Xi'an: Tai Chi at Dawn, then the Park Where the City Exercises

The hour starts with standing: feet parallel, knees soft, spine vertical, arms hanging, and nothing else for ten minutes. Then the first movements of the 24-form - ward-off, roll-back, press, push - done slowly enough that the weight shift has to be real rather than implied. Nobody learns the whole form in a morning, and a coach who claims otherwise is teaching a dance class.

The park afterwards is the other half of the experience. Between six and eight in the morning the city's parks fill with groups doing sword forms, fan dances, ribbon routines, choir practice and ballroom dancing, all at once and all without embarrassment. Your guide explains what each group is doing and, more often than not, gets you invited to join one. Two hours covers the instruction, the walk and a breakfast stop at a street stall on the way back.

• An hour of instruction in the first movements of the 24-form, with a local coach
• Standing practice first: feet, knees, spine, ten minutes of nothing else
• Ward-off, roll-back, press and push, slowly enough that the weight shift has to be real
• The park at six to eight, when sword, fan, ribbon and choir groups all run at once
• Your guide explains each group, and usually gets you invited to join one
• Breakfast on the way back: hulatang, guokui, soy milk
• Loose clothing and flat shoes are the only kit required

• Meals as listed in the daily itinerary (breakfast at a street stall: hulatang, guokui and soy milk)
• Private air-conditioned vehicle with professional driver throughout
• English-speaking local guide (Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian or Japanese on request)
• All entrance fees for the sites listed, including shuttle buses, eco-buses and cable cars where the site requires them
• Local handling and coordination service throughout the programme
• Bottled water (2 bottles per person per day) and audio headsets where group size requires them
• Travel accident insurance for the duration of the tour

• International air tickets and any domestic flights not listed in the itinerary
• China visa or visa-free entry documentation fees
• Meals not specified in the daily itinerary and all beverages/alcohol
• Tips for guides, drivers and hotel staff (suggested USD 8-12 per person per day)
• Personal expenses: laundry, telephone, minibar, shopping
• Optional activities and any item not listed under Price Includes
• Single-room supplement if a traveller requires a room alone
• A private coach for a second session, if you want to continue (quoted on request)
• Loose clothing, if you have not brought any (cheap and easy to buy locally, about CNY 150)

Published: October 2026 — prices and itinerary reviewed on this date; later updates are shown in the revision note below.

Please read the notes below before you book. The session runs outdoors on flat ground and moves under the city wall arcade if it rains. Tell us about any mobility or balance issue in advance.

Q: I have never done tai chi and I am not flexible. Is this for me?
A: It is designed for exactly that. The 24-form was created in the 1950s as a short, accessible sequence, and the first movements ask for alignment rather than flexibility. If you can stand and take a slow step, you can do the hour. The coach adjusts for knees, backs and shoulders, and nobody is asked to do anything on the ground.

Q: What should we wear?
A: Anything loose and flat-soled: track trousers, a t-shirt, trainers. No special uniform, and no need to buy one. If you are coming straight from a hotel breakfast, what you are wearing is probably fine. Cold mornings in November and December need a layer you can take off once you start moving.

Q: Why so early in the morning?
A: Because that is when the park is alive and when the practice belongs to the people who live here rather than to visitors. By nine the groups have gone home and the park is ordinary. If you cannot face a six-thirty start, we run a late-afternoon version, but the atmosphere is different and we would rather tell you that.

Q: Is this a religious practice?
A: No. Tai chi is a martial art with Daoist philosophical roots, and the form taught here is the standardized 24-form used for health and exercise across China. There is no ritual, no chanting and no belief required. Some of the park groups are Buddhist or Daoist in flavour; others are just neighbours keeping fit.

Q: Can children and older travellers join?
A: Both, with adjustments. Children from about eight enjoy the slower movements less than the sword groups, so we usually finish the hour by watching a sword class. For older travellers the coach will keep everything at standing height and skip the deeper stances. Anyone with balance problems should tell us and we will place a chair nearby.

Q: What is the breakfast?
A: Hulatang - a peppery beef or mutton broth thickened with starch - with guokui flatbread torn into it, and warm soy milk. It is eaten standing at a stall or sitting on a low stool, and it costs about CNY 15. If you would rather have something milder, we swap in a noodle shop or a hotel breakfast without changing the price.

Q: Do I need a visa for this?
A: Most visitors do not. China's unilateral visa-free scheme covers 50 countries for stays up to 30 days, and 240-hour visa-free transit covers 57 nationalities through 65 designated ports. Check your nationality against the National Immigration Administration list before booking flights, since the scheme is revised periodically.