A city written in verse

As dusk falls over the ancient capital of Xi'an in Shaanxi province, poetry is no longer confined to stone steles and museum plaques. Along the Grand Tang Mall, a Tang Dynasty (618-907)-themed pedestrian avenue, verse now lights the way. Lanterns inscribed with the calligraphy of Tang poets Li Bai and Du Fu hang from trees and arch above the crowds, turning an evening stroll into a journey through a living anthology.

This is the latest expression of Xi'an's cultural strategy. The city, once known as Chang'an and widely regarded as the epicenter of the country's golden era of poetry, has launched an ambitious plan to rebrand itself as the "City of Tang Poetry". Beginning last year, a three-year municipal initiative aims to fuse the intangible heritage of the Tang Dynasty with modern tourism, urban design, and daily life. The authorities want to do more than just illuminate its literary legacy; they want to build an entire cityscape where poetry is not only seen and read but felt, flown through, and physically explored.

At the heart of the Grand Tang Mall's nighttime spectacle is one of the city's newest attractions: the Qujiang Flying Theater, which opened in September. Built around the works of Li Bai, Du Fu, and Wang Wei, the theater combines a 180-degree dome screen with holographic technology to immerse visitors in a poetic flight through history.