How to Book Group Tickets for The Song of Everlasting Sorrow: Headcount, Showtimes and Getting It Done on the Day

Company team-building, group travel organisers, wedding thank-you parties, extended family trips — once the numbers pass 20 people, buying one ticket at a time as an individual would crush whoever is organising it just collecting the document details. This article covers only the practical execution of a group order: which decisions must be made first, how the bulk ID registration runs, and how to lead that party through the gate on the day.

Three Things to Settle First for a Group Booking

① Headcount and group size What is genuinely valuable about group tickets is arranging a block of seating together. But one hard rule has to be laid out first: the same valid document can buy at most 1 ticket on the same visit day, counted across all platforms and not repeatable. So 20 people need 20 sets of registered details; there is no way to bring 20 people in on one ticket.

② Showtime Groups most often fix the first show at 18:30: it ends early, everyone is still fresh, the ride back is unhurried, and the next day’s itinerary runs as normal. The cost is that the first show is the most expensive. If budget comes first, move to the second, third or fourth show and save 50 – 70 per person, but the show then finishes after 23:30, so the ride back and the accommodation must be arranged in advance.

③ Zone allocation Splitting by zone per person is the most practical: put the core members in Central and the rest in East-West A. The price gap across the three tiers is 60 – 80 per person, so work out the accounts before deciding.

Bulk ID Registration Is the Biggest Workload

The most time-consuming part of a group booking is not paying, it is collecting and verifying everyone’s registered details:

• Names must match the documents exactly; copy rare characters straight from the document and never substitute a common character on your own initiative;
• Have everyone send the document numbers by copy and paste — one digit typed wrong and they cannot get in;
• Distinguish the document types clearly (ID card / passport / Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan travel permit / Taiwan residents’ permit for entering the mainland / foreigners’ permanent residence ID / residence permit for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents);
• Members using passports and other non-ID documents must collect a paper ticket at the ticket office on the day of the performance with the original document — swiping alone will not do.

Practical advice: make one form to collect everything, and appoint one person to double-check it before submission. Skip this step and you will redo the work ten more times later.

Travel Logistics (The Part Groups Most Often Miss)

Scenic tickets must be bought separately. The performance ticket and the Huaqing Palace scenic ticket are two independent tickets: if you are only seeing the show, the performance ticket gets you into the performance area during the performance window; if the group also wants to tour the scenic area, scenic tickets for the corresponding headcount are counted and bought separately. The scenic ticket is valid for two days, so you can enter a day early.

Leave enough margin in the timeline:

• Arrive at the scenic area 40 minutes early → queue at the scenic ticket gate → walk to the audience zone → performance ticket gate → sit down;
• The more people, the longer the queueing and walking, so allow 15 minutes more than an individual visitor would;
• If Mount Li is scheduled before the show, go up in batches by cable car or on foot rather than squeezing the whole party onto one path.

Leaving: the last show lets out in one concentrated surge and the crowds are large, so set the group meeting point in the open area outside the exit, not on the walkway or directly in front of the exit.

Ride back: Metro Line 9 from Huaqingchi Station still runs after the last show, but getting dozens of people on board takes a long queue. A coach collecting the group directly at the scenic area gate without entering the scenic area is the cleaner approach.

Accommodation: for 30 or more people, negotiate group rooms with double beds inside the scenic area or in Lintong town — less hassle and cheaper than individuals pairing up. Guests at the Huaqing Yutang Hotel can enter and leave the scenic area free of charge, and walking back to the hotel after the show is the least tiring.

Refunds and Changes Matter Especially for Groups

• A full refund is possible up to 12:00 on the day before the performance, and no refund or change after that;
• If the performance is cancelled or postponed by force majeure, a full refund with no handling fee or a free change;
• If ticketing fails, a full refund.

A group must set a “confirmation deadline” — for example, gather and verify everyone’s document details 3 days before departure. One or two people dropping out at the last minute should not become the whole group’s loss.

Group bookings must be made more than 10 days in advance.

Group bookings must be made more than 10 days in advance.

Group bookings must be made in advance — by no means wait until tickets go on sale.