Huaqing Palace Scenic Area Tickets and The Song of Everlasting Sorrow Tickets: Buying Separately and Which Gate to Use

The sentence most likely to start an argument on site is: “I bought a performance ticket, so why can’t I get into the scenic area?” The reason is not complicated — the performance ticket and the Huaqing Palace scenic area ticket are two entirely different tickets: one gets you into the show, the other gets you into the park. This article separates the two, explaining how each is used and which gate you walk through.

What the Two Tickets Are

	Huaqing Palace scenic area ticket	The Song of Everlasting Sorrow performance ticket
Purpose	Entry to the scenic area (Tang imperial bathhouse ruins, Nine-Dragon Lake, Furong Garden and more)	Admission to the performance
Price	About ¥108 for adults, about ¥60 for students and children (valid for two days, subject to what the scenic area announces on the day)	Tiered pricing ¥179 – 409 (coupon price)
Where to buy	Official Huaqing Palace scenic area channels	Official performance channels or authorised platforms
Validity	Valid for two days	Only the night of the specified showtime

Of these four rows, the one to remember is “Purpose”. Visitors who only want the show and will not tour the scenic area do not need a scenic ticket — during the performance window, the performance ticket gets you into the Nine-Dragon Lake performance area through the designated entrance. But a performance ticket does not admit you to the Huaqing Palace scenic area, and outside the performance window you cannot enter the scenic area on a performance ticket either; conversely, a scenic ticket alone will not get you into the show.

Two Tickets, Two Routes

1. Scenic area ticket gate → scenic ticket checked, you enter the scenic area;
2. Walk inside the scenic area to the audience zone (this is an outdoor real-scene theatre and the walk is not short — groups, or anyone with elderly parents or small children, should allow plenty of time);
3. Performance ticket gate → performance ticket checked (ID card swiped, or paper ticket plus the original ID document verified);
4. Sit in your zone.

Each ticket stays with its owner: if you are only seeing the show, bring the performance ticket; if you also want to tour the scenic area, bring the scenic ticket as well. The site is crowded and the signal may not be reliable, so save a screenshot of the electronic voucher on your phone in advance rather than hunting for it on the spot.

One Very Useful Feature of the Scenic Ticket: Valid for Two Days

One scenic ticket lets you enter and leave the scenic area as often as you like within two days. This is often overlooked and is genuinely valuable:

• Enter on the first afternoon to see the Tang imperial bathhouse ruins, Nine-Dragon Lake and Furong Garden, then stay on for the evening performance — you need only one scenic ticket that day;
• If you want to go in again the next day to climb Mount Li, the same ticket still works — no need to buy another;
• If you are staying inside the scenic area (guests at the Huaqing Yutang Hotel can enter and leave the scenic area free of charge), some entitlements may also cover scenic-area access — subject to what the hotel and the scenic area officially state.

There Are Discounts at the Scenic Level, None at the Performance Level

This is where the other common confusion lies.

Scenic area tickets come with scenic-area policies such as student, senior and children’s tickets (exact standards are subject to what the scenic area announces on the day).

Performance tickets are commercial show tickets and carry no group discount of any kind — students, seniors and military personnel are treated alike. Children are measured against a height of 1.3 metres: those at or under 1.3 metres go free without a seat (one per accompanying adult), and those above 1.3 metres must buy a ticket.

So the idea of “buy a student scenic ticket and catch the show along the way” does not work: getting into the park is not getting into the theatre, and the performance ticket has to be bought separately at the tiered price.

An Actionable Checklist

One week before departure

• Fix the performance date and showtime first → book the performance ticket
• Then book scenic tickets for the headcount (students and children counted separately)

On the day

• Bring the scenic ticket, the performance ticket and the original ID card of every person
• Anyone travelling on a non-ID document should remember to collect a paper ticket at the ticket office on the day of the performance, using the original document
• Arrive at the scenic area 40 minutes early

On site

• Scenic ticket check → walk to the audience zone → performance ticket check → sit down

A Final Reminder

Do not apply one ticket’s refund rules to the other: the performance ticket can be refunded in full up to 12:00 on the day before the performance, and cannot be refunded or changed after that; scenic tickets follow the scenic area’s own refund policy. Confirm them separately when you order, and do not assume that because one can be refunded, the other can too.