience daily life in the Song Dynasty. During holidays, the number of shows can reach nearly 1,000 per day.
Many young Chinese visitors said that wandering through the park feels like stepping directly into the famous painting and into history. "People come here seeking a kind of beauty that began 1,000 years ago but can still be truly felt and touched today," said Arrietty, a visitor from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
In 2025, Millennium City Park gained impressive momentum, drawing over 11 million visitors and generating 1.2 billion yuan (about 175 million U.S. dollars) in tourism revenue, year-on-year jumps of over 37 percent and 20 percent, respectively.
On Douyin, China's version of TikTok, short videos under the hashtag "Millennium City Park" have garnered nearly 17 billion views in total. Comments praising it as a "Chinese Disneyland" appear frequently.
With its long history, China is home to many former imperial cities, including Xi'an in the northwest, Hangzhou and Nanjing in the east. A rising trend of traveling to these places to experience the distinct customs and culture of each dynasty is sweeping across the country's young generations.
Data from travel platform Qunar shows that since the start of 2026, ticket bookings for Chinese-style theme parks featuring engaging events have doubled, with the buzz carrying over from holidays to regular weekends. This trend reflects a shift in China's cultural tourism sector.
"As tourism consumption in China continues to upgrade, visitors are no longer satisfied with passive sightseeing. They want deeper engagement and emotional connections with scenic spots," said Xiao Jianyong, deputy head of Henan Cultural Tourism Research Institute.
Under China's national development blueprint for the next five years, the country will promote deeper integration of culture and tourism, boost the cultural tourism industry, and leverage culture to drive economic and social development.
"Today, people increasingly seek spiritual resonance and cultural identity through their consumption choices," said Xiong Haifeng, an associate professor at the School of Cultural Industries Management, Communication University of China.
Capitalizing on the boom of traditional Chinese theme parks, major film and television companies have also entered the cultural tourism market. iQiyi, a leading Chinese streaming platform, has strategically turned its popular costume drama IPs into offline recreational destinations.
At iQiyi Land, which opened this February in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, visitors use VR and full-sensory devices to travel back in time, solve mysteries, and immerse themselves in the dazzling and fantastical worlds of Chinese mythology and martial arts culture. This will surely be a huge hit among young fans of such costume dramas.
"These neo-Chinese theme parks do not merely build ancient architecture or add Chinese art installations to amusement rides. Instead, they integrate the essence of traditional culture with contemporary experiences, creating a living experience that visitors can see, feel and participate in," said Yang Jinsong, a senior researcher with China Tourism Academy.
"With the aid of technology, these parks breathe life into cultural symbols that have endured for millennia, and give modern people a way to connect with an ancient Chinese civilization," the researcher added. ■
