A procession parades through the streets of Qitang City. [Photo/WeChat account: ntwgx6]

Qitang City in Qidong, Nantong, is a sprawling 250,000-square-meter immersive theme park modeled on the urban landscape of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Designed as a full-scale recreation of a Tang Dynasty market town, Qitang City is divided into five distinct zones, complete with reconstructed taverns, teahouses, jade shops and winding flagstone alleyways.

The park moves beyond conventional sightseeing, positioning itself as an interactive cultural experience. Visitors can begin their journey at the East Market's costume house, where they may choose from a selection of Tang-style hanfu and have their makeup done in period style to transform into a character from the era.

Scattered throughout the park are live-action non-player characters with whom guests can engage in spontaneous interactive missions, from trying their hand at traditional intangible cultural heritage crafts to playing ancient folk games such as touhu or the pitch-pot arrow-tossing game.

By day, the park showcases Tang architectural elegance; by night, it transforms into a vibrant festival of light and performance. Every evening at 7 pm, a grand procession parades through the streets with palace and fish-shaped lanterns, weaving through key sites.

For those seeking summer respite, the park also includes a Tang-style indoor ice world among its features, where intricately carved Tang-inspired ice sculptures sit alongside an extra-long ice slide, a spinning snow ride and an ice-brick playhouse, offering a cool fusion of ancient elegance and modern family fun.