The Legend of Miyue in Qin Dynasty Palace – 《芈月传》秦王宫游记

Do you know there is a place where anyone could just walk in and be an actor? You will also have high chances to bump into famous actors and actresses here.  It can be anywhere in this city, in the hotel lobby, restaurant or KTV.

This place is called Hengdian World Studios 横店影视城!  The scale of the place and size is just mind-boggling.

Hengdian city became famous because of the large-scale film industries here. It is also known as the “Oriental Hollywood”. If you come to Hengdian World Studios, you know nothing can compare to the one here. It is huge and grand. You need days to explore each studio in Hengdian.

In Hengdian World Studio, there are more than 10 studios and Qin Dynasty Palace is one of the remarkable ones. You should not miss this huge studio and definitely have to include it in your package. (Different Package admission ticket are available)

The origin Qin Palace was built 2200 years ago and was burned down so there is no way we could see the real palace. The replica of Qin Palace is indeed a nice way to go back to history.

Qin Dynasty Palace was built in 1997 for a famous director Chen Kaige 陈凯歌 to shoot the historical blockbuster “荆轲刺秦王”. Later many dramas were shot here and one of the famous ones is called 《芈月传》 – The Legend of Miyue which was hit many years ago.

Check the timing for the performances

There are three performances in the Qin Palace that are worth seeing. You should check the schedule at the entrance of the door so that you know each timing and won’t miss any of them.  Sometimes the performances get cancel due to bad weather.  There are indoor and outdoor performances.

Hero Swordfight

3D Movie – Return to Qin and Han Dynasties in the Dream

The 3D movie is in the indoor theatre.  You need to go early to get the best seat. First come first serve
Seats are filling up fast.

Through the 3D movie special effects, the audiences are able to feel and walk through the Qin Huang Hall to experience the excitement.

Performance time: 9: 00, 14:00, 16: 00

Qin Marriage Performance

This is an outdoor performance in the afternoon.  It is grand and colorful.

How big is Qin Dynasty Palace?

Qin Dynasty Palace is a lot smaller than the Palace of Ming and Qing Dynasties 明清宫苑

It covers an area of ​​800 acres and a construction area of ​​110,000 square meters. There are 27 majestic palaces and palaces, and the main palace 四海归一殿 is 44.8 meters high and covers an area of ​​17,169 square meters. The 2289-meter-long, 18-meter-high towering city wall and the palace hall complement each other, showing the majestic power of Qin Shihuang’s annexation of the six kingdoms.

How to purchase your ticket?

There are several types of combo tickets for Hengdian World Studios, you should check which studios you want to go and purchase accordingly. 30% discount applies to children and elders above the age of 60 but proof of ID (passport) needed when you purchase your ticket at the counter.  This applies to foreigners too.  You also need to show your ID at the entrance of each site. A fingerprint is needed for each entry, very high-tech.

Many of the hotels provide the combo ticket too, you can buy from the hotel front desk.

Costume Renting

Costume renting is also available in Qin Dynasty Palace.  The photographer will help to shoot the pictures for you but only indoor.  You will be seated on the dragon chair and have your photos taken.  I find it is quite boring since you are not allowed to go outdoor with their costumes.

I would suggest you bring your own costume.  You can either buy online from Aliexpress or Taobao.  If not, you can also buy one or rent one when you arrived in Hengdian city.  There are many rental shops outside the studios.

Other facilities

There are few restaurants before you enter Qin Dynasty Palace which serves rice or noodles. Best if you could eat before you enter the studio. The toilets facilities are clean and it is free of charge. Many areas are made for disabled people and wheelchair friendly.

Locker’s service is available in the customer service area before you enter the Qin Dynasty Palace. You can keep your heavy belongings there.

Downside

The downside that I could think of for this place is everything – instructions, signboards, and brochures are written in Chinese. It does not have enough information in English. Most staff do not speak English, this place has not prepared for international tourists yet.

You can have some fun in the fighting arena.

Ninja Obstacle

Where is Hengdian?

From Shanghai => 315.5 km
From Suzhou => 301.2 km
From Hangzhou =>165.1 km

Hengdian is located in Dongyang city. You can catch the high-speed train to arrive at the nearest station called Yiwu Station then catch a taxi or bus to Hengdian. The taxi cost about RMB 170-200 (SGD30-40) for an hour’s drive. If you have 3-4 pax, it is easier to catch a taxi.

Buses cost a lot cheaper.  Take a bus to Hengdian from Jiangdong Passenger Station for about CNY 15 (SGD3.00). The bus operates from 6:00 to 15:50. The frequency is 30 minutes, and the trip duration is about one hour.

Hengdian Infrastructure

The Infrastructure in Hengdian is pretty amazing, well-paved roads and the city is clean and neat.  And Hengdian is only 3rd or 4th tier city in China.  Not even 1st or 2nd tier.  (1st tier cities are Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou)

There is feeder buses service that runs regularly in Hengdian city and it only cost RMB1.00 (SDG0.20) for a ride.  Usually, you will be given a transportation card upon check-in to your hotel so you can travel freely around Hengdian city.  If your hotel does not provide the transportation card, just prepare RMB 1.00 ready and put them into the box when you board on the bus, there are no changes given.  The buses are clean and the bus drivers are very friendly.  One of the bus drivers strike a conversation with us and asked where we were from when we board on the bus.

Final thoughts:

It is indeed a dream to walk in the Qin Dynasty Palace in Hengdian World Studio. Most of China’s historical films and renowned television works are filmed here. I am glad to have experienced the sensation of traveling back in time within the beautiful Qin style Palaces. It looks very different from the ordinary palaces that we see. Even it is a replica, it is still a dream fulfilled.